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1 Enoch

About this book
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 Genesis 1:4 and 1 Enoch 41:8

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

1 Enoch describes God dividing light from darkness and at the same time dividing the spirits of humanity into righteous and sinners. This dualistic language echoes Genesis, where God separates light from darkness in the act of creation.

Passages

Genesis 1:4

Hebrew Bible
2 Now the earth was without shape and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God was hovering11 over the surface of the water. 3 God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light! 4 God saw that the light was good, so God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. 6 God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate water from water.”
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

1 Enoch 41:8

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

References

"... The Similitudes of Enoch are designed to reassure the righteous that their destiny is secure in the hands of 'that Son of Man.' Their representative lives in heaven, and their dwelling places are prepared. What they must do is believe and trust. The authority of Enoch and of his visions provides a basis for belief. The Similitudes do not appear to envisage any acute historical crisis. They can apply to any situation where the righteous feel oppressed by the kings and the mighty. In the first century CE, they could apply to any Jews who resented the rule of the pagan Romans or the impious Herods. The Similitudes offered to the powerless the assurance of a special destiny guaranteed by a heavenly patron. The heavenly world would furnish the respect and dignity denied them in the present. We may suspect that the matrix of the Similitudes was somewhat more specific than this. The quasi-technical terminology of 'righteous' and 'chosen' suggests that 'the community of the righteous' (38:1) was an actual community and not just a general reference to righteous people. The terminology of 'righteous' and 'chosen' is drawn from the earlier Enoch books. Jonas Greenfield and Michael Stone have noted some terminological resemblances to the Qumran scrolls — for example, 'spirits' for angels and the term 'lot' (1 Enoch 48:2) ... See further P. Sacchi, Jewish Apocalyptic and Its History 116, who points to the Essene overtones of 1 Enoch 41:8, which says that the Lord 'has created (a division) between light and darkness and has divided the spirits of men.' ... In view of the absence of the Similitudes from Qumran, we may safely conclude that they were not composed there. In view of the popularity of the other sections of 1 Enoch at Qumran, and of the near equality of sun and moon in chapter, we should hesitate to ascribe them to the group that composed the earlier Enoch writings ..."
John J. Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic Literature (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1998), 191.

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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Genesis 1:4 and 1 Enoch 41:8

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