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 Isaiah 24:19 and 1 Enoch 1:5

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

Summary

1 Enoch describes the earth shaking and breaking apart at the presence of God, echoing the language of Isaiah where the earth is shaken violently. Both use common apocalyptic and cosmic imagery to portray judgment as a total disruption of creation.

Passages

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.

740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

1 Enoch 1:5

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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.

300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

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 ..."

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

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

The Book of the Watchers

1 Enoch108 chapters

Compare Isaiah 24:19 and 1 Enoch 1:5

Summary

Passages

Isaiah 24:19

1 Enoch 1:5

References

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