Texts in Conversation
In Lamentations, the speaker trusts that God's mercy is new each morning. In 3 Enoch, God creates new angels to replace those who fail to sing correctly, giving the promise of renewal a meaning tied to heavenly worship.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Lamentations 3:23
Hebrew Bible
19 ז (Zayin) Remember my impoverished and homeless condition, which is a bitter poison. 20 I continually think about this, and I am depressed. 21 But this I call to mind; therefore I have hope: 22 ח (Khet) The Lord’s loyal kindness never ceases; his compassions never end. 23 They are fresh every morning; your faithfulness is abundant! 24 “My portion is the Lord,” I have said to myself, so I will put my hope in him. 25 ט (Tet) The Lord is good to those who trust in him, to the one who seeks him. 26 It is good to wait patiently for deliverance from the Lord.
3 Enoch 40:3
Hebrew Book of Enoch
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
And in the moment that they do not utter the "Holy" in the right order, a consuming fire goes forth from the little finger of the Holy One, blessed be He, and falls down in the midst of their ranks and is divided into 496 thousand parts corresponding to the four camps of the ministering angels, and consumes them in one moment, as it is written (Ps. xcvii. 3): "A fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries round about". After that the Holy One, blessed be He, opens His mouth and speaks one word and creates others in their stead, new ones like them. And each one stands before His Throne of Glory, uttering the "Holy", as it is written (Lam. iii. 23): "They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness".
Tags:
Search:
Notes and References
“... The recital of the daily hymn, which culminates in the trisha-
gion from Isaiah 6:3, is the angels' foremost task. A further large
thematic unit revolves around the description of what occurs in
heaven during the angels' recital of the powerful, heaven- and earth-
shaking "Holy, holy, holy.'745 When the angels recite the trishagion
in the correct manner (ketiqno) they are crowned with splendid
crowns; however, when they make the slightest mistake (meaning
that they fail to recite the trishagion in perfect harmony), God ex-
tends his little finger and burns them: "Then the Holy One, blessed
be he, opens his mouth, speaks one word and creates others instead
of them, [others] like them, new ones. Each of them then stands in
song before the throne of glory and recites 'Holy,' as is written:
'They are renewed every morning,46 ample is your grace' [Lamen-
tations 3:23].'>47 ...”
Schäfer, Peter
The Hidden and Manifest God: Some Major Themes in Early Jewish Mysticism
(pp. 131-132) State University of New York Press, 1992
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,