Texts in Conversation
The epistle of Barnabas alludes to 1 Enoch 91, describing the eschatological timing of the building of a house for a great king. The sequence and imagery match elements of 1 Enoch, suggesting direct borrowing and a common apocalyptic tradition.
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1 Enoch 91:13
Pseudepigrapha
11 And after that, the roots of wickedness will be cut off, and sinners will be destroyed by the sword . . . will be cut off from the blasphemers in every place, and those who plan violence and those who commit blasphemy will perish by the sword. 12 And after that, there will be another, the eighth week, that of righteousness, and a sword will be given to it that a righteous judgment may be executed on the oppressors, and sinners will be delivered into the hands of the righteous. 13 And at its end, they will acquire houses through their righteousness, and a house will be built for the Great King in glory forevermore, 14 And all mankind will look to the path of uprightness. 15 And after that, in the ninth week, the righteous judgment will be revealed to the whole world, and all the works of the godless will vanish from all the earth, and the world will be written down for destruction.
Date: 200-50 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Barnabas 16:6
Epistle of Barnabas
Early Christian
6 But let us ask whether there is any temple of God. Yes, there is—the place where He Himself undertakes to make and complete it. For it is written: ‘And it will come to pass, when the week is being completed, the temple of God will be built gloriously in the name of the Lord.’ 7 Then I find that there is a temple. How then will it be built in the name of the Lord? Understand: Before we believed in God, the dwelling place of our heart was corrupt and weak, truly a temple built by hands, because it was full of idolatry and was a house of demons, since we did whatever was contrary to God. 8 But it will be built in the name of the Lord. Take care, then, that the temple of the Lord may be built gloriously.
Date: 80-120 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The present study will devote itself to the elucidation of one of these alleged Enochic citations - one that is found within the fourth chapter of the early Christian tract known as the Epistle of Barnabas. Barnabas is a virulently anti-Judaic diatribe that nevertheless provides some valuable testimony regarding the evaluation and interpretation of scripture among certain circles in the early church during the first decades of the second century CE. While Barnabas largely confines itself to the exegesis of select biblical passages, in eschatological discussions it also quotes Enoch as 'scripture', although it identifies this author only once by name, at Barnabas 4:3 (Barnabas 16:5 = 1 Enoch 89:56; Barnabas 16:6 = 1 Enoch 91:13; Both of these quotations are cited as 'scripture') ..."
Reeves, John C.
An Enochic Citation in Barnabas 4.3 and the Oracles of Hystaspes
(pp. 261-277) Sheffield Academic Press, 1994
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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