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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 1 Enoch 9:3 and 3 Enoch 5:12

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

In 1 Enoch, angels ask God to stop the violence on earth. In 3 Enoch, the angels make a similar request, asking God to stop idolatry. God responds to their request by withdraws his presence from the earth.

Passages

1 Enoch 9:3

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
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.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

3 Enoch 5:12

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Hebrew Book of Enoch
12 Now you are on earth and the idols likewise. What have you to do with the inhabitants of the earth who worship idols?" 13 At once the Holy One, blessed be He, lifted up His Shekina from the earth, from their midst. 14 In that moment came the ministering angels, the troops of hosts and the armies of 'Araboth in thousand camps and ten thousand hosts: they fetched trumpets and took the horns in their hands and surrounded the Shekina with all kinds of songs. And He ascended to the high heavens, as it is written (Ps. xlvii. 5): "God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet".
400–600 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 3 Enoch

References

“... At the same time, it suggests another possible connection with 1 En- och, particularly chapters 6-11, an originally independent unit within BW that recounts the descent of the Watchers with no reference to En- och. After 1 Enoch 6-8 recounts the angelic descents from heaven and the resultant proliferation of sin and bloodshed on the earth, 1 Enoch 9 depicts the archangels Michael, Sariel, Raphael, and Gabriel petitioning God, in response to the outcries of the blood-gorged earth (7 : 6) and suffering human victims of violence (8:4; 9:2). As in 3 Enoch 5, the angelic petition is heeded by God, who responds by sending Sariel to warn Noah of the upcoming Flood (1 Enoch 10: 1-3; see also 10: 14-22) and by commissioning Raphael, Gabriel, and Michael to punish Asael, Semihazah, and the Giants respectively (10:4-13). Other portions of 1 Enoch will give Enoch the role of testifying against the fallen Watchers, in a manner that implies his elevation above the angels (see esp. 1 Enoch 12-16 [^W^]). However, in 1 Enoch 6-11, the situation is resolved through the petition of the archangels and God's positive response to their requests. Enoch himself remains wholly absent from the divine- archangelic process of judgement and punishment, as in 3 Enoch 5 (§§7-8). This raises the interesting possibility that 3 Enoch 5 (§§7-8) was specifically influenced by 1 Enoch 6-11. If so, this would not only explain its depiction of efficacious angelic complaint by the ministering angels, who seem to be identified with the archangels of 1 Enoch 9, but would also account for the strange absence of any reference to Enoch- Metatron within this unit. ...”
Annette Yoshiko Reed, “From Asael and Semihazah to Uzzah, Azzah, and Azael: 3 Enoch 5 (§§7–8) and Jewish Reception-History of 1 Enoch,” (2001): 127.

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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1 Enoch 9:3 and 3 Enoch 5:12

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