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 71:11 and 3 Enoch 15:1

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

Summary

In 1 Enoch, Enoch's spirit changes when he falls in God's presence. In 3 Enoch, his flesh and bones turn to fire, describing this change as a physical one as he enters God's service.

Passages

1 Enoch 71:11

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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.'

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

3 Enoch 15:1

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Hebrew Book of Enoch

1 R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the angel, the Prince of the Presence, the Glory of all heavens, said to me: As soon as the Holy One, blessed be He, took me in (His) service to attend the Throne of Glory and the Wheels (Galgallim) of the Merkaba and the needs of Shekina, at once my flesh was changed into flames, my sinews into flaming fire, my bones into coals of burning juniper, the light of my eye-lids into splendour of lightnings, my eye-balls into fire-brands, the hair of my head into hot flames, all my limbs into wings of burning fire and the whole of my body into glowing fire.

400–600 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 3 Enoch

References

“... There is undoubtedly a close relationship between the Similitudes and 3 Enoch 3–15, although the exact nature of the connection remains murky; perhaps it is a combination of literary and oral trans- mission of traditions in Hebrew or Aramaic. There are numerous parallels between the two works. We find a story or stories about precious metals and how they will not avail their users and those who make idols from them (1 Enoch 52; 65:6–8; 67:4–7 // 3 Enoch 5:7–14). One of the characters is a hostile angel whose name is sim- ilar in the the two traditions (1 Enoch 54:5; 55:4; 69:2: ʿAzazʾel or ʿAzaʾzel // 3 Enoch 4:6; 5:9: ʿAzzaʾel); Enoch ascends to heaven in a storm chariot (1 Enoch 52:1; 70:1–3; // 3 Enoch 6:1; 7:1); Enoch is transformed into an angel (1 Enoch 71:11–17 // 3 Enoch 9:1–5; 15:1–2); he is an exalted angel enthroned in heaven (1 Enoch 55:4; 61:8; 62:1–5; 69:29 // 3 Enoch 10:1–3 [cf. 16:1]); and he receives a reve- lation of cosmological secrets of creation (1 Enoch 69:16–26 // 3 Enoch 13:1–2).¹⁶ The details of the connection between the Similitudes and 3 Enoch remain to be worked out, but some more or less genetic relationship is indicated, and it is important to note that 3 Enoch is a descendant of the form of the Similitudes that included the exal- lation of Enoch in 1 Enoch 70–71. ...”

James R. Davila, “Of Methodology, Monotheism and Metatron: Introductory Reflections on Divine Mediators and the Origins of the Worship of Jesus,” in The Jewish Roots of Christological Monotheism: Papers from the St. Andrews Conference on the Historical Origins of the Worship of Jesus, ed. Carey C. Newman, James R. Davila, and Gladys S. Lewis, JSJSup 63 (Leiden: Brill, 1999), 12.

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 71:11 and 3 Enoch 15:1

Summary

Passages

1 Enoch 71:11

3 Enoch 15:1

References

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