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In Psalm 68, the singers call on others to praise God as he rides through heaven. In 3 Enoch, the heavenly creatures give that call to one another, placing the psalm's invitation inside the worship around God's throne.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Psalms 68:4
Hebrew Bible
1 For the music director, by David, a psalm, a song. God springs into action. His enemies scatter; his adversaries run from him. 2 As smoke is driven away by the wind, so you drive them away. As wax melts before fire, so the wicked are destroyed before God. 3 But the godly are happy; they rejoice before God and are overcome with joy. 4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name. Exalt the one who rides on the clouds. For the Lord is his name. Rejoice before him. 5 He is a father to the fatherless and an advocate for widows. God rules from his holy dwelling place.
3 Enoch 19:6
Hebrew Book of Enoch
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
And when the time draws near for the recital of the Song, (then) the multitudes of wheels are moved, the multitude of clouds tremble, all the chieftains (shallishim) are made afraid, all the horsemen (parashim) do rage, all the mighty ones (gibborim) are excited, all the hosts (seba'im) are frightened, all the troops (gedudim) are in fear, all the appointed ones (memunnim) hasten away, all the princes (sarim) and armies (chayyelim) are dismayed, all the servants (mesharetim) do faint and all the angels (mal'akim) and divisions (degalim) labour in pain. And one wheel makes a sound to be heard to the other and one Kerub to another, one Chayya to another, one Seraph to another (saying) (Ps. lxviii. 5) "Extol to him that rides in 'Araboth, by his name Jah and rejoice before him!"
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Notes and References
“... ilarly, in a particularly poetic example, Rekhavi'el,41 who is respon-
sible for the praise of the wheels of the Merkavah:
When the time comes to sing the hymn,
the multitude of the wheels trembles,
the multitude of the clouds shudders,
all the captains tremble,
all the horsemen are agitated,
all the heroes shiver,
all the hosts shake,
all the legions are afraid,
all the overseers42 flee terrified,
all the princes and soldiers are panic struck,
all the servants are despondent,
all the angels and cohorts are whirled around:43
Wheel to wheel,
Keruv to Keruv,
l;ayyah to l;ayyah,
Ophan to Ophan,
Seraph to Seraph
let their voices resound:
Extol him who rides in the
Schäfer, Peter
The Hidden and Manifest God: Some Major Themes in Early Jewish Mysticism
(p. 131) State University of New York Press, 1992
* 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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