The Coming King and the Ordered Heavens

Psalm 18

1 Lord, Your mercy is over the works of Your hands forever; Your goodness is over Israel with a rich gift. 2 Your eyes watch over them, so that none of them lacks anything; Your ears listen to the hopeful prayer of the poor. 3 Your judgments (are executed) upon the whole earth in mercy; And Your love (is) toward Abraham’s descendants, the children of Israel. 4 Your discipline is upon us as (upon) a firstborn son, an only child,⁠ to turn back the obedient soul from foolishness (that is committed) in ignorance.

5 May God cleanse Israel in preparation for the day of mercy and blessing, in preparation for the day of choice when He brings back His anointed.

6 Blessed shall be those who live in those days, because they shall see the goodness of the Lord which He shall carry out for the generation that is to come, 7 Under the rod of discipline of the Lord's anointed in the fear of his God, In the spirit of wisdom and righteousness and strength; 8 so that he may guide (every) man in the works of righteousness by the fear of God, so that he may strengthen them all in the Lord’s presence, 9 A good generation (living) in the fear of God in the days of mercy. Selah.

10 Our God is great and glorious, living in the highest heavens. (It is He) who has placed the lights (of heaven) in (their) courses for determining seasons from year to year, and they have not turned aside from the way which He appointed for them.⁠ 11 In the fear of God (they pursue) their path every day, From the day God created them and forevermore. 12 And they have not strayed since the day He created them. Since ancient generations they have not withdrawn from their path, unless God commanded them (so to do) by the command of His servants.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 2:1 and Psalms of Solomon 18:10

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Pseudepigrapha, Wisdom and Poetry

Summary

1 Enoch and the Psalms of Solomon describe the sun, moon, and stars as parts of a divine calendar that is steady and obedient. They also echo ancient Near Eastern traditions that viewed the heavenly bodies as divine beings who moved in fixed patterns.

Passages

1 Enoch 2:1

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

1 Observe everything that occurs in the heaven, how the celestial bodies do not alter their paths, and the lights in the sky, how they all rise and set orderly, each in its own season, without deviating from their assigned courses. 2 Look at the earth, and pay attention to the things that unfold from beginning to end, how consistent they are, how nothing on earth changes, how all of God’s works appear to you.

300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Psalms of Solomon 18:10

Pseudepigrapha, Wisdom and Poetry

10 Our God is great and glorious, living in the highest heavens. (It is He) who has placed the lights (of heaven) in (their) courses for determining seasons from year to year, and they have not turned aside from the way which He appointed for them. 11 In the fear of God (they pursue) their path every day, From the day God created them and forevermore. 12 And they have not strayed since the day He created them. Since ancient generations they have not withdrawn from their path, unless God commanded them (so to do) by the command of His servants.

65–30 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Psalms of Solomon

References

"... Although some details in the verse are uncertain, due to textual variation, the major point in 1 Enoch 2:1 is clear. Heavenly bodies move with a regularity that accords with the divinely ordained structures of creation. God has set their paths through the heavens and has fixed the tuning of their movement along these paths: as obedient creatures, they do not change God's order and thus transgress God's commands. This assertion is demonstrated at great length in the astronomical and calendrical treatise(s) now summarized in chapters 72-82. The specific wording of this passage, moreover, is paralleled in the Enochic tradition in the later Book of Parables (41:5; 43:2; 69:20). The point is also made, in similar language in Sirach 16:26-28; Psalms of Solomon 18:10-12; 1Q34 - evidence that the present text reflects tradition ..."

George W. E. Nickelsburg, A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001), 155–156.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

The Coming King and the Ordered Heavens

Psalms of Solomon18 psalms

Compare 1 Enoch 2:1 and Psalms of Solomon 18:10

Summary

Passages

1 Enoch 2:1

Psalms of Solomon 18:10

References

Your feedback

Leave a comment

Glossary

Search the Library