Go to Related Reading
About this book

1 Enoch

About this book
Chapter 39

1 In those days the elect and holy children will come down from the high heaven, and their offspring will become one with the children of men. 2 In those days Enoch received books of zeal and anger, and books of disquiet and banishment. 'And mercy will not be granted to them,' says the Lord of Spirits. 3 In those days a whirlwind carried me off from the earth and set me down at the end of the heavens.⁠ 4 There I saw another vision: the dwelling places of the holy, and the resting places of the righteous.⁠ 5 Here my eyes saw their dwellings with His righteous angels, and their resting places with the holy. They petitioned and interceded and prayed for the children of men, and righteousness flowed before them like water,⁠ and mercy like dew on the earth; so it is among them forever and ever. 6 In that place my eyes saw the Elect One of righteousness and of faith, and righteousness will prevail in his days, and the righteous and the elect will be without number before Him forever and ever. 7 I saw his dwelling place under the wings of the Lord of Spirits. All the righteous and the elect before Him will be strong as fiery lights, and their mouths will be full of blessing, and their lips will praise the name of the Lord of Spirits, and righteousness before Him will never fail, and uprightness will never fail before Him. 8 There I longed to dwell, and my spirit yearned for that dwelling place;⁠ and there my portion has been from before, for so it has been established for me before the Lord of Spirits. 9 In those days I praised and exalted the name of the Lord of Spirits with blessings and praises, because He has destined me for blessing and glory according to the good pleasure of the Lord of Spirits.⁠ 10 For a long time my eyes gazed on that place, and I blessed Him and praised Him, saying: 'Blessed is He, and may He be blessed from the beginning and forever. 11 Before Him there is no ceasing. He knows, before the world was created, what is forever and what will be from generation to generation. 12 Those who never sleep bless You; they stand before Your glory and bless and praise and exalt You, saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Spirits;⁠ He fills the earth with spirits."'⁠ 13 Here my eyes saw all those who never sleep; they stand before Him and bless and say: 'You are blessed, and blessed be the name of the Lord forever and ever.' 14 Then my face was changed, for I could no longer look on it.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 39:14 and Luke 9:29

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

Share:

Summary

In Luke’s account of the transfiguration, the appearance of Jesus’ face is changed as he prays, a detail that draws on apocalyptic traditions such as in 1 Enoch where the seer’s face is transformed when encountering divine glory.

Passages

1 Enoch 39:14

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
11 Before Him there is no ceasing. He knows, before the world was created, what is forever and what will be from generation to generation. 12 Those who never sleep bless You; they stand before Your glory and bless and praise and exalt You, saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Spirits; He fills the earth with spirits."' 13 Here my eyes saw all those who never sleep; they stand before Him and bless and say: 'You are blessed, and blessed be the name of the Lord forever and ever.' 14 Then my face was changed, for I could no longer look on it.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Luke 9:29

New Testament
27 But I tell you most certainly, there are some standing here who will not experience death before they see the kingdom of God.” 28 Now about eight days after these sayings, Jesus took with him Peter, John, and James, and went up the mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became very bright, a brilliant white. 30 Then two men, Moses and Elijah, began talking with him. 31 They appeared in glorious splendor and spoke about his departure that he was about to carry out at Jerusalem.
75–85 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Luke

References

"... is this a transitional verse: Enoch's face must be transfigured into that of an angel in order for him to see the glory of God, which is surrounded by the myriads of angels (40:1), and the four archangels that flank the divine glory (40:2). For Enoch's transformation into an angel, see 2 Enoch 22. For a parallel to the language here, see Luke's account of Jesus' transfiguration (9:29), which revise Mark's 'he was transfigured' to 'the appearance of his face was different' ..."
George W. E. Nickelsburg, A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 37-82 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2012), 129.

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

Your feedback

1 Enoch 39:14 and Luke 9:29

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library