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 9:10 and Revelation 6:9

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

Summary

Revelation 6 describes the souls of the martyrs crying out for justice beneath the heavenly altar, echoing the imagery in 1 Enoch 9 where the souls of the dead plead at heaven’s gates over the violence caused by the fallen Watchers.

Passages

1 Enoch 9:10

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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.'

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

Revelation 6:9

New Testament

7 Then when the Lamb opened the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” 8 So I looked and here came a pale green horse! The name of the one who rode it was Death, and Hades followed right behind. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill its population with the sword, famine, and disease, and by the wild animals of the earth. 9 Now when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Master, holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Each of them was given a long white robe, and they were told to rest for a little longer, until the full number was reached of both their fellow servants and their brothers who were going to be killed just as they had been.

92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

"... Early intimations of the theme of the sacrifice of righteous souls upon the Temple altar may be found in the New Testament book of Revelation (6: 9–10), where the slaughtered Lamb opens the fifth of seven seals on the heavenly scroll ... Written during the period immediately after the destruction of the Second Temple, this passage makes use of the apocalyptic motif of souls entering a plea and demanding justice, but it is concerned specifically with those individuals who have been ‘slaughtered for the word of God’; it is these that the Lamb finds under the altar ... Although the New Testament passage states that God will wait until enough martyrs have been slain, it does not suggest that these souls are being actively sacrificed on a heavenly altar, as portrayed in the ‘Tale of the Ten Martyrs’. Moreover, here it is not for the purposes of expiation or atonement for Israel that the souls entreat God; rather, as in the early apocalyptic texts, they seek justice and demand that their murder be avenged. (See 1 Enoch 9:10 and 22:12) ..."

Paul Mandel, “The Sacrifice of the Souls of the Righteous upon the Heavenly Altar: Transformations of Apocalyptic Traditions in Medieval Ashkenaz,” in Regional Identities and Cultures of Medieval Jews, ed. Talya Fishman Javier Castaño and Ephraim Kanarfogel (London: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2018), 49–72.

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 9:10 and Revelation 6:9

Summary

Passages

1 Enoch 9:10

Revelation 6:9

References

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