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1 Enoch

About this book
Chapter 48

1 In that place, I saw the fountain of righteousness which was inexhaustible; around it were many fountains of wisdom. All the thirsty drank from them, were filled with wisdom, and their dwellings were with the righteous, holy, and elect.⁠ 2 At that time, the Son of Man was named in the presence of the Lord of Spirits, and his name was acknowledged before the Head of Days. 3 Yes, before the sun and the signs were created, before the stars of heaven were made, his name was known before the Lord of Spirits. 4 He will be a staff for the righteous to lean on and not fall, and he will be the light of the Gentiles, and the hope for those who are troubled of heart.⁠ 5 All who dwell on earth shall bow and worship before him, and will praise, bless, and sing to celebrate the Lord of Spirits.⁠ 6 For this reason, he has been chosen and hidden before Him, before the creation of the world⁠ and forever.⁠ 7 The wisdom of the Lord of Spirits has revealed him to the holy and righteous; for he has preserved all of the righteous because they have hated and despised this world of unrighteousness,⁠ and have hated all its works and ways in the name of the Lord of Spirits:⁠ for in his name they are saved, and it has been according to his good pleasure in regard to their life.⁠ 8 In these days, the kings of the earth who own the land will look downcast because of the works of their hands; for on the day of their trouble and affliction, they will not be able to save themselves.⁠ 9 And I will hand them over to the hands of my elect: as straw in the fire, they shall burn before the face of the holy; as lead in the water, they shall sink before the face of the righteous,⁠ and no trace of them shall be found anymore.⁠ 10 On the day of their affliction, there shall be peace on the earth. They shall fall before them and not rise again; and there shall be no one to help them up, for they have denied the Lord of Spirits and His Anointed.⁠ Blessed be the name of the Lord of Spirits.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 48:9 and Matthew 18:6

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

Matthew 18 and 1 Enoch 48 use the language of drowning as judgment, a fear-inducing image common in Jewish and Greco-Roman traditions. In each, those judged are thrown into water with no escape, evoking a shameful and fearful death.

Passages

1 Enoch 48:9

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
9 And I will hand them over to the hands of my elect: as straw in the fire, they shall burn before the face of the holy; as lead in the water, they shall sink before the face of the righteous, and no trace of them shall be found anymore. 10 On the day of their affliction, there shall be peace on the earth. They shall fall before them and not rise again; and there shall be no one to help them up, for they have denied the Lord of Spirits and His Anointed. Blessed be the name of the Lord of Spirits.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Matthew 18:6

New Testament
4 Whoever then humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me. 6 “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea. 7 Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come.
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

References

"... Both Greeks and Jews used “stumble” figuratively; for Jews, it often meant “sin” or “fall away from the faith.” Millstones were used to grind meal. They were extremely heavy, and the term here refers to the heavier kind of millstone turned by a donkey, rather than the lighter kind a woman would use. One of the most horrible punishments executed by Romans (abhorred by Jews) was to tie a person in a sack and throw them into a large body of water. Death at sea was considered terrible; some pagans believed that the ghost of the unburied would hover forever over the spot where the person had drowned. Others could apply this image to judgment (compare 1 Enoch 48:9). Jewish teachers sometimes warned of judgments with, “Better for a person who . . . than if ... ” (compare also Matthew 26:24) ..."
Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2014), 90.

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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1 Enoch 48:9 and Matthew 18:6

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