nora
(Nora)
#1
Worship in Jubilees and Enoch
24. Translation of M. Knibb, The Ethiopic Book of Enoch (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, J978), 2:91.
25. A slightly different view is expressed in 1 En 90:30 where the Gentiles signify their
recognition of God by reverencing Israel. This idea has clear connections with Deut 28:12-13;
Isa 60:11; 61:6; 66:12; Zech 8:20-23; and Hag 2:6-9.
26. But the "opening of the storehouses of blessing" might be read against Gen 7:11
"the windows of the heavens were opened."
the question of the extent to which priestly issues were truly a concern to the
authors or communities behind these works.
I want to look briefly at one passage that further demonstrates the dif
ference of thought between the works of Enoch and Jubilees. The passage is
1 En 10:20-22:
And you [Michael], cleanse the earth from all wrong, and from all iniq
uity, and from all sin, and from all impiety, and from all the uncleanness
which is brought about on the earth; remove them from the earth. And
all the sons of men shall be righteous, and all the nations shall serve and
bless me, and all shall worship me. And the earth will be cleansed from
all corruption, and from all sin, and from all wrath, and from all tor
ment; and I will not again send a flood upon it for all generations for
ever.^24
This passage expresses an ideal of universal worship that is elsewhere found
in the Book of the Watchers, at 36:4. In the Book of the Parables it occurs at
48:5 and 57:3. A hint of it may appear in the Book of Dream Visions, at 84:1.
While not connected with the idea of worship, a universal hope for the
Gentiles appears in the Epistle of Enoch at 90:37-38 and 91:14. Thus, intrigu-
ingly, the idea occurs throughout the corpus.^25
Where does this viewpoint come from? The concept of universal bless
ing is closest to sentiments found in Pss 67:3-5 and 145:5. The idea of a future
for the nations after a time of judgment is perhaps most clearly expressed in
Isa 24-27. But the verbal parallels are not clear enough to be certain that
these passages provided the inspiration. There may be a reference to Deut
28:12 in 1 En n:i,^26 though in my opinion the egalitarian nature of 10:21 rules
out reading Enoch in the light of Deut 28. In any event, the universalistic
worship envisioned in the Enochic works certainly marks a great divide with
the view expressed in Jubilees.
