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1 Enoch

About this book
Chapter 18

1 I saw the treasuries of all the winds:⁠ I saw how He had equipped them for the whole creation and the firm foundations of the earth.⁠ 2 And I saw the cornerstone of the earth: I saw the four winds that support the earth and the dome of heaven.⁠ 3 And I saw how the winds stretch out the vaults of heaven and have their station between heaven and earth; these are the pillars of heaven. 4 I saw the winds of heaven which turn and guide the course of the sun and all the stars to their setting. 5 I saw the winds on the earth carrying the clouds; I saw the paths of the angels. I saw at the end of the earth the dome of heaven above. 6 And I proceeded and saw a place that burns day and night, where there are seven mountains of magnificent stones, three towards the east, and three towards the south. 7 And as for those towards the east, one was of colored stone, and one of pearl, and one of jacinth, and those towards the south of red stone. 8 But the middle one reached to heaven like the throne of God, of alabaster, and the summit of the throne was of sapphire.⁠ 9 And I saw a flaming fire. 10 And beyond these mountains is a region at the end of the great earth: there the heavens were completed. 11 And I saw a deep abyss,⁠ with columns of heavenly fire, and among them I saw columns of fire fall, which were beyond measure alike in height and depth. 12 And beyond that abyss I saw a place which had no dome of heaven above, and no firmly founded earth beneath it; there was no water upon it, and no birds, but it was a waste and horrible place.⁠ 13 I saw there seven stars like great burning mountains,⁠ and to me, when I inquired about them,⁠ 14 The angel said: 'This place is the end of heaven and earth; this has become a prison for the stars and the army of heaven.⁠ 15 And the stars which roll over the fire are those which have transgressed the command of the Lord at the beginning of their rising, because they did not come forth at their appointed times.⁠ 16 And He was angry with them, and bound them until the time when their guilt should be consummated, even for ten thousand years.'

Texts in conversation

Compare Hesiod, Theogony 743 and 1 Enoch 18:11

Classical · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

1 Enoch describes a boundary at the edge of the earth where the heavens end, following Greek tradition in Hesiod’s Theogony, which places Tartarus beyond the edge of creation. The Greek cosmology serves to depict the prison of the Watchers.

Passages

Hesiod, Theogony 743

Classical
[740] It is a great gulf, and if once a man were within the gates, he would not reach the floor until a whole year had reached its end, but cruel blast upon blast would carry him this way and that. And this marvel is awful even to the deathless gods. There stands the awful home of murky Night [745] wrapped in dark clouds. In front of it the son of Iapetus stands immovably upholding the wide heaven upon his head and unwearying hands, where Night and Day draw near and greet one another as they pass the great threshold
730–700 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Hesiod, Theogony

1 Enoch 18:11

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
10 And beyond these mountains is a region at the end of the great earth: there the heavens were completed. 11 And I saw a deep abyss, with columns of heavenly fire, and among them I saw columns of fire fall, which were beyond measure alike in height and depth. 12 And beyond that abyss I saw a place which had no dome of heaven above, and no firmly founded earth beneath it; there was no water upon it, and no birds, but it was a waste and horrible place. 13 I saw there seven stars like great burning mountains, and to me, when I inquired about them,
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

References

"... 18:11: This description (chasma mega) is a word-for-word parallel to Hesiod’s description of Tartarus ..."
Michael S. Heiser, A Companion to the Book of Enoch: A Reader's Commentary (Crane, MO: Defender, 2019), 1:181.

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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Hesiod, Theogony 743 and 1 Enoch 18:11

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