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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 1 Enoch 1:6 and Judith 16:15

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Deuterocanon

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Summary

The opening of 1 Enoch echoes Judith and other texts from the Hebrew Bible that describe mountains melting when God appears. These follow older Near Eastern traditions that used volcanic imagery to describe dramatic divine encounters.

Passages

1 Enoch 1:6

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
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

Judith 16:15

Deuterocanon
14 Let all your creation serve you; for you spoke, and they were made. You sent out your spirit, and it built them. There is no one who can resist your voice. 15 For the mountains will be moved from their foundations with the waters, and the rocks will melt as wax at your presence: But you are yet merciful to those who fear you. 16 For all sacrifice is little for a sweet savor, and all the fat is very little for a whole burnt offering to you; but he who fears the Lord is great continually.
100 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Judith

References

"... 1 Enoch 1:6-7 ... 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 64:1 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' ..."
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.

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1 Enoch 1:6 and Judith 16:15

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