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1 Enoch

About this book
Chapter 63

1 In those days, the mighty and the kings who rule the earth will beg Him for a brief respite from His angels of punishment, to whom they were delivered, so they might kneel and worship before the Lord of Spirits, and confess their sins before Him. 2 They will praise and exalt the Lord of Spirits, saying: 'Blessed is the Lord of Spirits and the Lord of kings, the Lord of the mighty and the Lord of the wealthy, the Lord of glory⁠ and the Lord of wisdom, 3 and Your power is magnificent in every hidden aspect from generation to generation, and Your glory forever and ever: All Your secrets are deep and countless, and Your righteousness is beyond measure.' 4 We now understand that we should praise and bless the Lord of kings and Him who is king over all kings.' 5 They will say: 'If only we had the chance to praise and give thanks and confess our faith before His glory! 6 And now we long for a moment of rest but do not find it: we strive to achieve it but fail; and light has vanished from before us, and darkness is our dwelling place forever and ever.⁠ 7 For we did not believe before Him nor did we glorify the name of the Lord of Spirits,⁠ but our hope was in the scepter of our kingdom, and in our own glory. 8 And on the day of our suffering and tribulation, He does not save us, and we find no time to confess that our Lord is true in all His works, and in His judgments and His justice, and His judgments show no favoritism. 9 And we perish from before His face because of our deeds, and all our sins are accounted in righteousness.' 10 Now they shall say to themselves: 'Our souls are full of illegitimate gain, but it does not prevent us from descending into the depths of Sheol.'⁠ 11 After that, their faces shall be filled with darkness and shame before that Son of Man, and they shall be expelled from His presence, and the sword shall remain before His face among them.⁠ 12 The Lord of Spirits declares: 'This is the decree and judgment concerning the mighty and the kings and the exalted and those who possess the earth before the Lord of Spirits.'

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 63:3 and 1 Corinthians 2:10

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

1 Corinthians describes the Spirit searching the “deep things” of God and refers to the Lord of Glory, language that echoes 1 Enoch, where God is called the Lord of Glory and praised for the depth of his secrets.

Passages

1 Enoch 63:3

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 In those days, the mighty and the kings who rule the earth will beg Him for a brief respite from His angels of punishment, to whom they were delivered, so they might kneel and worship before the Lord of Spirits, and confess their sins before Him. 2 They will praise and exalt the Lord of Spirits, saying: 'Blessed is the Lord of Spirits and the Lord of kings, the Lord of the mighty and the Lord of the wealthy, the Lord of glory and the Lord of wisdom, 3 and Your power is magnificent in every hidden aspect from generation to generation, and Your glory forever and ever: All Your secrets are deep and countless, and Your righteousness is beyond measure.' 4 We now understand that we should praise and bless the Lord of kings and Him who is king over all kings.'
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

1 Corinthians 2:10

New Testament
8 None of the rulers of this age understood it. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But just as it is written, “Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those who love him.” 10 God has revealed these to us by the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knows the things of a man except the man’s spirit within him? So too, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
55–57 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Corinthians

References

"... In 1 Corinthians, Paul states that it is the rulers of this age who do not understand the mystery, for if they did, the rulers would not have crucified Jesus. Therefore, the 'rulers' played a part in history (the crucifixion of Jesus) that related to the mysterion ... In 1 Corinthians 2:8 'the Lord of Glory' is the title for Jesus, since the phrase 'the Lord of Glory' is connected with the word 'crucified'. Many scholars attribute the phrase 'the Lord of Glory' in 1 Corinthians to 1 Enoch. But there, unlike 1 Corinthians, the phrase 'the Lord of Glory' is a title given to God. In 63:2-3, there is a connection between 'the Lord of Glory' and mysterion (the same as Paul) ... Also, there is a connection between the mysterion and how it is 'deep.' In 1 Corinthians 2:10, the Spirit searches out the 'depth of God.' Even though the Spirit is the one who searches out the depth of God, what is important is the fact that (like 1 Enoch 63:2) Paul also maintains this idea that the mysteries of God are deep ..."
Christopher Gary Fraser, “The Jewish and Hellenistic Influences on Paul: A Case Study of ‘Mysterion’” (diss., University of Windsor, 1998), 119.

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 63:3 and 1 Corinthians 2:10

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