Texts in Conversation
1 Enoch says Enoch saw cold, frost, and snow stored behind three gates of heaven, one for good and two to for judgment. Sirach lists the same cold north wind and frost as praise, similarly dividing the weather into blessing and punishment.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
1 Enoch 34:2
Pseudepigrapha
1 And from there I went towards the north to the ends of the earth, and there I saw a great and glorious device at the ends of the whole earth. 2 And here I saw three portals of heaven open in the sky: through each of them north winds blow: when they blow, there is cold, hail, frost, snow, dew, and rain. 3 And from one portal they blow for good: but when they blow through the other two portals, it is with violence and affliction on the earth, and they blow with violence.
Sirach 43:20
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
19 He pours frost over the earth like salt, and icicles form like pointed thorns. 20 The cold north wind blows, and ice freezes on the water; it settles on every pool of water, and the water puts it on like a breastplate. 21 He consumes the mountains and burns up the wilderness, and withers the tender grass like fire. 22 A mist quickly heals all things; the falling dew gives refreshment from the heat.
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Notes and References
... The works of God on the earth are easily observable and include the seasons and meteorological phenomena. Winter is regarded as a sign of blessing because of the abundant moisture (1 Enoch 2:3; Sirach 43:8c, 22). The two traditions also assert that God uses the snow, frost and cold of winter storms for judgment; but in 1 Enoch the blizzard is adapted to eschatological judgment (100:13), and in Sirach it is a created opposite used for temporal judgment (43:17c-20). The summer season is a time when the sun burns. There appears to be a specific parallel between 1 Enoch 4:1 and Sirach 43:3b, 21. Both passages use the image of the burning heat of the sun before which human beings cannot endure. ...
Argall, Randal A.
1 Enoch and Sirach: A Comparative Literary and Conceptual Analysis of the Themes of Revelation, Creation, and Judgment
(p. 160) Scholars Press, 1995
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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