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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 6:24 and 1 Enoch 1:8

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

1 Enoch incorporates the priestly blessing from Numbers 6 with its focus on peace, blessing, and divine favor, using this tradition to describe the future of the righteous and to place its narrative in continuity with the Torah.

Passages

Numbers 6:24

Hebrew Bible
22 The Lord spoke to Moses: 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the way you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 24 “‘“The Lord bless you and protect you; 25 The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”’” 27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Numbers

1 Enoch 1:8

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
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.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

References

"... 1 Enoch 1:8 ... Black comments: “‘Light’ is the lot of the righteous, ‘darkness’ the destiny of the wicked (1 Enoch 10:5; 92:5; 94:9; 103:8). The “light” is likely a reference to the glory of God or the presence of God (Job 29:3; Psalm 118:27; Habakkuk 3:4). In the New Testament, the believer’s destiny is described the same way: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). He will make peace ... And they shall all belong to God, and they shall be prospered, and they shall all be blessed. Because of the context of Mount Sinai (1:4) and the fact that the Greek text aligns well with LXX of the Aaronic benediction of Numbers 6:24–26, scholars have taken this as covenantal language ..."
Michael S. Heiser, A Companion to the Book of Enoch: A Reader's Commentary (Crane, MO: Defender, 2019), 1:56.

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 6:24 and 1 Enoch 1:8

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