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1 Enoch

About this book
Chapter 53

1 There, my eyes saw a deep valley with open mouths, where all who live on earth, sea, and islands⁠ will bring gifts, presents, and tributes,⁠ yet the valley will never fill. 2 They commit unlawful acts, and the sinners consume all they oppress unlawfully: yet, sinners will be destroyed from the presence of the Lord of Spirits, expelled from His earth, and they will be gone forever. 3 I saw all the angels of punishment waiting there, preparing all the instruments of Satan.⁠ 4 I asked the angel of peace who accompanied me, 'For whom are they preparing these instruments?' 5 He replied, 'They are preparing these for the kings and the powerful of this earth, so that they may be destroyed through them.' 6 Afterwards, the Righteous and Elect One will establish the house of his followers, and they will no longer be hindered in the name of the Lord of Spirits. 7 The mountains will not stand firm like the earth before his righteousness, but the hills will be like a fountain of water, and the righteous will rest from the oppression of sinners.'

Texts in conversation

Compare Joel 3:2 and 1 Enoch 53:1

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

1 Enoch 53 describes judgment in a deep valley near Jerusalem, echoing Joel where the nations are gathered in the Valley of Jehoshaphat for trial. Both locate judgment in a valley next to Jerusalem, linking geography with eschatological expectation.

Passages

Joel 3:2

Hebrew Bible
1 “For look! In those days and at that time I will return the exiles to Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Then I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment against them there concerning my people Israel who are my inheritance, whom they scattered among the nations. They partitioned my land, 3 and they cast lots for my people. They traded a boy for a prostitute; they sold a little girl for wine so they could drink. 4 Why are you doing these things to me, Tyre and Sidon? Are you trying to get even with me, land of Philistia? If you are, I will very quickly repay you for what you have done!
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Joel

1 Enoch 53:1

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 There, my eyes saw a deep valley with open mouths, where all who live on earth, sea, and islands will bring gifts, presents, and tributes, yet the valley will never fill. 2 They commit unlawful acts, and the sinners consume all they oppress unlawfully: yet, sinners will be destroyed from the presence of the Lord of Spirits, expelled from His earth, and they will be gone forever. 3 I saw all the angels of punishment waiting there, preparing all the instruments of Satan.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

References

"... The city outside of which the winepress was trodden is probably Jerusalem. The judgment of the nations in Joel 3:12-14 (which supplies the dual figures of harvest and vintage) takes place in the valley of Jehoshaphat, which tradition links with the Kidron valley lying between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. Zechariah 14:1-4 places the final battle on the outskirts of Jerusalem. 1 Enoch 53:1 speaks of judgment in a deep valley near the valley of Hinnom. Judgment “outside the city” must certainly be an allusion to the One who suffered for the sins of the human race “outside the city gate” (Hebrews 13:12; compare John 19:20). Those who refuse the first judgment must take part in the second ..."
Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1998), 212.

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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Joel 3:2 and 1 Enoch 53:1

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