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Matthew

About this book
Chapter 4

1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.⁠ 2 After he fasted 40 days and 40 nights he was famished.⁠ 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.”⁠ 4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”⁠ 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the highest point of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’⁠ and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “Once again it is written: ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur.⁠ 9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you throw yourself to the ground and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and began ministering to his needs. 12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been imprisoned, he went into Galilee. 13 While in Galilee, he moved from Nazareth to make his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled: 15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way by the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—⁠ 16 the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,⁠ and on those who sit in the region and shadow of death a light has dawned.” 17 From that time Jesus began to preach this message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near!” 18 As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen). 19 He said to them, “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people!” 20 They left their nets immediately and followed him. 21 Going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John, in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Then he called them. 22 They immediately left the boat and their father and followed him. 23 Jesus went throughout all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and sickness among the people. 24 So a report about him spread throughout Syria. People brought to him all who suffered with various illnesses and afflictions, those who had seizures, paralytics, and those possessed by demons, and he healed them. 25 And large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan River.

Texts in conversation

Compare Matthew 4:8 and 3 Enoch 45:6

New Testament · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

In Matthew, Satan takes Jesus to a high place and shows him all the kingdoms of the world as a temptation. In 3 Enoch, Ishmael is given a similar, elevated view of the world, when he is shown all of human history written in the heavenly temple.

Passages

Matthew 4:8

New Testament
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the highest point of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “Once again it is written: ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur. 9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you throw yourself to the ground and worship me.”
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

3 Enoch 45:6

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Hebrew Book of Enoch
6 And all the rest of all the leaders of the generations and all the works of the generations both in Israel and in the nations of the world, both what is done and what will be done hereafter to all generations until the end of time, (all) were graven on the Curtain of MAQOM. And I saw all these things with my eyes; and after I had seen it, I opened my mouth in praise of MAQOM (the Divine Majesty) (saying thus, Eccl. viii. 4, 5): "For the King's word has power (and who may say to him: What are you doing?) Whoever keeps the commandments shall know no evil thing". And I said: (Ps. civ. 24) "O Lord, how manifold are your works!"
400–600 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 3 Enoch

References

“... Some early Christian traditions also appear to be cognizant of the Pargod’s imagery. Thus, scholars previously noted that in the temptation story found in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is depicted as a recipient of a peculiar disclosure on the cultic mountain when his eschatological oppo- nent shows him the vision of all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. Here in Satan’s ability to show Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, one might have a possible reference to a revelatory medium similar to the celestial curtain Pargod, the sacred veil of the divine Face, which in 3 Enoch 45 is described as an entity that “displays” all generations and all kingdoms simultaneously in the same time. ...”
Andrei A. Orlov, Heavenly Priesthood in the Apocalypse of Abraham (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013), 170.

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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Matthew 4:8 and 3 Enoch 45:6

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