Texts in Conversation
In Lamentations, God pulls back his right hand as the enemy attacks Jerusalem. In 3 Enoch, Rabbi Ishmael sees the same hand in heaven, still held behind God because the Temple was destroyed, a sign that God has not yet acted to rescue Israel.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Lamentations 2:3
Hebrew Bible
1 א (Alef) Alas! The Lord has covered Daughter Zion with his anger. He has thrown down the splendor of Israel from heaven to earth; he did not protect his temple when he displayed his anger. 2 ב (Bet) The Lord destroyed mercilessly all the homes of Jacob’s descendants. In his anger he tore down the fortified cities of Daughter Judah. He knocked to the ground and humiliated the kingdom and its rulers. 3 ג (Gimel) In fierce anger he destroyed the whole army of Israel. He withdrew his right hand as the enemy attacked. He was like a raging fire in the land of Jacob; it consumed everything around it. 4 ד (Dalet) He prepared his bow like an enemy; his right hand was ready to shoot. Like a foe he killed everyone, even our strong young men; he has poured out his anger like fire on the tent of Daughter Zion.
3 Enoch 48A:1
Hebrew Book of Enoch
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
R. Ishmael said: Metatron said to me: Come, and I will show you the Right Hand of MAQOM, laid behind (Him) because of the destruction of the Holy Temple; from which all kinds of splendour and light shine forth and by which the 955 heavens were created; and whom not even the Seraphim and the 'Ophannim are permitted (to behold), until the day of salvation shall arrive. And I went by his side and he took me by his hand and showed me (the Right Hand of MAQOM), with all manner of praise, rejoicing and song: and no mouth can tell its praise, and no eye can behold it, because of its greatness, dignity, majesty, glory and beauty.
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Notes and References
“... Another passage in 3 Enoch describes the ‘brilliant right hand of God’, which is ‘drawn back’ because of the destruction of the Temple, alluding to the text of Lamentations 2: 3: ‘He has drawn back His right hand from before the enemy; He has burned up Jacob like a flaming fire, consuming all around.’ This image symbolizes God’s decision not to use his ‘outstretched arm’ to deliver his people during this period. The author of 3 Enoch relates further that ‘all the souls of the righteous, those who are worthy to see the joy of Jerusalem’, appear before this divine arm with praise, and ‘ask for mercy from before it [her]’ three times every day: ‘Awake, awake, clothe yourself with splendour, O arm of the Lord’ (Isa. 51: 9). Thus, in this later apocalyptic text the souls of the righteous serve an important intercessory function: they request mercy for Jerusalem during the period of God’s wrath. ...”
Mandel, Paul
The Sacrifice of the Souls of the Righteous upon the Heavenly Altar: Transformations of Apocalyptic Traditions in Medieval Ashkenaz
(p. 58) Liverpool University Press, 2018
* 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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