1 Enoch

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Chapter 31

1 And I saw other mountains, and among them were groves of trees, from which flowed nectar, named sarara and galbanum.⁠ 2 Beyond these mountains, I saw another mountain to the east of the ends of the earth, where there were aloe trees, and all the trees were full of stacte, similar to almond trees. 3 And when burned, it smelled sweeter than any fragrant odor.

Texts in conversation

Compare Exodus 30:34 and 1 Enoch 31:1

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

Summary

Exodus 30 lists galbanum among the spices for the holy incense burned in the Temple. 1 Enoch 31 pictures that same spice growing on trees in paradise, far to the east at the edge of the world.

Passages

Exodus 30:34

Hebrew Bible

33 Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts any of it on someone not a priest will be cut off from his people.’” 34 The Lord said to Moses, “Take spices, gum resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense of equal amounts 35 and make it into an incense, a perfume, the work of a perfumer. It is to be finely ground, and pure and sacred.

750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Exodus

1 Enoch 31:1

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

1 And I saw other mountains, and among them were groves of trees, from which flowed nectar, named sarara and galbanum. 2 Beyond these mountains, I saw another mountain to the east of the ends of the earth, where there were aloe trees, and all the trees were full of stacte, similar to almond trees. 3 And when burned, it smelled sweeter than any fragrant odor.

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

References

... In the context of incense in the Garden of Eden, the description found in the Book of Watchers in 1 Enoch 24-25; 29-32 is particularly noteworthy. During Enoch's tour of heaven and earth, he sees a garden or orchard filled with aromatic trees. Both the Trees of Life and Knowledge and the rest of the trees throughout this heavenly garden, are described as fragrant, including the pleasant odors that combined to make the Temple incense. The angel Michael explains to Enoch that the high mountain that he sees, on which the Tree of Life is found, is none other than the throne of God: ...

Michael Segal, “The First Patriarchs,” in Rewriting and Interpreting the Hebrew Bible: The Biblical Patriarchs in the Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. Devorah Dimant and Reinhard G. Kratz (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2013), 84.

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 Exodus 30:34 and 1 Enoch 31:1

Summary

Passages

Exodus 30:34

1 Enoch 31:1

References

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