1 Enoch / Chapter 45

1 Enoch 45

6 verses • Ge'ez (Ethiopic)

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

The second parable opens with the fate of those who have denied the Lord of Spirits. Their lot is declared: they will not ascend to heaven or inherit the earth. The Chosen One is placed on the throne of glory, and heaven and earth are transformed. Only the elect will dwell in the renewed earth.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

This chapter introduces the 'throne of glory' on which the Chosen One sits — the same phrase Jesus uses in Matthew 19:28 and 25:31. The idea that a figure other than God sits on the divine throne of judgment is radical in Jewish theology and would have been deeply provocative. The Parables handle this by presenting the Chosen One as God's appointed agent, not a rival deity.

Translation Friction

The phrase 'throne of glory' (Ge'ez: menber sebḥatihu) could refer to God's throne on which the Chosen One is invited to sit, or to a separate throne given to the Chosen One. The distinction matters theologically: shared throne implies divine status; separate throne implies delegated authority.

Connections

Daniel 7:9-14 — thrones set in place, the Son of Man given dominion. Matthew 19:28 — 'when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne.' Matthew 25:31 — 'when the Son of Man comes in his glory and sits on his glorious throne.' Revelation 3:21 — 'I will grant to sit with me on my throne.' The transformation of heaven and earth parallels Isaiah 65:17 and Revelation 21:1.

1 Enoch 45:1

Ge'ez: mesāle kāle'u — 'the second parable'

This is the second parable — concerning those who deny the name of the dwelling of the holy ones and the Lord of Spirits.

REF And this is the second Parable — concerning those who deny the name of the dwelling of the holy ones and the Lord of Spirits.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The superscription identifies the second parable's theme: the judgment of those who deny both the holy community ('dwelling of the holy ones') and God himself ('the Lord of Spirits'). Denial of the community is equated with denial of God — an ecclesiological claim with parallels in Matthew 25:45 ('whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me').
1 Enoch 45:2

Ge'ez: wa-'i-yewarradu samāya — 'they shall not ascend to heaven'

They will not ascend to heaven, and they will not come upon the earth. Such is the lot of sinners who have denied the name of the Lord of Spirits — they are reserved for the day of suffering and tribulation.

REF And into the heaven they shall not ascend, and on the earth they shall not come: such shall be the lot of the sinners who have denied the name of the Lord of Spirits, who are thus preserved for the day of suffering and tribulation.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The sinners are excluded from both heaven and the renewed earth — a total exclusion from the cosmos itself. This is more severe than mere punishment; it is ontological erasure from the created order.
  2. The phrase 'reserved for the day' (Ge'ez: za-te'aydu) parallels 2 Peter 2:9 ('the Lord knows how to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment') and Jude 6 (angels 'kept in eternal chains for the judgment of the great day').
1 Enoch 45:3

Ge'ez: wa-ba-ye'eti yom — 'and on that day'

On that day my Chosen One will sit on the throne of glory and will judge their works. The resting places of the righteous will be innumerable.

REF On that day Mine Elect One shall sit on the throne of glory and shall try their works, and their places of rest shall be innumerable.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

menber sebḥat
"throne of glory" — throne of glory, seat of honor, judgment seat

The divine judgment throne on which the Chosen One/Son of Man sits. This image becomes central to the Parables and reappears in Matthew 19:28 and 25:31. Whether this is God's own throne shared with the Chosen One or a distinct throne is debated.

Translator Notes

  1. God speaks in first person ('my Chosen One'), establishing that the Chosen One's authority derives entirely from divine appointment. The 'throne of glory' (Ge'ez: menber sebḥat) becomes the signature image of the Parables — a messianic figure seated on the divine judgment throne.
  2. This verse is the earliest known Jewish text placing a messianic figure on God's own 'throne of glory' as judge. The direct parallel to Matthew 25:31 ('when the Son of Man comes in his glory and sits on his glorious throne') is striking and likely reflects shared tradition rather than direct literary dependence.
1 Enoch 45:4

Ge'ez: wa-manfasomu ye'abbeyu — 'and their spirits shall grow strong'

Their spirits will grow strong within them when they see my chosen ones — those who have called upon my glorious name.

REF And their spirits shall grow strong within them when they see Mine Elect Ones, and those who have called upon My glorious name.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The strengthening of spirits 'when they see' suggests that the visible vindication of the righteous is itself restorative. Seeing justice done heals the righteous — a theme developed further in chapters 62-63.
1 Enoch 45:5

Ge'ez: wa-ba-ye'eti yom — 'and on that day'

On that day I will cause my Chosen One to dwell among them. I will transform heaven and make it an eternal blessing and light.

REF Then shall I cause Mine Elect One to dwell among them, and I will transform the heaven and make it an eternal blessing and light.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The Chosen One 'dwelling among' the righteous echoes the tabernacle theology of Exodus 25:8 and the Immanuel ('God with us') tradition. The transformation of heaven anticipates Isaiah 65:17's 'new heavens and new earth' and Revelation 21:1.
1 Enoch 45:6

Ge'ez: wa-'ewadder medrā — 'and I will transform the earth'

I will transform the earth and make it a blessing. I will cause my chosen ones to dwell on it, but sinners and evildoers will never set foot on it.

REF And I will transform the earth and make it a blessing: and I will cause Mine elect ones to dwell upon it: but the sinners and evil-doers shall not set foot thereon.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The transformed earth is reserved exclusively for the elect — there is no coexistence of righteous and wicked in the eschatological age. This total separation distinguishes Enochic eschatology from prophetic visions where nations come to Zion (Isaiah 2:2-4), though the Enochic tradition shares the prophetic hope for a renewed earth.
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