Go to Related Reading
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 1:9 and 1 Thessalonains 3:13

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

Share:

Summary

1 Thessalonians echoes 1 Enoch 1:9, which reshapes language from Deuteronomy into a future moment of judgment. In 1 Enoch, God arrives with the army of his holy ones, and 1 Thessalonians similarly describes Jesus with his holy ones.

Passages

1 Enoch 1:9

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

1 Thessalonains 3:13

New Testament
11 Now may God our Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you, 13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
41–51 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Thessalonians

References

"... Verse 9 is noteworthy for its use in early Christianity. Jude 14-15 quotes all but line c, citing the text as a prophecy by 'Enoch, the seventh from Adam' ... 1 Thessalonians 3:13 and Mark 8:38 speak of 'the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones' and of the Son of Man, who 'comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.' Perhaps belief in the parousia of the Son of Man triggered the citation of 1 Enoch 1:9 in Jude or its use in the tradition behind I Thessalonians 3:13. It is perhaps significant that 52:5-9 interprets 1 Enoch 1:37 to refer to the coming of the Anointed and Chosen One ..."
George W. E. Nickelsburg, A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001), 149.

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

Your feedback

1 Enoch 1:9 and 1 Thessalonains 3:13

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library