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About this book

1 Enoch

About this book

The Book of the Watchers

Chapter 1

1 The words of Enoch's blessing, with which he blessed the chosen and righteous,⁠ who will live through the days of tribulation when all the wicked and godless will be removed. 2 He began his parable⁠ and said, Enoch, a righteous man, whose eyes were opened by God, saw the vision of the Holy One in the heavens, which the angels showed me. I heard everything from them, and from them I understood what I saw, not for this generation, but for a distant one yet to come. 3 Regarding the chosen I spoke, and took up my parable about them: The Holy Great One will emerge from His dwelling,⁠ 4 And the eternal God will walk upon the earth, even on Mount Sinai, and appear from His camp and reveal His might from the heavens above.⁠ 5 Everyone will be struck with fear and the Watchers will tremble, and great fear and trembling will grip them to the ends of the earth.⁠ 6 The high mountains will shake, the hills will be leveled, and they will melt like wax before the fire⁠ 7 The earth will be completely torn apart, and everything on it will perish, and there will be judgment upon all people. 8 But with the righteous, He will establish peace. He will protect the chosen, and mercy will be upon them. They will all belong to God, prosper, and be blessed. He will aid them, and light will shine for them,⁠ and He will make peace with them.⁠ 9 Look! He comes with tens of thousands of His holy ones⁠ to pass judgment upon all,⁠ to annihilate all the wicked,⁠ to convict every soul of all the godless deeds they have committed,⁠ and of all the harsh words that godless sinners have spoken against Him.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Numbers 24:3 and 1 Enoch 1:2

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

1 Enoch begins with language used to introduce parables, such as the language used to introduce Balaam’s speech in Numbers 24. 1 Enoch does this to place itself in continuity with the traditions of the Hebrew Bible.

Passages

Numbers 24:3

Hebrew Bible
1 When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at the other times to seek for omens, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 When Balaam lifted up his eyes, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him. 3 Then he uttered this oracle: “The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eyes are open, 4 the oracle of the one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, although falling flat on the ground with eyes open: 5 ‘How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, and your dwelling places, O Israel!
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Numbers

1 Enoch 1:2

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 The words of Enoch's blessing, with which he blessed the chosen and righteous, who will live through the days of tribulation when all the wicked and godless will be removed. 2 He began his parable and said, Enoch, a righteous man, whose eyes were opened by God, saw the vision of the Holy One in the heavens, which the angels showed me. I heard everything from them, and from them I understood what I saw, not for this generation, but for a distant one yet to come. 3 Regarding the chosen I spoke, and took up my parable about them: The Holy Great One will emerge from His dwelling,
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

References

"... There is no doubt that in 1 Enoch 1:2 material from the Balaam story in Numbers 22 is mingled with associations with the beginning of Psalm 78. The bridge between the two texts is most probably verse 2 of Psalm 78, although its wording has not visibly influenced our text: 'I will open my mouth in a parable.' That is to say, the impetus is the concept of parable (mashal), which also, via the context of Numbers 24:3, inspires the way in which Enoch's vision is presented ..."
Lars Hartman, Asking for a Meaning: A Study of 1 Enoch 1-5 (Lund: LiberLäromedel/Gleerup, 1979), 23.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Numbers 24:3 and 1 Enoch 1:2

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