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1 Enoch

About this book
Chapter 61

1 And I saw in those days how long cords were given to those angels, and they took to themselves wings and flew,⁠ heading north.⁠ 2 I asked the angel, 'Why have those angels taken these cords and departed?' And he replied, 'They have gone to measure.'⁠ 3 The angel who accompanied me said, 'These shall bring the measures of the righteous, and the ropes of the righteous to the righteous, so that they may rely on the name of the Lord of Spirits forever and ever.' 4 The chosen will begin to dwell with the chosen, and these are the measures which shall be given to faith and which shall strengthen righteousness. 5 And these measures shall uncover all the secrets of the depths of the earth, and those who were destroyed in the wilderness, and those devoured by beasts, and those eaten by the fish of the sea,⁠ so that they may return⁠ and rely on the day of the Chosen One;⁠ for none shall be destroyed before the Lord of Spirits, nor can any be destroyed.⁠ 6 And all who dwell above in heaven received a command and power and one voice and one light like fire.⁠ 7 And with their first words, they blessed, extolled, and praised with wisdom, and they were wise in speech and in the spirit of life. 8 And the Lord of Spirits⁠ placed the Chosen One on the throne of glory, and he shall judge all the works of the holy above in heaven, and in the balance their deeds shall be weighed. 9 And when he lifts up his face to judge their secret ways according to the word of the Lord of Spirits, and their path according to the way of the righteous judgment of the Lord of Spirits, then they all shall speak and bless with one voice, and glorify, exalt, and sanctify the name of the Lord of Spirits. 10 And He will summon all the armies of the heavens, and all the holy ones above, and the army of God, the Cherubic, Seraphim, and Ophanim, and all the angels of power, and all the angels of principalities, and the Chosen One, and the other powers on the earth and over the water.⁠ 11 On that day, they shall raise one voice, and bless and glorify and exalt in the spirit of faith, wisdom, patience, mercy, judgment, peace, and goodness, and shall all say with one voice: 'Blessed is He, and may the name of the Lord of Spirits be blessed forever and ever.' 12 All who do not sleep above in heaven shall bless Him: all the holy ones in heaven shall bless Him, and all the chosen who dwell in the garden of life: and every spirit of light who is able to bless, glorify, exalt, and sanctify His blessed name, and all flesh shall immensely glorify and bless His name forever and ever. 13 For the mercy of the Lord of Spirits is great, and He is long-suffering, and all His works and all that He has created He has revealed to the righteous and chosen in the name of the Lord of Spirits.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 61:10 and Jubilees 2:2

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions

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Summary

1 Enoch 61 describes an angelic army, including Cherubim, Seraphim, and principalities, as part of heavenly judgment and worship. Jubilees follows a similar tradition where angelic hierarchies are connected to divine rule and cosmic influence.

Passages

1 Enoch 61:10

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
8 And the Lord of Spirits placed the Chosen One on the throne of glory, and he shall judge all the works of the holy above in heaven, and in the balance their deeds shall be weighed. 9 And when he lifts up his face to judge their secret ways according to the word of the Lord of Spirits, and their path according to the way of the righteous judgment of the Lord of Spirits, then they all shall speak and bless with one voice, and glorify, exalt, and sanctify the name of the Lord of Spirits. 10 And He will summon all the armies of the heavens, and all the holy ones above, and the army of God, the Cherubic, Seraphim, and Ophanim, and all the angels of power, and all the angels of principalities, and the Chosen One, and the other powers on the earth and over the water. 11 On that day, they shall raise one voice, and bless and glorify and exalt in the spirit of faith, wisdom, patience, mercy, judgment, peace, and goodness, and shall all say with one voice: 'Blessed is He, and may the name of the Lord of Spirits be blessed forever and ever.'
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Jubilees 2:2

Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
1 And the angel of the presence spoke to Moses according to the word of the Lord, saying: Write the complete history of the creation, how in six days the Lord God finished all His works and all that He created, and kept Sabbath on the seventh day and made it holy for all ages, and appointed it as a sign for all His works. 2 For on the first day He created the heavens which are above and the earth and the waters and all the spirits which serve before him — the angels of the presence, and the angels of sanctification, and the angels [of the spirit of fire and the angels] of the spirit of the winds, and the angels of the spirit of the clouds, and of darkness, and of snow and of hail and of hoar frost, and the angels of the voices and of the thunder and of the lightning, and the angels of the spirits of cold and of heat, and of winter and of spring and of autumn and of summer and of all the spirits of his creatures which are in the heavens and on the earth, (He created) the abysses and the darkness, evening and night, and the light, dawn and day, which He has prepared in the knowledge of his heart.
170–125 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jubilees

References

"... archē does not only refer to the beings that rule the spiritual realms, but also their rulership—their authority to exert changes in the spiritual realm that affect natural events. Christ has triumphed over all of it. The association of angelic beings with principalities or regions of rule echoes a notion in Jewish tradition reflected in Daniel 10:13 and 20, where angels are linked with national names (see also 1 Enoch 60:11-12; Jubilees 2:2). Indeed, it is crucial to appreciate a common theme in the Bible describing the evil influence of spiritual beings on various forms of political authority (e.g. 1 Chronicles 21:1; Zechariah 3:1). Yet, as we shall shortly find, Paul, like his New Testament counterparts, was reticent in his characterizations and does not systematize this doctrine ..."
Annang Asumang, Powers of Darkness: An Evaluation of Three Hermeneutical Approaches to the Evil Powers in Ephesians (Conspectus: The Journal of South Afrian Theological Seminary, Vol. 5, 2008), 1–19.

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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1 Enoch 61:10 and Jubilees 2:2

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