The Book of Enoch 56
Book II The Book of Parables (Similitudes) Chapters 37–71 · late 1st century BCE - early 1st century CE
Three parables revealing the heavenly Son of Man / Elect One, seated on the throne of glory to judge the kings and the mighty. The most theologically influential - and most debated - section.
Dating & manuscripts. Notably ABSENT from the Qumran fragments, unlike every other section. This absence anchors the long scholarly debate over the Parables' date and the origin of their 'Son of Man' figure.
Chapters 46 and 48 draw directly on Daniel 7 for the titles 'Head of Days' and 'Son of Man'. The section also contains Noahic interpolations (e.g. 60, 65-69).
1 Enoch is an anthology of five distinct works, composed over roughly three centuries.
The Hosts of Gog and Magog
Hosts of the angels of punishment held scourges and chains of iron and bronze as they went.
1nd I saw there the hosts of the angels of punishment going, and they held scourges and chains of iron and bronze.
2 And I asked the angel of peace who went with me, saying: ' To whom are these who hold the scourges going ? '
3 And he said unto me: ' To their elect and beloved ones, that they may be cast into the chasm of the abyss of the valley.
4 And then that valley shall be filled with their elect and beloved, And the days of their lives shall be at an end, And the days of their leading astray shall not thenceforward be reckoned.
5 And in those days the angels shall return And hurl themselves to the east upon the Parthians and Medes: They shall stir up the kings, so that a spirit of unrest shall come upon them, And they shall rouse them from their thrones, That they may break forth as lions from their lairs, And as hungry wolves among their flocks.
6 And they shall go up and tread under foot the land of His elect ones And the land of His elect ones shall be before them a threshing-floor and a highway :
7 But the city of my righteous shall be a hindrance to their horses. And they shall begin to fight among themselves, And their right hand shall be strong against themselves, And a man shall not know his brother, Nor a son his father or his mother, Till there be no number of the corpses through their slaughter, And their punishment be not in vain.
8 In those days Sheol shall open its jaws, And they shall be swallowed up therein And their destruction shall be at an end; Sheol shall devour the sinners in the presence of the elect.'
Did You Know?
Hosts of the angels of punishment held scourges and chains of iron and bronze as they went.
They cast their elect and beloved ones into the chasm of the abyss of the valley.
Angels hurl themselves to the east upon the Parthians and Medes to stir up the kings.
The kings break forth as lions from their lairs and as hungry wolves among their flocks.
Sheol opens its jaws and devours the sinners in the presence of the elect.
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Commentary
In brief
Enoch sees angels of punishment holding scourges and chains going to cast their elect and beloved into the valley's abyss. They later rouse Parthian and Median kings against the elect's land, but the invaders slaughter one another until Sheol swallows the sinners before the elect.