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1 Enoch

About this book
Chapter 5

1 Observe how the trees clothe themselves in green leaves and produce fruit: therefore, pay attention and understand all His creations, and realize how the Eternal One has made them so.⁠ 2 And all His works continue year after year forever, and all the tasks they perform for Him, and their tasks do not change, but happen just as God has decreed. 3 And see how the sea and the rivers also fulfill their tasks unchangingly according to His commands.⁠ 4 But you have not remained faithful, nor have you obeyed the Lord's commandments. Instead, you have turned away and spoken arrogantly and harshly with your impure mouths against His greatness. Oh, you stubborn-hearted, you will find no peace.⁠ 5 Therefore, you will curse your own days, and the years of your life will vanish, and the years of your doom will increase in eternal condemnation, and you will find no mercy. 6 In those days, your names will become a curse forever to all the righteous, and all who curse will use your name, and all the sinners and the godless will swear by your name.⁠ And all the righteous will rejoice, and there will be forgiveness of sins, and every kind of mercy and peace and tolerance: There will be salvation for them, a splendid light. And for you sinners, there will be no salvation, but a curse will remain on you all. 7 And for you, the godless, there will be a curse. But for the chosen, there will be light, joy, and peace, and they shall inherit the earth.⁠ 8 And then wisdom will be granted to the chosen, and they will all live and never sin again, neither through ungodliness nor through pride; but those who are wise will be humble.⁠ 9 And they will not transgress again, nor will they sin all the days of their life, nor will they die of divine anger or fury, but they will complete the number of their days. And their lives will be lengthened in peace, and the years of their joy will be multiplied, in eternal happiness and peace, all the days of their life.

Texts in conversation

Compare Numbers 6:25 and 1 Enoch 5:7

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

1 Enoch draws on the priestly blessing from Numbers, echoing its language of God’s shining face and the gift of peace. 1 Enoch uses this to position itself in continuity with and the same authority as the Torah.

Passages

Numbers 6:25

Hebrew Bible
23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the way you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 24 “‘“The Lord bless you and protect you; 25 The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”’” 27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Numbers

1 Enoch 5:7

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
6 In those days, your names will become a curse forever to all the righteous, and all who curse will use your name, and all the sinners and the godless will swear by your name. And all the righteous will rejoice, and there will be forgiveness of sins, and every kind of mercy and peace and tolerance: There will be salvation for them, a splendid light. And for you sinners, there will be no salvation, but a curse will remain on you all. 7 And for you, the godless, there will be a curse. But for the chosen, there will be light, joy, and peace, and they shall inherit the earth. 8 And then wisdom will be granted to the chosen, and they will all live and never sin again, neither through ungodliness nor through pride; but those who are wise will be humble.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

References

"... There is no doubt that the last phrase of the Priestly Blessing, 'and give you peace' delivers the keyword to lines 9d and 9e. But when our author develops the contents of this peace, he takes his motifs from other Old Testament texts, and not the least, once again, from texts dealing with the covenant-making ..."
Lars Hartman, Asking for a Meaning: A Study of 1 Enoch 1-5 (Lund: LiberLäromedel/Gleerup, 1979), 37.

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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Numbers 6:25 and 1 Enoch 5:7

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