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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 Isaiah 6:2 and 1 Enoch 61:2

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

Isaiah describes six winged seraphs surrounding God’s throne, emphasizing reverence and courtly service. 1 Enoch adapts this imagery for angels around the throne, despite wings being uncommon in apocalyptic traditions.

Passages

Isaiah 6:2

Hebrew Bible
1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly. 3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!” 4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames, and the temple was filled with smoke.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

1 Enoch 61:2

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

References

"... From the third century B.C.E., there was a definite increase in angelic appearances. Angels' attributes are outlined more extensively and their functions diverge more often. Some scholars have attributed this development of angelology largely to the prominence of the apocalyptic literatures. Yet, this was also a time of a proliferation and integration of new ideas and of an assimilation of pagan aspects caused by Hellenistic influences. In Jewish apocalyptic writings and early Christian literatures, the angelic messenger of the Lord is commonplace. Angels frequently resemble humans (Daniel 8:15; 10:18) and sometimes have a brilliant appearance (Daniel 10:5-6). 1 Enoch refers to an eschatological community of humans transformed into angels (1 Enoch 39:4-5; 71: 11; 104:6; compare 4 Ezra 7:85, 95). Though angels can soar into the air, they are rarely represented with wings (1 Enoch 61:1). Elsewhere in 1 Enoch, angels are said to be witnesses to events on earth. They also write down the deeds of men in heavenly books (1 Enoch 89:62-64). In the Hebrew Bible, only the names of the angels Gabriel and Michael are mentioned (Daniel 8:16; 9:21; 10:13, 21; 12:1). The Enochic corpus and Jubilees contain numerous names of angels (compare 1 Enoch 6:7,8; 9:l; 10:11; 20:1-7; 40:8-10). Some categories of angels are connected with the heavenly court. A number of these angels guard the throne of God. The notion of the angels representing the nations also appears (Jubilees 15:31-32; 1 Enoch 89:59; 90:22, 25; Daniel 10:20-21; 12:1). In the late Second Temple Period, angels appear as self-evident beings ..."
Terry William Dingman, “The Influence of the Angelology of 1 Enoch on Judaism in the Second Temple Period” (diss., University of South Africa, 2002), 74–75.

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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Isaiah 6:2 and 1 Enoch 61:2

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