1 Enoch

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Chapter 43

1 And I saw other lightnings and the stars of heaven, and I saw how He called them all by their names⁠ and they listened to Him.⁠ 2 And I saw how they are weighed in a righteous balance according to their proportions of light: I observed the width of their spaces and the day of their appearing, and how their movements produce lightning, and their movements according to the number of the angels, and how they maintain faith with each other. 3 And I asked the angel who accompanied me and showed me what was hidden: 'What are these?' 4 And he said to me: 'The Lord of Spirits has shown you their symbolic meaning: these are the names of the holy who dwell on the earth⁠ and believe in the name of the Lord of Spirits forever and ever.'

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 43:1 and Baruch 3:34

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Deuterocanon

Summary

1 Enoch 43 and Baruch both describe the stars answering God when he calls them by name and shining proudly like willing servants. 1 Enoch goes further, treating those responsive stars as the names of the faithful who live on earth.

Passages

1 Enoch 43:1

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

1 And I saw other lightnings and the stars of heaven, and I saw how He called them all by their names and they listened to Him. 2 And I saw how they are weighed in a righteous balance according to their proportions of light: I observed the width of their spaces and the day of their appearing, and how their movements produce lightning, and their movements according to the number of the angels, and how they maintain faith with each other.

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

Baruch 3:34

Deuterocanon

33 It is he who sends forth the light, and it goes. He called it, and it obeyed him with fear. 34 The stars shone in their watches, and were glad. When he called them, they said, “Here we are.” They shone with gladness to him who made them. 35 This is our God. No other can be compared to him.

200–50 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Baruch

References

... The author's interest in the stars in particular is evident from the similarity between verses 1bc, 2f and several interrelated biblical passages: He reckons the number of the stars, he gives (literally 'calls') to all of them their names. (Psalm 147:4) Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these; He who brings out their host by number, calling all of them by name. (Isaiah 40:26) He sends forth the light, and it goes; he called it, and it obeyed (literally 'listened to') him with fear. The stars shone in their watches and rejoiced; he called them, and they said 'Here we are'; they shone with gladness for him who made them. (Baruch 3:33-34) ...

George W. E. Nickelsburg, A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 37-82 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2012), 146.

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 43:1 and Baruch 3:34

Summary

Passages

1 Enoch 43:1

Baruch 3:34

References

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