Texts in Conversation
Jesus in Matthew 22 and 1 Enoch 10 share a similar command to bind and cast a figure into darkness. In Matthew, the instruction concerns expelling an unworthy eschatological guest, while in Enoch it refers to punishing one of the rebellious watchers.
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1 Enoch 10:4
Pseudepigrapha
1 Then the Most High, the Holy and Great One spoke, and sent Uriel to the son of Lamech, saying to him: 2 'Go to Noah and tell him in my name to hide himself and reveal to him that the end is near: the entire earth will be destroyed, a deluge is about to cover the whole earth and will wipe out everything on it. 3 And now instruct him so that he may escape and his descendants may be preserved for all future generations.' 4 And the Lord also said to Raphael: 'Bind Azâzal hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: make a hole in the desert in Dûdâel, and throw him in. 5 Place upon him rough and jagged rocks, cover him with darkness, and let him remain there forever, and cover his face so he may not see light.
Date: 200-50 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Matthew 22:13
New Testament
9 So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say. 13 Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Date: 70-90 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... taking into account the singular character of 10:4 and the fact that there is evidence of glosses in 10:3–4 and similar passages, there may be also some reason to be suspicious about the authenticity of the phrase ποσὶν καὶ χερσίν, καὶ βάλε αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ σκότος ('with feet and hands, and throw him into the darkness'). As for its origin, one possible source might be 1 Enoch 88:1, 3, where E and A (for 88:3) offer a closely similar phrase, except that instead of “the darkness,” the victims (not Asael but the stars, as in 21:3–6) are thrown into “an abyss” (88:1 E; compare 9:4+ Gs; 17:7, 8; 21:7) and into “the pits of the earth” (88:3 E; compare χαός 'chaos' in 10:13; 20:5). Alternatively, Matthew 22:13 offers an even closer, indeed formally identical, parallel. 1 Enoch 10:4 would then be proof of the influence of Matthew’s gospel on the textual tradition of 1 Enoch as it was transmitted and preserved in a Christian milieu ..."
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