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 Isaiah 40:26 and 1 Enoch 43:1

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

Summary

Isaiah describes God calling every star by name like an army where not one goes missing. 1 Enoch reshapes that roll call so the named stars stand for the faithful on earth, turning praise of the Creator into a hidden count of God’s people.

Passages

Isaiah 40:26

Hebrew Bible

25 “To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?” says the Holy One. 26 Look up at the sky! Who created all these heavenly lights? He is the one who leads out their ranks; he calls them all by name. Because of his absolute power and awesome strength, not one of them is missing. 27 Why do you say, Jacob, Why do you say, Israel, “The Lord is not aware of what is happening to me; my God is not concerned with my vindication”?

740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

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

References

... 43:1-2 Like 41:5-6, 43:1 emphasizes the obedience of the heavenly bodies. 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) ...

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 Isaiah 40:26 and 1 Enoch 43:1

Summary

Passages

Isaiah 40:26

1 Enoch 43:1

References

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