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Isaiah

About this book
Chapter 6

1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord seated on a high, elevated throne.⁠ The hem of his robe filled the temple.⁠ 2 Seraphs stood over him;⁠ each one had six wings.⁠ With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly.⁠ 3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy⁠ is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!⁠ His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!”⁠ 4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames, and the temple was filled with smoke.⁠ 5 I said, “Woe to me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” 6 But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.” 8 I heard the voice of the Lord say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?”⁠ I answered, “Here I am, send me!” 9 He said, “Go and tell these people:⁠ “‘Listen continually, but don’t understand. Look continually, but don’t perceive.’⁠ 10 Make the hearts of these people calloused; make their ears deaf and their eyes blind.⁠ Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.”⁠ 11 I replied, “How long, Lord?” He said, “Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated, and houses are uninhabited, and the land is ruined and devastated, 12 and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place, and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned. 13 Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.”⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 6:2 and 1 Enoch 61:2

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

Isaiah describes six winged seraphs surrounding God’s throne, emphasizing reverence and courtly service. 1 Enoch adapts this imagery for angels around the throne, despite wings being uncommon in apocalyptic traditions.

Passages

Isaiah 6:2

Hebrew Bible
1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly. 3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!” 4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames, and the temple was filled with smoke.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

1 Enoch 61:2

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 And I saw in those days how long cords were given to those angels, and they took to themselves wings and flew, heading north. 2 I asked the angel, 'Why have those angels taken these cords and departed?' And he replied, 'They have gone to measure.' 3 The angel who accompanied me said, 'These shall bring the measures of the righteous, and the ropes of the righteous to the righteous, so that they may rely on the name of the Lord of Spirits forever and ever.' 4 The chosen will begin to dwell with the chosen, and these are the measures which shall be given to faith and which shall strengthen righteousness.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

References

"... From the third century B.C.E., there was a definite increase in angelic appearances. Angels' attributes are outlined more extensively and their functions diverge more often. Some scholars have attributed this development of angelology largely to the prominence of the apocalyptic literatures. Yet, this was also a time of a proliferation and integration of new ideas and of an assimilation of pagan aspects caused by Hellenistic influences. In Jewish apocalyptic writings and early Christian literatures, the angelic messenger of the Lord is commonplace. Angels frequently resemble humans (Daniel 8:15; 10:18) and sometimes have a brilliant appearance (Daniel 10:5-6). 1 Enoch refers to an eschatological community of humans transformed into angels (1 Enoch 39:4-5; 71: 11; 104:6; compare 4 Ezra 7:85, 95). Though angels can soar into the air, they are rarely represented with wings (1 Enoch 61:1). Elsewhere in 1 Enoch, angels are said to be witnesses to events on earth. They also write down the deeds of men in heavenly books (1 Enoch 89:62-64). In the Hebrew Bible, only the names of the angels Gabriel and Michael are mentioned (Daniel 8:16; 9:21; 10:13, 21; 12:1). The Enochic corpus and Jubilees contain numerous names of angels (compare 1 Enoch 6:7,8; 9:l; 10:11; 20:1-7; 40:8-10). Some categories of angels are connected with the heavenly court. A number of these angels guard the throne of God. The notion of the angels representing the nations also appears (Jubilees 15:31-32; 1 Enoch 89:59; 90:22, 25; Daniel 10:20-21; 12:1). In the late Second Temple Period, angels appear as self-evident beings ..."
Terry William Dingman, “The Influence of the Angelology of 1 Enoch on Judaism in the Second Temple Period” (diss., University of South Africa, 2002), 74–75.

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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Isaiah 6:2 and 1 Enoch 61:2

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