1 Enoch

About this book

Chapter 80

1 In those days, the angel Uriel said to me, 'Look, Enoch, I have shown you everything, and I have revealed to you that you should see this sun, this moon, and the leaders of the stars of heaven and all those who guide their paths, their duties, timings, and departures.⁠ 2 In the days of the sinners, the years will be shortened,⁠ and their seed will be delayed on their lands and fields. All things on the earth will change and will not appear at their proper times; the rain will be withheld, and the heavens will keep it back. 3 During these times, the fruits of the earth will be late, and will not grow at their proper times, and the fruits of the trees will be delayed in their time. 4 The moon will change her course and not appear at her scheduled times. 5 In those days, the sun will be seen, and it will travel in the evening on the extremity of the great chariot in the west and will shine more brightly than is typical for the order of light. 6 Many leaders of the stars will deviate from their established order. They will change their orbits and duties and not appear at their designated seasons.⁠ 7 The entire order of the stars will be hidden from the sinners, and the thoughts of those on the earth will be mistaken about them, leading them to go astray and even regard them as gods. 8 Evil will be multiplied upon them, and punishment will come upon them to destroy all.'

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 80:2 and Barnabas 4:3

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Early Christian

Summary

The Epistle of Barnabas appears to quote 1 Enoch 80 in describing a time when natural and cosmic rhythms break down as sin increases. Both texts refer to shortened years and disruptions in the movements of heavenly bodies.

Passages

1 Enoch 80:2

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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

Barnabas 4:3

Early Christian · Epistle of Barnabas

2 Let us allow no relaxation for our soul, giving it freedom to associate with sinners and wicked men, lest we become like them. 3 The final offense is near, about which Scripture speaks, as Enoch says. For this reason the Master has shortened the seasons and the days, so that His beloved may come quickly and inherit. 4 And the prophet also speaks in this way: ‘Ten reigns will rule on the earth, and after them another king will arise, who will humble three of the kings under one.’ 5 Likewise, Daniel speaks about the same: ‘And I saw the fourth beast was wicked and strong and more stubborn than all the beasts of the earth, and from it arose ten horns, and from these another small horn and growth, and it humbled under one three of the great horns.’

70–135 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Barnabas

References

"... H.J. Lawlor opined almost a century ago that Barnabas 4:3 was not even a 'free quotation' of anything in 1 Enoch, but his assessment is actually too harsh. As a matter of fact, there is one passage in 1 Enoch that does feature the motif of what we might term 'time-compression' - the acceleration of time as the eschaton draws near. J.T. Milik has pointed to 1 Enoch 80:2 as a possible correlate for Barnabas 4:3: 'But in the days of the sinners the years will become shorter, and their seed will be late on their land and on their fields, and all things on the earth will change, and will not appear at their proper time.' This proposed correlation with a passage of our present texts of Enoch is probably the best advanced of this type to date, but it is not without its problems ..."

John C. Reeves, An Enochic Citation in Barnabas 4.3 and the Oracles of Hystaspes (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1994), 261–277.

"... To judge from early Christian witnesses to the work, Enoch got off to a promising start. In the epistle of pseudo-Barnabas, for example, the work is cited using a formula usually reserved for sacred scripture: περὶ οὗ γέγραπται, ὡς Ἐνὼχ λέγει ("concerning which scripture says, as Enoch says"). What further boosted its standing was a quotation from the work, prefaced with the words “Enoch prophesied,” in the New Testament epistle of Jude 14 ..."

Pierluigi Piovanelli, “Greek,” in A Guide to Early Jewish Texts and Traditions in Christian Transmission, ed. Alexander Kulik, Gabriele Boccaccini, Lorenzo DiTommaso, David Hamidović, and Michael E. Stone (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019), 7–22.

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 80:2 and Barnabas 4:3

Summary

Passages

1 Enoch 80:2

Barnabas 4:3

References

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