Texts in Conversation
1 Enoch 81 depicts Enoch given a message of universal human guilt, similar to the language of Psalm 143, and also connected to the narrative of the corruption of humanity described in Genesis 6.
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Psalm 143:2
Hebrew Bible
1 A psalm of David. O Lord, hear my prayer. Pay attention to my plea for help. Because of your faithfulness and justice, answer me. 2 Do not sit in judgment on your servant, for no one alive is innocent before you. 3 Certainly my enemies chase me. They smash me into the ground. They force me to live in dark regions, like those who have been dead for ages.
1 Enoch 81:5
Pseudepigrapha
4 Afterward, I declared, 'Blessed is the person who dies in righteousness and goodness, who has no record of unrighteousness written about them, and against whom no day of judgment will be held.' 5 The seven holy ones then took me and placed me on the earth before my home's door and said, 'Tell everything to your son Methuselah, and inform all your children that no one is righteous in the sight of the Lord, for He is their Creator. 6 'You will have one more year to live with your son, during which you must give your final instructions, teach your children, write it down for them, and bear witness to all your children; and in the second year, you will be taken from among them.'
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Notes and References
"... The message that Enoch is commissioned to pass on to his children is summarized in two lines: in the eyes of the creator, no human being is righteous. This pithy statement appears to reflect the viewpoint of Genesis 6: God is sorry that he made/created humanity (verses 6–7) and determines to exterminate “all flesh” (verses 12–13). As phrased here, the sentiment parallels Psalm 143:2, “For no living thing is righteous in your sight”. But this in its use of “no flesh” instead of “no living thing,” and in its word order, the present passage differs from Psalm 143. This is noteworthy because in both respects the present reading is paralleled by Rom 3:30, Paul’s indictment of the whole human race. Whether Paul reflects an apocalyptic tradition related to the present text is uncertain, although other parallels between 81:3 and Romans 3:25–26 and between Romans 4:7–8 and 1 Enoch 81:4 should be noted and studied more carefully ..."
Nickelsburg, George W. E.
A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108
(p. 341) Fortress Press, 2001
* 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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