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1 Enoch

About this book
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 1 Enoch 33:4 and 1 Enoch 72:1

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

1 Enoch 72 indicates that Enoch is the author of the astronomical book, contrasting with 1 Enoch 33 which indicates Uriel is the author. The two sections were likely independent traditions that were later edited together.

Passages

1 Enoch 33:4

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
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.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

1 Enoch 72:1

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 This book describes the courses of the heavenly bodies, detailing each according to their classes, control, seasons, names, origins, and months as shown to me by Uriel, the holy angel guiding me. He explained precisely all their laws and the eternal progression until a new creation is established forever. 2 The first rule of the lights: the Sun rises from the eastern portals of the heavens and sets in the western portals. 3 I observed six portals for the sun's rising and setting, and for the moon's rising and setting. The leaders of the stars and their groups also follow this path: six portals in the east and six in the west, all precisely aligned, with numerous windows on either side.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

References

"... The author of chapter 33 appears to be saying that Enoch’s astronomical instruction, recorded in detail in chapters 72–82, took place at this point in his journey. Although this may be the case, the present chapter makes no reference to Uriel’s instruction about the chief luminaries—the sun and the moon—but only about the stars, which are discussed briefly in chapter 75. That Enoch and Uriel should count the stars is noteworthy (compare 1 Enoch 93:14 and contrast Genesis 15:5). Different from chapters 72–82, here the author asserts that Uriel, as well as Enoch, is the author of the astronomical treatise. ..."
George W. E. Nickelsburg, A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001), 330.

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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1 Enoch 33:4 and 1 Enoch 72:1

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