Isaiah 24:19

Hebrew Bible

17 Terror, pit, and snare are ready to overtake you, inhabitants of the earth! 18 The one who runs away from the sound of the terror will fall into the pit; the one who climbs out of the pit will be trapped by the snare. For the floodgates of the heavens are opened up and the foundations of the earth shake. 19 The earth is broken in pieces, the earth is ripped to shreds, the earth shakes violently. 20 The earth will stagger around like a drunk; it will sway back and forth like a hut in a windstorm. Its sin will weigh it down, and it will fall and never get up again.

1 Enoch 1:5

Pseudepigrapha

4 And the eternal God will tread upon the earth, (even) on Mount Sinai, ⌈And appear from His camp⌉ And appear in the strength of His might from the heaven of heavens. 5 And all shall be smitten with fear And the Watchers shall quake, And great fear and trembling shall seize them unto the ends of the earth. 6 And the high mountains shall be shaken, And the high hills shall be made low, And shall melt like wax before the flame 7 And the earth shall be ⌈wholly⌉ rent in sunder, And all that is upon the earth shall perish, And there shall be a judgement upon all (men).

 Notes and References

"... These verses depict the total distortion and disintegration of the earth in the presence of the divine Judge. Verse 6 reflects a traditional element in the descriptions of the events associated with a theophany: the mountains quake, fall, and break apart. The picture is enhanced by the simile of the mountains melting like wax before the fire. This image, which suggests an erupting volcano, probably derives from Micah 1:3-4, whose motifs were temporarily abandoned after verse 4. The image appears also in Psalm 97:5; Isaiah 64:l LXX, Judith 16:15; compare Nahum 1:5. The text describes the mightiest structures on earth - the everlasting mountains and hills - disintegrating helplessly before the presence of 'the Great Holy One.' This notion is elaborated in verse 7. Not just the mountains, but the whole earth is torn apart, and everything on it is demolished. The rending of the earth recalls Micah 1:4 ('the valleys will be cleft'), but the picture of complete destruction and judgment here is more consonant with Isaiah 24:19-20, and it is likely that the present text, like Isaiah 24:17-23, envisions a judgment like the flood ..."

Nickelsburg, George W. E. A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108 (p. 146) Fortress Press, 2001

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