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2 Enoch

Secrets of Enoch

About this book
Chapter 29

1 Then it became evening, and then again morning, and it was the second day. Monday is the first day. And for all the heavenly troops I imaged the image and essence of fire, and my eye looked at the very hard, firm rock, and from the gleam of my eye the lightning received its wonderful nature, 2 which is both fire in water and water in fire, and one does not put out the other, nor does the one dry up the other, therefore the lightning is brighter than the sun, softer than water and firmer than hard rock. 3 And from the rock I cut off a great fire, and from the fire I created the orders of the ten troops of bodiless angels, and their weapons are fiery and their clothing a burning flame, and I commanded that each one should stand in his order. 4 And one out of the order of angels, having turned away with the order that was under him, conceived an impossible thought, to place his throne higher than the clouds above the earth, so that he might become equal in rank to my power. 5 And I threw him out from the height with his angels, and he was flying in the air continuously above the bottomless depths.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare 2 Enoch 29:5 and Luke 10:18

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

In Luke, Jesus uses apocalyptic language similar to 2 Enoch that describes the dramatic fall of a cosmic adversary and the giving of authority over hostile forces. Both may be based on prophetic traditions such as Isaiah.

Passages

2 Enoch 29:5

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Secrets of Enoch
4 And one out of the order of angels, having turned away with the order that was under him, conceived an impossible thought, to place his throne higher than the clouds above the earth, so that he might become equal in rank to my power. 5 And I threw him out from the height with his angels, and he was flying in the air continuously above the bottomless depths.
1–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Enoch

Luke 10:18

New Testament
16 “The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” 17 Then the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!” 18 So he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Look, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and on the full force of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names stand written in heaven.”
75–85 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Luke

References

"... Jesus assures his disciples that he has given them the 'authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy' (Luke 10:19). Jesus is alluding to Psalm 91:13 ("You will tread on the lion and the adder"), but as this passage was interpreted in pseudepigraphal (Testament of Levi 18:10-12; Testament of Simeon 6:6; Testament of Zebulon 9:8) and targumic tradition (Targum Psalms 91:5-6, 10, 13). The demonic interpretation of Psalm 91, attested at Qumran (compare 11Q11), also clarifies the function of Psalm 91:11-12 in the temptation narratives (Matthew 4:5-7; Luke 4:9-12). Moreover, Jesus' declaration that he 'watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning' (Luke 10:18) also coheres with pseudepigraphal (Testament of Solomon 20:16-17; 2 Enoch 29:5) and targumic (Targum Isaiah 14:12) tradition ..."
Craig A. Evans, Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies: A Guide to the Background Literature (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2005), 71.

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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2 Enoch 29:5 and Luke 10:18

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