1 Enoch

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Chapter 71

1 After that my spirit was taken up, and I ascended into the heavens. I saw the holy sons of God walking on flames of fire; their garments were white, and their faces shone like snow. 2 I saw two streams of fire, and the light from the fire was like hyacinth. Overwhelmed, I fell on my face before the Lord of Spirits.⁠ 3 The archangel Michael took me by my right hand, lifted me up, and led me through all the secrets, showing me all the secrets of righteousness. 4 He revealed to me all the secrets of the ends of heaven, and all the chambers of the stars and the lights, from where they come out before the holy ones. 5 My spirit was taken into the highest heaven, where I saw a structure built of crystals with tongues of living fire between them.⁠ 6 I saw the band of fire surrounding this fiery house, with streams of living fire on all four sides. 7 Around it were Seraphim, Cherubim, and Ophanim, who do not sleep and guard the throne of His glory. 8 There I saw countless angels, thousands of thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand, surrounding the house.⁠ Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Phanuel, and the holy angels from above the heavens went in and out of the house. 9 They came out of that house, and along with Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Phanuel came many holy angels beyond number. 10 With them was the Head of Days,⁠ whose head was white and pure as wool, and whose garments were beyond description. 11 Overcome, I fell on my face, my whole body went limp, and my spirit was transformed;⁠ I cried out with a loud voice, blessing, glorifying, and exalting Him. 12 These blessings from my mouth pleased the Head of Days.⁠ 13 The Head of Days came with Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Phanuel, accompanied by thousands and tens of thousands of angels beyond number. 14 One of the angels came to me and said, 'This is the Son of Man who was born for righteousness. Righteousness dwells with him, and the righteousness of the Head of Days never leaves him.' 15 He told me, 'He proclaims peace to you in the name of the world to come. Since the creation of the world, peace has come from here, and so it will be for you forever.' 16 'All will follow his path because righteousness never leaves him. They will dwell with him, and their inheritance will be with him, never to be separated from him forever.' 17 'So the Son of Man will have long days,⁠ and the righteous will have peace and walk in upright ways in the name of the Lord of Spirits forever.'

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 71:10 and Daniel 7:10

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Hebrew Bible

Summary

Daniel and 1 Enoch describe a heavenly courtroom with the divine council, using the titles “Ancient of Days” and “Head of Days” for the God who judges. Both incorporate judicial language based on ancient Near Eastern traditions.

Passages

1 Enoch 71:10

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

9 They came out of that house, and along with Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Phanuel came many holy angels beyond number. 10 With them was the Head of Days, whose head was white and pure as wool, and whose garments were beyond description. 11 Overcome, I fell on my face, my whole body went limp, and my spirit was transformed; I cried out with a loud voice, blessing, glorifying, and exalting Him. 12 These blessings from my mouth pleased the Head of Days.

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

Daniel 7:10

Hebrew Bible

8 “As I was contemplating the horns, another horn—a small one—came up between them, and three of the former horns were torn out by the roots to make room for it. This horn had eyes resembling human eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant things. 9 “While I was watching, thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His attire was white like snow; the hair of his head was like lamb’s wool. His throne was ablaze with fire, and its wheels were all aflame. 10 A river of fire was streaming forth and proceeding from his presence. Many thousands were ministering to him; many tens of thousands stood ready to serve him. The court convened, and the books were opened.

200–101 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Daniel

References

"... Another important feature of the Similitudes is that the second power in this text is explicitly linked to its earthly counterpart in the form of the seventh antediluvian patriarch, Enoch. This development manifests a new step in comparison with Daniel 7 where the Son of Man is not openly linked to his earthly correlative. This understanding of the second power as the heavenly counterpart of a human seer plays a significant role in many other early two powers theophanies, including the Exagoge, 2 Enoch, and the Ladder of Jacob. The heavenly counterpart tradition serves as the formative blueprint for early Christian developments, where the Son of Man figure becomes a designation for the heavenly identity of the Christian exemplar. The seeds of this understanding - that is, of the second power as a heavenly counterpart of an earthly seer - is already present in 1 Enoch 71:9–14, in which Enoch is identified as the second power in the form of the Son of Man ..."

Andrei Orlov, The Glory of the Invisible God: Two Powers in Heaven Traditions and Early Christology, Jewish and Christian Texts 31 (London: T&T Clark, 2019), 21.

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 1 Enoch 71:10 and Daniel 7:10

Summary

Passages

1 Enoch 71:10

Daniel 7:10

References

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