1 Enoch

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Chapter 41

1 And then I witnessed all the mysteries of the heavens, how the kingdom is divided, and how the actions of people are weighed on a scale.⁠ 2 There, I saw the dwellings of the chosen and the holy, and my eyes saw all the sinners being expelled, those who deny the name of the Lord of Spirits, dragged away, unable to endure the punishment from the Lord of Spirits. 3 My eyes also saw the mysteries of lightning and thunder, and the secrets of the winds,⁠ how they are distributed to blow across the earth, and the mysteries of the clouds and dew,⁠ observing where they originate and how they moisten the dusty earth.⁠ 4 I saw hidden chambers from which the winds are dispersed, the chamber for hail and winds, the chamber for mist, and of the clouds, with the cloud above floating over the earth since the beginning of time. 5 I observed the chambers of the sun and moon, where they emerge and return, their magnificent reappearance,⁠ how one surpasses the other in splendor, their majestic orbit, and how they remain faithful to their orbit, adding nothing and taking nothing from it, keeping their promise to each other, as per the oath that binds them. 6 First, the sun emerges and follows its course as commanded by the Lord of Spirits, whose name is mighty forever and ever. 7 Then I saw the hidden and visible paths of the moon, as it completes its journey day and night—one position opposing the other—before the Lord of Spirits, offering thanks and praise without rest, for their rest is in their thanksgiving. 8 For the sun often changes for a blessing or a curse, and the path of the moon brings light to the righteous and darkness to the sinners in the name of the Lord, who separated the light from the darkness,⁠ divided the spirits of people, and strengthened the spirits of the righteous in the name of His righteousness.⁠ 9 No angel can hinder nor any power obstruct; for He appoints a judge for them all and He judges them all before Him.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 41:3 and 3 Enoch 37:1

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

Summary

In 1 Enoch, heavenly storehouses explain the movement of clouds, rain and dew. In 3 Enoch, these weather elements are similarly described as stored in heaven, following traditions from early apocalyptic literature such as Ezekiel.

Passages

1 Enoch 41:3

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

3 My eyes also saw the mysteries of lightning and thunder, and the secrets of the winds, how they are distributed to blow across the earth, and the mysteries of the clouds and dew, observing where they originate and how they moisten the dusty earth. 4 I saw hidden chambers from which the winds are dispersed, the chamber for hail and winds, the chamber for mist, and of the clouds, with the cloud above floating over the earth since the beginning of time. 5 I observed the chambers of the sun and moon, where they emerge and return, their magnificent reappearance, how one surpasses the other in splendor, their majestic orbit, and how they remain faithful to their orbit, adding nothing and taking nothing from it, keeping their promise to each other, as per the oath that binds them.

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

3 Enoch 37:1

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Hebrew Book of Enoch

1 R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me: In the seven Halls there are standing four chariots of Shekina, and before each one are standing the four camps of Shekina. Between each camp a river of fire is continually flowing. 2 Between each river there are bright clouds [surrounding them], and between each cloud there are put up pillars of brimstone. Between one pillar and another there are standing flaming wheels, surrounding them. And between one wheel and another there are flames of fire round about. Between one flame and another there are treasuries of lightnings; behind the treasuries of lightnings are the wings of the stormwind. Behind the wings of the storm-wind are the chambers of the tempest; behind the chambers of the tempest there are winds, voices, thunders, sparks [upon] sparks and earthquakes [upon] earthquakes.

400–600 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 3 Enoch

References

“... First, the Parables of Enoch and 2 Enoch are distinctive in their development of an extended scheme within which the imagery of the storehouse functions as the governing device within accounts of meteorology. While the imagery is widely found in the biblical material and in postbiblical texts, these texts are distinctive in developing it in an extended way, with the imagery of the storehouse and/or treasury governing the account. Most texts use the store- house/treasury image as part of a wider range of images associated with the meteorological elements or, in the postbiblical literature, with light and lumi- naries. Even those texts that do contain more extended accounts of the places in which the meteorological elements or luminaries are contained, such as the Rule of the Community, do not use the storehouse as the principal image, but include it within a wider list of heavenly places. The closest parallels are found in b.Ḥagigah 12b and 3 Enoch 37 (§55), which is undoubtedly significant, but both are marked by a number of differences. In the case of b.Ḥagigah 12b, the storehouses are associated with elements reserved for eschatological punishment—there is no interest in meteorology, as such—and in the case of 3 Enoch 37/§55, the real interest is in the divine throne. 3 Enoch 48c/§72, which refers in a broader way to the storehouses, is also uninterested in meteo- rology itself; it is more clearly driven by a concern to show Metatron’s position of delegated authority over the angels. ...”

Grant Macaskill, The Entangled Enoch: 2 Enoch and the Cultures of Late Antiquity (Leiden: Koninklijke Brill BV, 2024), 143.

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 41:3 and 3 Enoch 37:1

Summary

Passages

1 Enoch 41:3

3 Enoch 37:1

References

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