Texts in Conversation
The opening of 1 Enoch intentionally imitates Deuteronomy 33, where Moses blesses Israel before his death. The author uses this language to present the book as the same kind of authoritative scripture and place it in continuity with the Torah.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Deuteronomy 33:1
Hebrew Bible
1 This is the blessing Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death. 2 He said: “The Lord came from Sinai and revealed himself to Israel from Seir. He appeared in splendor from Mount Paran, and came forth with ten thousand holy ones. With his right hand he gave a fiery law to them. 3 Surely he loves the people; all your holy ones are in your hand8. And they sit at your feet, each receiving your words.
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
1 Enoch 1:1
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 The words of Enoch's blessing, with which he blessed the chosen and righteous, who will live through the days of tribulation when all the wicked and godless will be removed. 2 He began his parable and said, Enoch, a righteous man, whose eyes were opened by God, saw the vision of the Holy One in the heavens, which the angels showed me. I heard everything from them, and from them I understood what I saw, not for this generation, but for a distant one yet to come. 3 Regarding the chosen I spoke, and took up my parable about them: The Holy Great One will emerge from His dwelling,
Date: 300 BCE – 100 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... This opening line is similar to Deuteronomy 33:1 (“This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death”), prompting some scholars to suggest a deliberate imitation. The writer’s motive would be to make 1 Enoch read as Scripture. This suspicion is likely confirmed once we note that “the words of,” while not appearing in Deuteronomy 33:1, appear in the first verse of other canonical books of the Hebrew Bible (Nehemiah 1:1; Ecclesiastes 1:1; Jeremiah 1:1; Amos 1:1) ..."
Michael S. Heiser, A Companion to the Book of Enoch: A Reader's Commentary (Crane, MO: Defender, 2019), 1:47.
* 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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