1 Enoch / Chapter 46

1 Enoch 46

8 verses • Ge'ez (Ethiopic)

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Enoch sees two figures: one with a 'Head of Days' whose hair is white as wool (the Ancient of Days from Daniel 7), and another whose face has the appearance of a man — the Son of Man. The angel explains that this Son of Man will overthrow kings and mighty ones from their thrones because they do not acknowledge God's sovereignty.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

This is the most important chapter in the Parables for understanding the 'Son of Man' tradition. The Enochic Son of Man is explicitly drawn from Daniel 7:13 but is developed far beyond Daniel's brief vision into a fully characterized individual with pre-existent identity, judicial authority, and eschatological power. Every detail — the white hair of the Head of Days, the human appearance of the Son of Man, his role in overturning earthly power — would become central to early Christian Christology.

Translation Friction

The Ge'ez 'walda be'esi' literally means 'son of man' (= human being), but in context it functions as a title for a specific transcendent figure. The tension between the generic meaning ('a human') and the titular meaning ('the Son of Man') is irreducible and was likely also present when Jesus used the Aramaic 'bar enash' in the Gospels. Translation must preserve the human-appearance language without obscuring the titular force.

Connections

Daniel 7:9 — 'the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool.' Daniel 7:13 — 'one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven.' Matthew 26:64 — Jesus before the Sanhedrin combining Daniel 7:13 with Psalm 110:1. Revelation 1:13-14 — the risen Christ with hair white as wool.

1 Enoch 46:1

Ge'ez: wa-heyya re'iku re'esa mawā'el — 'and there I saw the Head of Days'

There I saw one who had a Head of Days — his head was white like wool — and with him was another being whose face had the appearance of a human, full of grace, like one of the holy angels.

REF And there I saw One who had a head of days, and His head was white like wool, and with Him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of a man, and his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels.

Notes & Key Terms 2 terms

Key Terms

re'esa mawā'el
"Head of Days" — Head of Days, Ancient of Days, chief of time, first of days

The Enochic title for God corresponding to Daniel 7:9's 'Ancient of Days.' The Ge'ez re'es means 'head, chief, first' rather than 'ancient/old,' subtly shifting the emphasis from God's age to his primacy and sovereignty over time itself.

walda be'esi
"[one whose face had] the appearance of a human" — son of man, human being, man

The Ge'ez literally means 'son of man' — a human being. In the Parables this becomes a title for a pre-existent messianic figure who judges the world. The phrase derives from Daniel 7:13 ('one like a son of man') and is the same title Jesus most frequently uses for himself in the Gospels.

Translator Notes

  1. The 'Head of Days' (Ge'ez: re'esa mawā'el) translates Daniel 7:9's 'Ancient of Days' (Aramaic: 'attiq yomin). The Ge'ez rendering emphasizes primacy ('Head') rather than antiquity ('Ancient'), though both convey eternal existence.
  2. The Son of Man's face is 'like one of the holy angels' — he appears angelic yet distinctly human. This dual nature (human appearance + angelic glory) distinguishes him from both ordinary humans and ordinary angels, placing him in a unique category.
1 Enoch 46:2

Ge'ez: wa-se'alku mal'aka — 'and I asked the angel'

I asked the angel who accompanied me and showed me all hidden things about that Son of Man — who he was, where he came from, and why he was with the Head of Days.

REF And I asked the angel who went with me and showed me all the hidden things, concerning that Son of Man — who he was, and whence he was, and why he went with the Head of Days?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Enoch's three questions — who, whence, why — structure the revelation that follows. The 'who' concerns identity, 'whence' concerns origin (pre-existence), and 'why' concerns purpose (judgment). These same questions about the Son of Man would dominate early Christian theology.
1 Enoch 46:3

Ge'ez: wa-yebēlani — 'and he said to me'

He answered me: 'This is the Son of Man who possesses righteousness, with whom righteousness dwells, and who reveals all the treasures of what is hidden — because the Lord of Spirits has chosen him, and his lot surpasses all others before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness forever.'

REF And he answered and said unto me: 'This is the Son of Man who hath righteousness, with whom dwelleth righteousness, and who revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden, because the Lord of Spirits hath chosen him, and whose lot hath the pre-eminence before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness for ever.'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The Son of Man is defined by three attributes: he possesses righteousness, righteousness dwells with him (not temporarily but permanently), and he reveals hidden things. He is both the embodiment of righteousness and the revealer of divine secrets — combining the roles of messiah and apocalyptic seer.
  2. The statement that 'the Lord of Spirits has chosen him' confirms his identity as the Chosen One of earlier chapters. Son of Man, Chosen One, and Righteous One are three titles for the same figure.
1 Enoch 46:4

Ge'ez: wa-walda be'esi — 'and the Son of Man'

This Son of Man whom you have seen will unseat kings and mighty ones from their thrones, loosen the grip of the powerful, and break the teeth of sinners.

REF And this Son of Man whom thou hast seen shall raise up the kings and the mighty from their seats, and the strong from their thrones, and shall loosen the reins of the strong, and break the teeth of the sinners.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The political language is explicit: the Son of Man's primary action is the overthrow of earthly power structures. 'Unseating kings from thrones' is not spiritual metaphor but the apocalyptic expectation of actual political reversal.
  2. 'Breaking the teeth of sinners' echoes Psalm 3:7 ('you strike all my enemies on the jaw; you break the teeth of the wicked') and Psalm 58:6 ('break the teeth in their mouths, O God'). The psalmic warrior imagery is transferred to the Son of Man.
1 Enoch 46:5

Ge'ez: wa-yāwaddeqomu — 'and he shall cast them down'

He will bring down the powerful and fill them with shame. Darkness will be their dwelling and worms their bed, and they will have no hope of rising from those beds — because they did not honor the name of the Lord of Spirits.

REF And he shall put down the countenance of the strong, and shall fill them with shame. And darkness shall be their dwelling, and worms shall be their bed, and they shall have no hope of rising from their beds, because they do not extol the name of the Lord of Spirits.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. 'Darkness as dwelling' and 'worms as bed' reverses the heavenly dwellings prepared for the righteous (39:2). The sinners' eternal habitation is anti-creation: darkness instead of light, decay instead of life.
  2. 'No hope of rising from their beds' implies the finality of their condition — no resurrection, no second chance. This contrasts sharply with the resurrection hope offered to the righteous in chapter 51.
  3. The cause of their judgment is specified: 'they did not honor the name of the Lord of Spirits.' Their sin is not ignorance but willful refusal to acknowledge God's sovereignty.
1 Enoch 46:6

Ge'ez: wa-'ellu 'emuntu — 'and these are they'

These are the ones who pass judgment on the stars of heaven, who raise their hands against the Most High, who trample the earth and dwell on it. All their deeds display unrighteousness. Their power rests on their riches, their faith is in the gods they have made with their own hands, and they deny the name of the Lord of Spirits.

REF And these are they who judge the stars of heaven, and raise their hands against the Most High, and tread upon the earth and dwell upon it. And all their deeds manifest unrighteousness, and their power rests upon their riches, and their faith is in the gods which they have made with their hands, and they deny the name of the Lord of Spirits.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. 'Judging the stars of heaven' likely means claiming authority over celestial/divine matters — a form of hubris where earthly rulers presume cosmic sovereignty. Alternatively, it may refer to astrological practices where kings manipulate or claim to control celestial powers.
  2. The critique of wealth ('their power rests on their riches'), idolatry ('gods they made with their hands'), and denial of God combines prophetic, wisdom, and apocalyptic traditions into a unified indictment of the ruling class.
1 Enoch 46:7

Ge'ez: wa-yetwaqqasu — 'and they shall be cast out'

They will be driven from the congregations of the faithful — those who depend on the name of the Lord of Spirits.

REF And they shall be driven from the houses of his congregation, and of the faithful who hang upon the name of the Lord of Spirits.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Expulsion from the 'congregations' (plural) of the faithful is the social dimension of eschatological judgment. The community of the righteous, once marginalized, becomes the center from which the wicked are permanently excluded.
1 Enoch 46:8

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

On that day prayer will not help them. Sinners will not be able to leave the presence of the Lord of Spirits, because judgment will come upon them.

REF And on that day prayer will not avail. Neither will the sinners depart from the presence of the Lord of Spirits, for judgment shall come upon them.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The inability to 'leave the presence' is paradoxical — elsewhere sinners are expelled from the divine presence, but here they cannot escape it. The point is that God's judgment is inescapable whether experienced as exclusion or as forced confrontation. There is no hiding from the Lord of Spirits.
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