Texts in Conversation
1 Enoch 91 and the Testament of Asher describe humanity given a choice between the paths of righteousness and violence, based on Deuteronomy 30 and the call to obey the covenant and choose between life and death.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
1 Enoch 91:19
Pseudepigrapha
17 And the first heaven will depart and pass away, and a new heaven will appear, and all the powers of the heavens will give sevenfold light. 18 And after that there will be many weeks without number forever, and all will be in goodness and righteousness, and sin will no longer be mentioned forever. 19 And now I tell you, my sons, and show you the paths of righteousness and the paths of violence. Yes, I will show them to you again that you may know what will come to pass. 20 And now, listen to me, my sons, and walk in the paths of righteousness, and do not walk in the paths of violence; for all who walk in the paths of unrighteousness shall perish forever.'
Testament of Asher 1:3
Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
Pseudepigrapha
1 A record of what Asher told his sons in the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life. 2 While he was still in good health, he said to them: Listen, children of Asher, to your father, and I will declare to you all that is upright in the sight of the Lord. 3 God has given two ways to humanity, two inclinations, two kinds of action, two ways of acting, and two outcomes. 4 So all things come in pairs, one set against the other. 5 For there are two ways, of good and of evil, and with them are the two inclinations within us that tell them apart.
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Notes and References
"... in the Testament of Asher 1:3-5, the duality of existence as part of the created order is clearly connected with the Two Ways scheme ... In 1 Enoch (or the Ethiopic Enoch) 91:18-19, a contrast is drawn between the ways of righteousness and the ways of wickedness ..."
Sandt, Hubertus W., and David Flusser
The Didache: Its Jewish Sources and Its Place in Early Judaism and Christianity
(p. 189) Royal Van Gorcum, 2002
* 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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