Commentary on the
Book of Enoch, Chapter 22:8-14.

Text

22:8  Then I asked regarding it, and regarding all the hollow places: ‘Why is one separated from
          the other?’
22:9  And he answered me and said unto me: ‘These three have been made that the
spirits of
          the dead might be separated. And such a division has been made for the spirits of the
          righteous, in which there is the bright spring of water.
22:10  And such has been made for sinners when they die and are buried in the earth and
          judgment has not been executed on them in their lifetime.
22:11  Here their spirits shall be set apart in this great pain until the great day of judgment
          and punishment and torment of those who curse for ever, and retribution for their spirits.
          There He shall bind them for ever.
22:12  And such a division has been made for the spirits of those who make their suit, who
          make disclosures concerning their destruction, when they were slain in the days of the
          sinners.
22:13  Such has been made for the spirits of men who were not righteous but sinners, who
          were complete in transgression, and of the transgressors they shall be companions: but
          their spirits shall not be slain in the day of judgment nor shall they be raised from thence.’
22:14  Then I blessed
Yehuveh of glory and said: ‘Blessed by Yehuveh, the Yehuveh of
          righteousness, who ruleth for ever.’
Commentary

22:9-13 T he four divisions of the spirits of the dead are presented here as:

   
I        9  . . . . a division has been made for the spirits of the righteous, in which there is
                    the bright spring of water.

   
II     10-11  And such has been made for sinners when they die and are buried in the earth and
                   
judgment has not been executed on them in their lifetime. Here their spirits shall be
                    set apart in this great pain until the great day of judgment and punishment and
                    torment of those who curse for ever, and retribution for their spirits. There He
                    shall bind them for ever.
   
III   12  And such a division has been made for the spirits of those who make their suit, who
                   
make disclosures concerning their destruction, when they were slain in the days
                    of the sinners.
   
IV    13  Such has been made for the spirits of men who were not righteous but sinners,
                   
who were complete in transgression, and of the transgressors they shall be
                    companions: but their spirits shall not be slain in the day of judgment nor shall
                    they be raised from thence.’


        The first and last groups, (
I) the righteous who have chose to serve Yehuveh and (IV) the decidedly wicked who have determined to rebel against His instructions, are quite obvious. Daniel alludes to them in the words: “. . . many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Daniel 12:2.
        The second (
II) and third (III) groups, however, present some interesting insights into Yehuveh and His dealings with humanity. Both appear to be people who have not fully chosen either service to nor rebellion against Yehuveh at the time of their death. Yet, again, these are separated into two groups, the third (III) group being those who appeal to Yehuveh for another chance, for the opportunity to yet be considered and instructed (potentially to become righteous and join group I), and those in the second (II) group who essentially simply remain indifferent to His claims to their service and therefore join group IV [“They would none of My counsel; they despised all My reproof. . . . For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.” Proverbs 1:30-32.].
        The last line of 13 [
‘but their spirits shall not be slain in the day of judgment nor shall they be raised from thence.’] raises some interesting questions. Is it possible that the rebellious and the wicked have an eternal existence of separation from Yehuveh? How does this harmonize with Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 [“the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.”]?


Gael Bataman
Originally Written:          11 July 2006
Latest Update:                1 December 2011


 
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