1 Enoch

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Chapter 56

1 And I saw there the armies of the angels of punishment advancing, holding whips and chains of iron and bronze. 2 I asked the angel of peace accompanying me, 'Who are those holding the whips heading to?' 3 He replied, 'To their chosen and beloved ones, to cast them into the chasm of the abyss of the valley.' 4 Then that valley shall be filled with their chosen and beloved, and the days of their lives shall end, and the days of their deception will no longer be counted. 5 In those days, the angels shall return and rush to the east upon the Parthians and Medes: They shall stir up the kings, inciting a spirit of unrest among them,⁠ and rouse them from their thrones, so that they may leap out like lions from their dens, and like hungry wolves into their flocks. 6 They shall ascend and trample the land of His chosen ones, which shall become a threshing-floor and a highway under their feet.⁠ 7 But the city of my righteous shall obstruct their horses. They shall begin to fight among themselves, their own hands turning against each other, and a man will not recognize his brother, nor a son his father or his mother, until countless bodies fall by their own hands, and their destruction shall not be in vain. 8 In those days, Sheol shall open its jaws, and they will be swallowed up. Their end will come; Sheol shall consume the sinners in the sight of the chosen.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Zechariah 12:3 and 1 Enoch 56:7

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

Summary

Zechariah 12 presents a vision of Jerusalem as a heavy burden that injures the nations gathered against it, depicting the effects of a future siege. 1 Enoch 56 builds on this by adding specific details in its own apocalyptic vision.

Passages

Zechariah 12:3

Hebrew Bible

1 This is an oracle, the Lord’s message concerning Israel: The Lord—he who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth, who forms the human spirit within a person—says, 2 “I am about to make Jerusalem a cup that brings dizziness to all the surrounding nations; indeed, Judah will also be included when Jerusalem is besieged. 3 Moreover, on that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy burden for all the nations, and all who try to carry it will be seriously injured; yet all the peoples of the earth will be assembled against it. 4 On that day,” says the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with madness. I will pay close attention to the house of Judah, but will strike all the horses of the nations with blindness.

500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Zechariah

1 Enoch 56:7

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

5 In those days, the angels shall return and rush to the east upon the Parthians and Medes: They shall stir up the kings, inciting a spirit of unrest among them, and rouse them from their thrones, so that they may leap out like lions from their dens, and like hungry wolves into their flocks. 6 They shall ascend and trample the land of His chosen ones, which shall become a threshing-floor and a highway under their feet. 7 But the city of my righteous shall obstruct their horses. They shall begin to fight among themselves, their own hands turning against each other, and a man will not recognize his brother, nor a son his father or his mother, until countless bodies fall by their own hands, and their destruction shall not be in vain.

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

References

"... Although the names Gog and Magog are not used in 1 Enoch 56:5–8, the enemy in Ezekiel’s Gog-oracles is identified as “the Parthians and the Medes.” The indebtedness of this section to Ezekiel 38–39 is universally recognized. The section is possibly eschatological, looking forward to a future attack ... Gog and Magog are found in several places in the Targums. For Targum Ezekiel 38–39 Gog is Rome. Various Targums to Numbers 11:26 speak of Eldad’s and Medad’s prophecies about Gog and Magog and their defeat by the Messiah. Pseudo-Jonathan attributes the defeat to God’s own direct intervention. The Targums vary in their expectations of one or more Messiahs and on the relationship between him/them and Gog. Gog and Magog references are introduced in many different contexts (relating to Zechariah 12:10; Isaiah 10:32; 33:22; Esther 5:1; Song of Solomon 8:4), suggesting a wide interest and familiarity with Gog and Magog expectations in the formative years of the Targums ..."

Myrto Theocharous, Lexical Dependence and Intertextual Allusion in the Septuagint of the Twelve Prophets: Studies in Hosea, Amos and Micah (London: T&T Clark, 2012), 251–252.

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 Zechariah 12:3 and 1 Enoch 56:7

Summary

Passages

Zechariah 12:3

1 Enoch 56:7

References

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