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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 1:9 and Galatians 5:19

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

Galatians 5 lists behaviors connected to the “flesh,” reflecting a universal view of human sinfulness that uses language similar to 1 Enoch, which describes all people as corrupt and facing judgment.

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

Galatians 5:19

New Testament
17 For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!
48–55 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Galatians

References

"... In the context of the flood narrative, the earth’s total corruption occurs in the aftermath of the descent of the “Sons of God” (Genesis 6:1–4; see also 1 Enoch 6–9). In the Enochic tradition “all flesh” was defiled by the Watchers’ transgressions, requiring divine judgment (Genesis 6:1–5, 11–13, 17; 1 Enoch 6–19; Jubilees 5:1–11; see also 1 Enoch 81:5). As Robert Jewett has noted, there is similarity between Galatians 2:16 and Enochic tradition. The opening theophany of the Book of the Watchers describes a similarly pessimistic view of “all flesh” and “human works” ..."
Tyler Allen Stewart, “‘The Present Evil Age’: The Origin and Persistence of Evil in Galatians” (diss., Marquette University, 2019), 231.

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 1:9 and Galatians 5:19

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