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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 Amos 5:24 and 1 Enoch 39:5

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

1 Enoch uses imagery from Amos 5, where justice ideally flows like water, reshaping it in an eschatological and apocalyptic setting, using it to now describe how the heavenly world operates.

Passages

Amos 5:24

Hebrew Bible
22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, I will not be satisfied; I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves. 23 Take away from me your noisy songs; I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments. 24 Justice must flow like torrents of water, righteous actions like a stream that never dries up. 25 You did not bring me sacrifices and grain offerings during the 40 years you spent in the wilderness, family of Israel. 26 You will pick up your images of Sikkuth, your king, and Kiyyun, your star god, which you made for yourselves,
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Amos

1 Enoch 39:5

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

References

"... Here the double water simile suggests such copiousness, as well as satisfaction in the time of need. The tristich as a whole may reflect a reworking of Amos 5:24 ..."
George W. E. Nickelsburg, A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 37-82 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2012), 112–113.

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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Amos 5:24 and 1 Enoch 39:5

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