1 Enoch

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Chapter 33

1 And from there I went to the ends of the earth and saw there great beasts, each differing from the other; and I saw birds also, differing in appearance, beauty, and voice, each distinct from the other. 2 And to the east of those beasts, I saw the ends of the earth where the heavens rest and the portals of heaven open. 3 And I saw how the stars of heaven come forth, and I counted the portals from which they emerge, and noted down all their outlets, each individual star by itself, according to their number and their names, their courses and their positions, and their times and their months, as Uriel the holy angel who was with me showed me.⁠ 4 He showed me all things and wrote them down for me: also, he wrote down their names, their laws, and their companies.

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 15:5 and 1 Enoch 33:3

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

Summary

1 Enoch 33 shows Enoch observing and counting the stars, a moment that recalls Genesis 15 where Abraham is invited to count the stars. Enoch is given access to this same kind of hidden knowledge that was given to Abraham.

Passages

Genesis 15:5

Hebrew Bible

4 But look, the Lord’s message came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but instead a son who comes from your own body will be your heir.” 5 The Lord took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars—if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.” 6 Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord credited it as righteousness to him.

750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

1 Enoch 33:3

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

2 And to the east of those beasts, I saw the ends of the earth where the heavens rest and the portals of heaven open. 3 And I saw how the stars of heaven come forth, and I counted the portals from which they emerge, and noted down all their outlets, each individual star by itself, according to their number and their names, their courses and their positions, and their times and their months, as Uriel the holy angel who was with me showed me. 4 He showed me all things and wrote them down for me: also, he wrote down their names, their laws, and their companies.

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

References

"... Enoch’s journeys through heaven and to the ends of the earth emphasize the structure of the universe, both heaven and earth, and the location of its various parts. Nevertheless, it may be that the perceptions seen in the name of the patriarch suggest the equivalent, so that the imagery of measuring here may be accounted for by an author’s use of biblical tradition ... And how large is the number of stars. On this knowledge as strictly the prerogative of God, see Psalm 147:4 and 6 Ezra 16:56. The same is implied in the rhetorical request in Genesis 15:5 that Abraham count the stars (which he cannot, because they are numbered beyond measure) to learn how many his descendants would be. By contrast, Enoch is brought to the ends of the earth in 33:1–4, where he is allowed to observe the stars, count the “gates” through which they enter and exit the horizons “for each one individually according to their number and their names” ..."

Loren T. Stuckenbruck, 1 Enoch 91–108 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, 2007), 242.

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 Genesis 15:5 and 1 Enoch 33:3

Summary

Passages

Genesis 15:5

1 Enoch 33:3

References

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