1 Enoch

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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 1 Enoch 9:1 and Numbers Rabbah 2:10

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Rabbinic

Summary

Rabbinic tradition in Numbers Rabbah names four angels, Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel, who represent God, echoing 1 Enoch. The similarity shows how Rabbinic tradition adopted the angelic figures and roles developed in apocalyptic literature.

Passages

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

Numbers Rabbah 2:10

Rabbinic · Aggadah

“All those counted for the camp of Dan…they shall travel last by their banners (Numbers 2:31), as anyone who engages in idol worship goes backward and not forward. That is why it is stated: “The Lord founded the earth with wisdom, established the heavens with understanding”(Proverbs 3:19). Just as the Holy One blessed be He created four directions and four banners corresponding to them, so, too, He surrounded His throne with four angels: Mikhael, Gavriel, Uriel, and Refael. Mikhael was to His right, corresponding to Reuben. Why is his name called Mikhael? When Israel crossed the sea, Moses broke out in song: “Who is like You [mikhamokha]” (Exodus 15:11). When he concluded the Torah, he said: “Yeshurun, there is none like God [ein kael]” (Deuteronomy 33:26). Mi khamokha, ein kael, that is Mikhael.

1200 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Numbers Rabbah

References

"... A complement of four, and later seven, named archangels (here “holy ones”) appears first in 1 Enoch 9–10 and then becomes something of a staple in Jewish and Christian literature. Their existence and the number four were doubtless inferred from the four living creatures in the throne vision of Ezekiel 1–2, and they are implicit in Zechariah 1. The later literature makes an association with Ezekiel 1–2 explicit. In the action of 1 Enoch 9–10, however, the four are not placed at the throne. They go forth from heaven, view the world, approach the divine throne with their petition in behalf of humanity, and are then dispatched to the world to act in God’s behalf ... "A tradition that appears several times in rabbinic literature explicitly identifies Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael as the four “angels” surrounding God’s throne (Numbers Rabbah 2:10; Pesikta Rabbati 44; Pirqei de-Rabbi Eliezer 4). Here and in Apocalypse of Moses 40:1 Uriel replaces Sariel ..."

George W. E. Nickelsburg, A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001), 207.

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 9:1 and Numbers Rabbah 2:10

Summary

Passages

1 Enoch 9:1

Numbers Rabbah 2:10

References

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