Firmament dossier · Ancient cosmologies · 3 min read
The Book of Enoch and the gates of heaven
The portals of the Sun, the winds that hold up the firmament and the ends of the earth
The full text of this study is in Portuguese; the summary, key points and official view are in English.
The First Book of Enoch is a collection of Jewish texts written between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC, preserved in full only in Ge’ez, the ancient language of Ethiopia, and quoted in the New Testament (Jude 14–15). Its astronomical part, chapters 72 to 82, describes the Sun and the Moon entering and leaving the sky through six gates in the east and six in the west, driven by chariots moved by the wind, and presents a 364-day calendar. In other chapters, Enoch is taken to the ends of the earth, where he sees the pillars of heaven and the place where the sky rests. For researchers of the firmament, it is the most detailed portrait of a domed cosmos that antiquity left behind.
Key points
- 1 Enoch has 108 chapters in five books: the Watchers (1–36), the Parables (37–71), the Astronomical Book (72–82), the Dream Visions (83–90) and the Epistle (91–108).
- Aramaic fragments were found at Qumran, among the Dead Sea Scrolls (4Q201–212), including the astronomical part (4Q208–211).
- The Letter of Jude (verses 14–15) quotes Enoch almost word for word (1 Enoch 1:9).
- It is still a canonical book in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
- Enoch’s year has 364 days: 12 months of 30 days plus 4 days added at the seasons.
What the official version says
Historians of astronomy see the Astronomical Book as a calendar scheme, influenced by Babylonian astronomy, rather than a measured description of the sky. The book is not part of the Jewish canon or of most Christian churches; only the Ethiopian Church accepts it as Scripture.
Keep investigating
- The firmament in the Hebrew Bible The raqia, the waters above, the pillars of the earth and the windows of heaven
- Antarctica, the ice wall and the 1959 Treaty The reserved continent, Operation Highjump and Admiral Byrd's words
- Babylon: the sky made from the body of Tiamat The Enuma Elish and the Babylonian world map
Other languages: Português · Español
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