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1 Enoch

About this book
Chapter 9

1 Then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven⁠ and saw much blood being shed on the earth, and all the lawlessness being committed on the earth.⁠ 2 They said to one another: 'The earth, left without inhabitants, cries out, and the voice of their crying reaches the gates of heaven.'⁠ 3 'And now to you, the holy ones of heaven, the souls of men plead, saying, "Present our case before the Most High."'⁠ 4 They said to the Lord of the ages:⁠ 'Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings,⁠ and God of the ages,⁠ the throne of Your glory stands through all generations,⁠ and Your name is holy and glorious and blessed through all ages!⁠ 5 You have created all things, and over all things You have power. All things are open and visible in Your sight, and You see everything, and nothing can hide from You.⁠ 6 You see what Azâzêl has done, who has taught all unrighteousness on the earth and revealed the eternal secrets that were kept in heaven,⁠ which men were eager to learn.⁠ 7 And Semjâzâ, to whom You gave the authority to rule over his companions. 8 They have gone to the daughters of men on the earth, have lain with the women, have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. 9 The women have borne giants, and as a result the whole earth has been filled with blood and unrighteousness. 10 And now the souls of those who have died are crying out and pleading at the gates of heaven, and their laments have risen up; they cannot stop because of the lawless acts committed on the earth.⁠ 11 You know all things before they happen, and You see these things and allow them, and You do not tell us what we should do about them.'⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 6:11 and 1 Enoch 9:1

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

1 Enoch 9 builds on Genesis 6 and its depiction of a pre-flood world full of violence, but expands it by introducing angels who observe everything. 1 Enoch follows a later Jewish tradition by including angels in the narrative.

Passages

Genesis 6:11

Hebrew Bible
10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth was ruined in the sight of God; the earth was filled with violence. 12 God saw the earth, and indeed it was ruined, for all living creatures on the earth were sinful. 13 So God said to Noah, “I have decided that all living creatures must die, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am about to destroy them and the earth. 14 Make for yourself an ark of cypress wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and out.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

1 Enoch 9:1

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 Then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed on the earth, and all the lawlessness being committed on the earth. 2 They said to one another: 'The earth, left without inhabitants, cries out, and the voice of their crying reaches the gates of heaven.' 3 'And now to you, the holy ones of heaven, the souls of men plead, saying, "Present our case before the Most High."'
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

References

"... In the introductory words to the Apocalypse, Enoch comforts the elect by telling them: “Let not your spirit be troubled because of the times; for the Great Holy One has appointed days for everything” (1 Enoch 92:1). These “times” are described in detail in the body of the Apocalypse. The parallelism between the Flood and the eschaton is evoked early in the text ... The phrase “the first end” assumes a second end later in the text. The words “deceit and violence” are significant here. “Violence” is the word used to signify the evil preceding the Flood in Genesis 6:11 and 6:13, 71 and in 1 Enoch 9:1. Both “deceit” and “violence” then reoccur in the seventh week, tying the weeks together ... The point seems clear enough: The chosen of these last days of perversity (1 Enoch 93:9) need not be alarmed - this has all happened before, as was foretold. In the same way, it was also foretold that this present evil will be judged even more decisively then in the days of Noah. In fact, the chosen will be part of that judgment ..."
Peter Berntsson, “The First and the Last: Eschatological Reversal in 1 Enoch and the Gospel of Luke” (diss., Uppsala University, 2016), 18–19.

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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Genesis 6:11 and 1 Enoch 9:1

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