1 Enoch

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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 Ezekiel 1:26 and 1 Enoch 18:8

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

Summary

1 Enoch 18 echoes Ezekiel’s cosmology and the imagery of precious stones to describe the structure of heaven. Both describe God's throne on radiant blue sapphire, part of ancient Near Eastern tradition that describes the solid firmament over the earth.

Passages

Ezekiel 1:26

Hebrew Bible

24 When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings—it was like the sound of rushing waters, or the voice of the Sovereign One, or the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings. 25 Then there was a voice from above the platform over their heads when they stood still. 26 Above the platform over their heads was something like a sapphire shaped like a throne. High above on the throne was a form that appeared to be a man. 27 I saw an amber glow like a fire enclosed all around from his waist up. From his waist down I saw something that looked like fire. There was a brilliant light around it, 28 like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds after the rain. This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking.

600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

1 Enoch 18:8

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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.

300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

References

"... These mountains are further described in 1 Enoch 18:7. The three to the east are of colored stone; one is referred to more specifically as pearl and another as ‘healing stone,’ following the Ethiopic - the Greek is unclear. Since ‘healing stone’ makes little sense, emendations such as ‘violet’ or ‘blue’ stone, indicating perhaps sapphire or jasper have been proposed. The mountains to the south are of red stone, literally of a ‘fiery stone’. Nickelsburg notes that the author’s gemology is obscure in many respects. The intricacies of 1 Enoch 18:7’s gemology do not critically impact our understanding of the geography with but few exceptions. The text of 1 Enoch 18:7 reads as follows: “And those to the east (are) of colored stone, one of pearl and one of jasper. Those to the south of fiery (red) stone.” An association of mountains with gems recalls Ezekiel 28’s ‘mountain of God’ where the primal human being dwelt with a covering of precious stones. The ‘mountain of God’ in this context appears as Eden, the garden of God (Ezekiel 28:13). The inhabitant of the garden had precious jewels to serve as a ‘hedge’ (‘wall’) or a ‘garment’ ..."

Kelley Coblentz Bautch, A Study of the Geography of 1 Enoch 17–19: "No One Has Seen What I Have Seen", JSJSup 81 (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 116.

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

1 Enoch108 chapters

Compare Ezekiel 1:26 and 1 Enoch 18:8

Summary

Passages

Ezekiel 1:26

1 Enoch 18:8

References

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