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1 Enoch

About this book
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 1 Enoch 54:5 and Matthew 25:41

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

In Matthew 25, Jesus describes the unrighteous thrown into fire prepared for the devil and his angels, which parallels 1 Enoch 54 where Azazel and his followers are bound in chains and thrown into a fiery abyss prepared for them.

Passages

1 Enoch 54:5

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
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.'
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Matthew 25:41

New Testament
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. 43 I was a stranger and you did not receive me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

References

"... The influence of the Parables of Enoch on Matthew 25.31-46 is significant for this study, because it opens up the possibility that the Azazel traditions attested in the Parables have impacted the judgement scene as well. Having narrated the king’s dealings with the righteous ‘sheep’, Matthew writes, ‘Then he will say to those at his left hand, “Depart from me, cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels”’ (Matt 25.41). Walck draws attention to a parallel passage in 1 Enoch 54, where Enoch is shown a deep valley with burning fire, into which the kings and the mighty of the earth are thrown (1 Enoch 54.1-2). The patriarch asks his angelus interpres about the great iron chains (1 Enoch 54.3-4), and the angel responds, ‘These are being prepared for the host of Azazel, that they might take them and throw them into the abyss of complete judgement’ (1 Enoch 54.5). A chapter later, Azazel’s punishment is described in more detail: ‘Mighty kings who dwell on the earth, you will have to witness my Chosen One [= Son of Man], how he will sit on the throne of glory and judge Azazel, and all his associates and all his host in the name of the Lord of Spirits’ (1 Enoch 55.4). As Walck remarks, ‘The “Devil and all his angels” (Mt. 25.41) bears a striking resemblance to “Azazel and all his associates and all his host” (1 Enoch 55.4).’ ..."
Hans M. Moscicke, “The Final Judgement as Ritual Purgation of the Cosmos: The Influence of Scapegoat Traditions on Matt 25.31–46,” NTS 67.2 (2021): 241–259.

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1 Enoch 54:5 and Matthew 25:41

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