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1 Enoch

About this book

Enoch Instructs His Children

Chapter 91

1 'And now, my son Methuselah, call to me all your brothers and gather all the sons of your mother; for the word calls me, and the spirit is poured out upon me, so that I may show you everything that will happen to you forever.' 2 And then Methuselah went and summoned all his brothers and assembled his relatives. 3 And he spoke to all the children of righteousness and said: 'Listen, sons of Enoch, to all the words of your father, and pay close attention to the sound of my voice; for I urge you and say to you, beloved: Love integrity and walk in its ways. 4 And do not approach integrity with a double heart, and do not associate with those who have a double heart, but walk in righteousness, my sons.⁠ It will guide you on good paths, and righteousness will be your companion. 5 For I know that violence must increase on the earth, and a great punishment will be executed on the earth, and all wickedness will come to an end: yes, it will be completely eradicated from its roots, and its entire structure will be destroyed. 6 And wickedness will again be complete on the earth, and all acts of wickedness, violence, and transgression will prevail to a greater degree. 7 And when sin, wickedness, blasphemy, and violence in all kinds of deeds increase, and apostasy, transgression, and impurity increase, a great punishment will come from heaven upon all these, and the holy Lord will come forth with anger and punishment to execute judgment on earth. 8 In those days, violence will be eradicated from its roots, and the roots of wickedness along with deceit, and they will be destroyed from under heaven. 9 And all the idols of the nations will be abandoned, and the temples burned with fire, and they will be removed from the whole earth, and they (i.e., the nations) will be cast into the judgment of fire, and will perish in anger and in severe judgment forever. 10 And the righteous will awaken from their sleep, and wisdom will arise and be given to them. 11 And after that, the roots of wickedness will be cut off, and sinners will be destroyed by the sword . . . will be cut off from the blasphemers in every place, and those who plan violence and those who commit blasphemy will perish by the sword. 12 And after that, there will be another, the eighth week, that of righteousness,⁠ and a sword will be given to it that a righteous judgment may be executed on the oppressors, and sinners will be delivered into the hands of the righteous. 13 And at its end, they will acquire houses through their righteousness, and a house will be built for the Great King in glory forevermore. 14 And after that, in the ninth week, the righteous judgment will be revealed to the whole world, and all the works of the godless will vanish from all the earth, and the world will be written down for destruction, and all mankind will look to the path of uprightness. 15 And after this, in the tenth week in the seventh part,⁠ there will be the great eternal judgment, in which He will execute vengeance among the angels. 16 And the first heaven will depart and pass away, and a new heaven will appear, and all the powers of the heavens will give sevenfold light.⁠ 17 And after that there will be many weeks without number forever, and all will be in goodness and righteousness, and sin will no longer be mentioned forever. 18 And now I tell you, my sons, and show you the paths of righteousness and the paths of violence.⁠ Yes, I will show them to you again so that you may know what will happen.⁠ 19 And now, listen to me, my sons, and walk in the paths of righteousness, and do not walk in the paths of violence; for all who walk in the paths of unrighteousness shall perish forever.'

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 91:15 and 11Q13 2:7

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Interpretation

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Summary

1 Enoch places the judgment of angels in the tenth week of history. In 11Q13 from the Dead Sea Scrolls, a similar ten-part scheme becomes ten jubilees, combining Enoch’s pattern with Daniel’s timetable for atonement.

Passages

1 Enoch 91:15

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
12 And after that, there will be another, the eighth week, that of righteousness, and a sword will be given to it that a righteous judgment may be executed on the oppressors, and sinners will be delivered into the hands of the righteous. 13 And at its end, they will acquire houses through their righteousness, and a house will be built for the Great King in glory forevermore. 14 And after that, in the ninth week, the righteous judgment will be revealed to the whole world, and all the works of the godless will vanish from all the earth, and the world will be written down for destruction, and all mankind will look to the path of uprightness. 15 And after this, in the tenth week in the seventh part, there will be the great eternal judgment, in which He will execute vengeance among the angels. 16 And the first heaven will depart and pass away, and a new heaven will appear, and all the powers of the heavens will give sevenfold light. 17 And after that there will be many weeks without number forever, and all will be in goodness and righteousness, and sin will no longer be mentioned forever.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

11Q13 2:7

Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Interpretation · The Heavenly Prince Melchizedek
6 will bring them back to them. He will proclaim liberty to them, to release them from [the burden of] all their iniquities. And [thus] this thing will happen 7 in the first week of the jubilee that follows the nine jubilees. The Day of Atonement is the end of the tenth jubilee, 8 to atone on it for all the sons of [light] and the men of the lot of Melchizedek. […] … upon them … according to all their deeds, for 9 this is the time of the year of favor for Melchizedek and for his armies, the people of the holy ones of God, for a reign of judgment, as it is written 10 about him in the songs of David, who said, “God stands in the assembly [of El]; in the midst of the gods he judges.” And about him he said, “And above it 11 return to the heights; God will judge the peoples.” As for what he said, [“How long] will you judge unjustly and show favor to the wicked? Selah,” 12 its interpretation concerns Belial and the spirits of his lot, who […] … in their turning away from the statutes of God [to act wickedly]. 13 But Melchizedek will carry out the vengeance of the judgments of God, [and on that day he will] deliver them [from the hand of] Belial and from the hand of all the spirits [of his lot].
100–50 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 11Q13

References

“... The chronological scheme adopted in 11QMelchizedek shares fea- tures with both Daniel 9 and the Enochic Apocalypse of Weeks. As in the lat- ter, history is divided into ten periods, which in 11QMelchizedek are termed “jubilees.” Although in the Apocalypse of Weeks the eschatological age dawns during the eighth “week,” this Qumran text introduces the final period of redemption and judgment during the tenth jubilee (11Q13 2.6–9). If one “jubilee” represents 49 years, then the ten jubilees add up to 490 years, the same duration found in Daniel 9. That the author of the document was aware of and drew upon Daniel 9 directly is likely from the explicit mention of the chapter later on column 2 (2.18; see under sec. D, above). The chronological use of Daniel, however, is creative and is best explained as a combination of the length of time in Daniel 9 with the tenfold structure found in the Apocalypse of Weeks. ...”
Loren T. Stuckenbruck, “The Formation and Re-Formation of Daniel in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” in The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. James H. Charlesworth (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2006), 1:126.

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 91:15 and 11Q13 2:7

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