Texts in Conversation
Genesis 18 describes God appearing to Abraham at Mamre where he welcomes three divine visitors. 1 Enoch 14 instead portrays God in a fiery heavenly palace surrounded by angels, showing how this text reflects later views of a distant and exalted deity.
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Genesis 18:1
Hebrew Bible
1 The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing across from him. When he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. 3 He said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought so that you may all wash your feet and rest under the tree.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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1 Enoch 14:4
Pseudepigrapha
17 And I looked and saw therein a lofty throne: its appearance was as crystal, and the wheels thereof as the shining sun, and there was the vision of cherubim. 18 And from underneath the throne came streams of flaming fire so that I could not look upon it. 19 And the Great Glory sat on it, and His garment shone more brightly than the sun and was whiter than any snow. 20 None of the angels could enter and could behold His face because of the magnificence and glory and no flesh could behold Him. 21 The flaming fire was all around Him, and a great fire stood before Him, and no one around could draw near Him: ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him, yet He needed no counselor.
Date: 200-50 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Our author’s God is the transcendent, wholly other, heavenly King. He does not appear on earth, as he did to Abraham or Moses or Isaiah. His chariot throne does not descend to earth as it did for Ezekiel. It is fixed in heaven, the realm of Spirit and holiness, totally different from the earthly sphere of flesh and blood (compare 1 Enoch 15:4-7). The author’s imagery stresses the otherness of this realm. Here fire and snow can coexist. Things are larger than life. God dwells in a house greater than the great one to which it is annexed. Its ceiling is the heaven with its streaking luminaries and lightning flashes. He is seated on a lofty throne and is attended by a countless throng of angels of various orders. God’s holiness and purity are indicated by such imagery as: icelike, snowlike, sunlike, glory, fire. In the final analysis, however, images break down and the truth behind the author’s language is revealed. The majesty of God’s throne room is beyond description (1 Enoch 14:16), as is, of course, God ..."
Nickelsburg, George W. E.
A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108
(p. 260) Fortress Press, 2001
* 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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