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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 4:10 and 1 Enoch 9:2

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

1 Enoch 9 echoes Genesis 4 by describing the cries of the victims of violence rising to heaven, language that recalls Abel’s blood crying out. This positions the narrative of 1 Enoch in continuity with the traditions from Genesis.

Passages

Genesis 4:10

Hebrew Bible
8 Cain spoke to his brother Abel.21 While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?” 10 But the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! 11 So now you are banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

1 Enoch 9:2

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

"... This phrase suffers from the same ambiguity noted above, despite the fact that it likely refers to the women (compare Genesis 6:5) ... and as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven. The language (compare earlier in 1 Enoch 7:6) is very close to Genesis 4:10, where God tells Cain, “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.” The similarity is not accidental given the above comments in regard to the conceptual links between Cain and the Watchers ..."
Michael S. Heiser, A Companion to the Book of Enoch: A Reader's Commentary (Crane, MO: Defender, 2019), 1:104.

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 4:10 and 1 Enoch 9:2

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