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1 Enoch

About this book
Chapter 84

1 And I raised my hands in righteousness and blessed the Holy and Great One,⁠ and spoke with the breath of my mouth and with the tongue of flesh, which God has created for the children of men, that they should speak with it, and He gave them breath and a tongue and a mouth to speak with: 2 'Blessed are You, Lord, King, Great and mighty in Your greatness, Lord of the entire creation of heaven, King of kings, and God of the entire world.⁠ And Your power and kingship and greatness endure forever and ever, And through all generations Your dominion; And all the heavens are Your throne forever, And the whole earth Your footstool forever and ever. 3 For You have created and You rule all things, And nothing is too difficult for You,⁠ Wisdom does not depart from the place of Your throne, Nor turns away from Your presence. And You know and see and hear everything, And there is nothing hidden from You, for You see everything. 4 And now the angels of Your heavens are guilty of trespass, And upon the flesh of men rests Your anger until the great day of judgment. 5 And now, God and Lord and Great King, I implore and beg You to answer my prayer, To leave me a lineage on earth, And not destroy all the flesh of man, And make the earth uninhabited, So there would be an eternal desolation. 6 And now, my Lord, remove from the earth the flesh that has aroused Your anger, but let the flesh of righteousness and integrity be established as a plant of the eternal seed, And do not hide Your face from the prayer of Your servant, Lord.'

Texts in conversation

Compare Jeremiah 32:17 and 1 Enoch 84:3

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

1 Enoch 84 describes a prayer likely based on a prayer in Jeremiah 32, with 1 Enoch using this language to not only describe God's unmatched creative power, but to also connect to the literary and prayer traditions of the Hebrew Bible.

Passages

Jeremiah 32:17

Hebrew Bible
15 For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’ 16 “After I had given the copies of the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, 17 ‘Oh, Sovereign Lord, you did indeed make heaven and earth by your mighty power and great strength. Nothing is too hard for you! 18 You show unfailing love to thousands. But you also punish children for the sins of their parents. You are the great and powerful God whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jeremiah

1 Enoch 84:3

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
2 'Blessed are You, Lord, King, Great and mighty in Your greatness, Lord of the entire creation of heaven, King of kings, and God of the entire world. And Your power and kingship and greatness endure forever and ever, And through all generations Your dominion; And all the heavens are Your throne forever, And the whole earth Your footstool forever and ever. 3 For You have created and You rule all things, And nothing is too difficult for You, Wisdom does not depart from the place of Your throne, Nor turns away from Your presence. And You know and see and hear everything, And there is nothing hidden from You, for You see everything. 4 And now the angels of Your heavens are guilty of trespass, And upon the flesh of men rests Your anger until the great day of judgment.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

References

"... In line a Enoch appeals to God’s creative activity and continuing reign in the same order as 9:5a, and adds a complementary line on God’s omnipotence. The wording closely parallels Jeremiah 32:17, as well as Genesis 18:14 (compare Luke 1:37). Favoring some connection with the former is that text’s form as a prayer and its juxtaposition of creation and judgment on sin (32:16–19; compare 1 Enoch 84:4) ..."
George W. E. Nickelsburg, A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001), 352–353.

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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Jeremiah 32:17 and 1 Enoch 84:3

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