1 Enoch

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Chapter 54

1 And I looked and turned to another part of the earth, and saw there a deep valley with burning fire. 2 They brought the kings and the mighty, and began to throw them into this deep valley.⁠ 3 There, my eyes saw how they made these instruments, iron chains of immense weight. 4 I asked the angel of peace who was with me, 'For whom are these chains being prepared?'⁠ 5 He said to me, 'These are being prepared for the armies of Azâzêl, so they may take them and throw them into the abyss of complete condemnation,⁠ and they shall cover their jaws with rough stones as the Lord of Spirits commanded.' 6 Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Phanuel will seize them on that great day, and throw them into the burning furnace, that the Lord of Spirits may avenge their wickedness in submitting to Satan and leading astray those who dwell on the earth.'⁠ 7 'In those days, punishment will come from the Lord of Spirits, and he will open all the chambers of waters above the heavens, and the fountains beneath the earth. 8 And all the waters will merge: the water above the heavens is masculine, and the water beneath the earth is feminine.⁠ 9 They will destroy all who live on the earth and those who live at the ends of the heaven. 10 And when they acknowledge their wrongdoing that they committed on the earth, by these they will perish.'

Texts in conversation

Compare Leviticus 16:10 and 1 Enoch 54:5

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

Summary

1 Enoch presents Azazel as an angel punished for corrupting humanity, which is an expansion of the brief and unclear mention in Leviticus. 1 Enoch gives Azazel a defined role and turns him into a central part of its story about human corruption.

Passages

Leviticus 16:10

Hebrew Bible

8 and Aaron is to cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and one lot for Azazel. 9 Aaron must then present the goat which has been designated by lot for the Lord, and he is to make it a sin offering, 10 but the goat which has been designated by lot for Azazel is to be stood alive before the Lord to make atonement on it by sending it away into the desert to Azazel. 11 “Aaron is to present the sin-offering bull which is for himself, and he is to make atonement on behalf of himself and his household. He is to slaughter the sin-offering bull which is for himself, 12 and take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord and a full double handful of finely ground fragrant incense, and bring them inside the curtain.

750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Leviticus

1 Enoch 54:5

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

3 There, my eyes saw how they made these instruments, iron chains of immense weight. 4 I asked the angel of peace who was with me, 'For whom are these chains being prepared?' 5 He said to me, 'These are being prepared for the armies of Azâzêl, so they may take them and throw them into the abyss of complete condemnation, and they shall cover their jaws with rough stones as the Lord of Spirits commanded.' 6 Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Phanuel will seize them on that great day, and throw them into the burning furnace, that the Lord of Spirits may avenge their wickedness in submitting to Satan and leading astray those who dwell on the earth.' 7 'In those days, punishment will come from the Lord of Spirits, and he will open all the chambers of waters above the heavens, and the fountains beneath the earth.

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

References

"... although the appearance of Pan and his satyric retinue is identical to the Western devil, it is not easy to connect these figures to the demonic more than other pagan deities. Pan is referred to as “demon” by early Christian authors, but only as one of a group of pagan deities-“demons/daemons” (Clement of Alexandria, Protrepticus 1 and 4; Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelica 5.5.189d; 5.18.208a) ... At the same time, similar figures may be identifiable independently as early as the Hebrew Bible itself. The demon Azazel (Leviticus 16:10 and 26) had goat associations through one of the possible etymologies of the name, as well as through the ritual of scapegoats. Azazel/Asael appears as a principal evil spirit as far back as 1 Enoch (8:1; 9:6; 10:4–8; 13:1–2; 54:5; 55:4; 69:2), as well as in many later Jewish sources ..."

Alexander Kulik, “How the Devil Got His Hooves and Horns: The Origin of the Motif and the Implied Demonology of 3 Baruch,” Numen 60 (2013): 195–229.

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 Leviticus 16:10 and 1 Enoch 54:5

Summary

Passages

Leviticus 16:10

1 Enoch 54:5

References

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