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1 Enoch

About this book
Chapter 14

1 The book of the words of righteousness,⁠ and of the reprimand of the eternal Watchers, in accordance with the command of the Holy Great One in that vision. 2 I saw in my sleep what I will now tell with a tongue of flesh and with the breath of my mouth, which the Great One has given to men so that they may converse and understand with the heart. 3 Just as He has created and given to man the power to understand the word of wisdom, so He created me also and gave me the power to reprimand the Watchers, the children of heaven.⁠ 4 I wrote out your petition, and in my vision it was made clear that your petition will not be granted for all the days of eternity, and that judgment has been finally passed on you. Your petition will not be granted. 5 From now on you will not ascend into heaven for all eternity, and on the earth the decree has gone out to bind you for all the days of the world.⁠ 6 Before that you will see the destruction of your beloved sons, and you will take no pleasure in them, for they will fall before you by the sword. 7 Your petition for them will not be granted, nor will your petition for yourselves, even though you weep and pray and speak all the words contained in the writing I have written. 8 And the vision was shown to me.⁠ In the vision, clouds called me and a mist summoned me; the path of the stars and the lightnings sped me on and hurried me, and the winds in the vision gave me wings and carried me upward, lifting me into heaven.⁠ 9 I went in until I came near a wall built of crystals and surrounded by tongues of fire,⁠ and it began to frighten me.⁠ 10 I went through the tongues of fire and came near a large house built of crystals. The walls of the house were like a mosaic floor of crystals, and its foundation was of crystal. 11 Its ceiling was like the path of the stars and the lightnings, and between them were fiery cherubim, and their sky was clear as water.⁠ 12 A flaming fire surrounded the walls, and its doorways blazed with fire. 13 I entered that house, and it was hot as fire and cold as ice. There were no delights of life in it; fear covered me, and trembling seized me. 14 As I shook and trembled, I fell on my face. 15 I saw in a vision, and there was a second house, greater than the first, and the whole doorway stood open before me, and it was built of flames of fire.⁠ 16 In every way it so surpassed the other in splendor and magnificence and size that I cannot describe its splendor and its size to you. 17 Its floor was of fire, and above it were lightnings and the path of the stars, and its ceiling also was flaming fire.⁠ 18 I looked and saw a lofty throne inside it.⁠ Its appearance was like crystal,⁠ and its wheels were like the shining sun, and there was the vision of cherubim.⁠ 19 From underneath the throne came streams of flaming fire, so that I could not look at it.⁠ 20 The Great Glory sat on it, and His garment shone more brightly than the sun and was whiter than any snow.⁠ 21 None of the angels could enter and look on His face because of its magnificence and glory, and no mortal could look on Him.⁠ 22 A flaming fire was all around Him, and a great fire stood before Him; no one near Him could come close.⁠ Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him, yet He needed no counselor.⁠ 23 The most holy ones who were near Him did not leave by night nor depart from Him. 24 Until then I had lain face down, trembling, and the Lord called me with His own mouth and said to me: 'Come near, Enoch, and hear my word.'⁠ 25 One of the holy ones came to me and woke me, and made me rise up and approach the door, and I bowed my face down.

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 18:1 and 1 Enoch 14:20

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

Genesis 18 describes God appearing to Abraham at Mamre where he welcomes three divine visitors. 1 Enoch 14 instead portrays God in a fiery heavenly palace surrounded by angels, showing how this text reflects later views of a distant and exalted deity.

Passages

Genesis 18:1

Hebrew Bible
1 The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing across from him. When he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. 3 He said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought so that you may all wash your feet and rest under the tree.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

1 Enoch 14:20

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
18 I looked and saw a lofty throne inside it. Its appearance was like crystal, and its wheels were like the shining sun, and there was the vision of cherubim. 19 From underneath the throne came streams of flaming fire, so that I could not look at it. 20 The Great Glory sat on it, and His garment shone more brightly than the sun and was whiter than any snow. 21 None of the angels could enter and look on His face because of its magnificence and glory, and no mortal could look on Him. 22 A flaming fire was all around Him, and a great fire stood before Him; no one near Him could come close. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him, yet He needed no counselor.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

References

"... Our author’s God is the transcendent, wholly other, heavenly King. He does not appear on earth, as he did to Abraham or Moses or Isaiah. His chariot throne does not descend to earth as it did for Ezekiel. It is fixed in heaven, the realm of Spirit and holiness, totally different from the earthly sphere of flesh and blood (compare 1 Enoch 15:4-7). The author’s imagery stresses the otherness of this realm. Here fire and snow can coexist. Things are larger than life. God dwells in a house greater than the great one to which it is annexed. Its ceiling is the heaven with its streaking luminaries and lightning flashes. He is seated on a lofty throne and is attended by a countless throng of angels of various orders. God’s holiness and purity are indicated by such imagery as: icelike, snowlike, sunlike, glory, fire. In the final analysis, however, images break down and the truth behind the author’s language is revealed. The majesty of God’s throne room is beyond description (1 Enoch 14:16), as is, of course, God ..."
George W. E. Nickelsburg, A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001), 260.

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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Genesis 18:1 and 1 Enoch 14:20

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