1 Enoch

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Chapter 34

1 And from there I went towards the north to the ends of the earth, and there I saw a great and glorious device at the ends of the whole earth. 2 And here I saw three portals of heaven open in the sky: through each of them north winds blow: when they blow, there is cold, hail, frost, snow, dew, and rain.⁠ 3 And from one portal they blow for good: but when they blow through the other two portals, it is with violence and affliction on the earth, and they blow with violence.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 34:2 and Sirach 43:20

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Deuterocanon

Summary

1 Enoch says Enoch saw cold, frost, and snow stored behind three gates of heaven, one for good and two to for judgment. Sirach lists the same cold north wind and frost as praise, similarly dividing the weather into blessing and punishment.

Passages

1 Enoch 34:2

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

1 And from there I went towards the north to the ends of the earth, and there I saw a great and glorious device at the ends of the whole earth. 2 And here I saw three portals of heaven open in the sky: through each of them north winds blow: when they blow, there is cold, hail, frost, snow, dew, and rain. 3 And from one portal they blow for good: but when they blow through the other two portals, it is with violence and affliction on the earth, and they blow with violence.

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

Sirach 43:20

Deuterocanon · Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus

19 He also pours out frost on the earth like salt. When it is freezes, it has points like thorns. 20 The cold north wind blows and ice freezes on the water. It settles on every pool of water. The water puts it on like it was a breastplate. 21 It will devour the mountains, burn up the wilderness, and consume the green grass like fire. 22 A mist coming speedily heals all things. A dew coming after heat brings cheerfulness.

195–180 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Sirach

References

... The works of God on the earth are easily observable and include the seasons and meteorological phenomena. Winter is regarded as a sign of blessing because of the abundant moisture (1 Enoch 2:3; Sirach 43:8c, 22). The two traditions also assert that God uses the snow, frost and cold of winter storms for judgment; but in 1 Enoch the blizzard is adapted to eschatological judgment (100:13), and in Sirach it is a created opposite used for temporal judgment (43:17c-20). The summer season is a time when the sun burns. There appears to be a specific parallel between 1 Enoch 4:1 and Sirach 43:3b, 21. Both passages use the image of the burning heat of the sun before which human beings cannot endure. ...

Randal A. Argall, 1 Enoch and Sirach: A Comparative Literary and Conceptual Analysis of the Themes of Revelation, Creation and Judgment, EJL 8 (Atlanta: Scholar's, 1995), 160.

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 1 Enoch 34:2 and Sirach 43:20

Summary

Passages

1 Enoch 34:2

Sirach 43:20

References

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