1 Enoch 40
Study resource: not ScriptureR. H. Charles translation (1917) · public domain
1And after that I saw thousands of thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand, I saw a multitude beyond number and reckoning, who stood before the Lord of Spirits.
2And on the four sides of the Lord of Spirits I saw four presences, different from those that sleep not, and I learnt their names: for the angel that went with me made known to me their names, and showed me all the hidden things.
3And I heard the voices of those four presences as they uttered praises before the Lord of glory.
4The first voice blesses the Lord of Spirits for ever and ever.
5And the second voice I heard blessing the Elect One and the elect ones who hang upon the Lord of Spirits.
6And the third voice I heard pray and intercede for those who dwell on the earth and supplicate in the name of the Lord of Spirits.
7And I heard the fourth voice fending off the Satans and forbidding them to come before the Lord of Spirits to accuse them who dwell on the earth.
8After that I asked the angel of peace who went with me, who showed me everything that is hidden: ‘Who are these four presences which I have seen and whose words I have heard and written down?’
9And he said to me: ‘This first is Michael, the merciful and long-suffering: and the second, who is set over all the diseases and all the wounds of the children of men, is Raphael: and the third, who is set over all the powers, is Gabriel: and the fourth, who is set over the repentance unto hope of those who inherit eternal life, is named Phanuel.’
10And these are the four angels of the Lord of Spirits and the four voices I heard in those days.
The chapter, studied
The Four Presences: Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, and Phanuel
Enoch sees "thousands of thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand" standing before the Lord of Spirits, and four "presences" on God's four sides, each with a distinct voice: one blessing God, one blessing the Elect One, one interceding for those on earth, and one holding back "the Satans" from bringing accusation. His angelic guide names them Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, and Phanuel.
The chapter assigns each archangel a specific function: Michael as merciful and long-suffering, Raphael set "over all the diseases and all the wounds of the children of men," Gabriel "over all the powers," and Phanuel "over the repentance unto hope of those who inherit eternal life." Three of these four names (Michael, Raphael, Gabriel) are already familiar from elsewhere in Second Temple Jewish literature; Phanuel is unique to Enoch's tradition.
The fourth voice's work, "fending off the Satans and forbidding them to come before the Lord of Spirits to accuse them who dwell on the earth", pictures an active courtroom in heaven where accusation is a live threat that has to be resisted, not a settled matter.
Doors into the 66
- Daniel 10:13 — Michael appears in Daniel's vision as one of the chief princes who comes to help against a hostile spiritual power.
- Daniel 8:16 — Gabriel is sent to explain Daniel's vision, matching his role here as an angel "set over all the powers."
- Jude 1:9 — Jude names Michael "the archangel" contending directly with the devil, matching the courtroom-accusation picture in this chapter.
Teachers on this ground
R. H. Charles
The Book of Enoch (1917)
The public-domain translation this shelf reads, with the critical introduction the field still builds on.
Johnny Enlow
The Book of Enoch: Paraphrase and Commentary (2025)
A living teacher's paraphrase of the whole book with his own running commentary, from the prophetic stream.
Michael S. Heiser
A Companion to the Book of Enoch: A Reader's Commentary, Vol. II — The Parables of Enoch (2020)
The reader's commentary continued into the Son of Man visions of these chapters.
1And after that I saw thousands of thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand, I saw a multitude beyond number and reckoning, who stood before the Lord of Spirits.
2And on the four sides of the Lord of Spirits I saw four presences, different from those that sleep not, and I learnt their names: for the angel that went with me made known to me their names, and showed me all the hidden things.
3And I heard the voices of those four presences as they uttered praises before the Lord of glory.
4The first voice blesses the Lord of Spirits for ever and ever.
5And the second voice I heard blessing the Elect One and the elect ones who hang upon the Lord of Spirits.
6And the third voice I heard pray and intercede for those who dwell on the earth and supplicate in the name of the Lord of Spirits.
7And I heard the fourth voice fending off the Satans and forbidding them to come before the Lord of Spirits to accuse them who dwell on the earth.
8After that I asked the angel of peace who went with me, who showed me everything that is hidden: ‘Who are these four presences which I have seen and whose words I have heard and written down?’
9And he said to me: ‘This first is Michael, the merciful and long-suffering: and the second, who is set over all the diseases and all the wounds of the children of men, is Raphael: and the third, who is set over all the powers, is Gabriel: and the fourth, who is set over the repentance unto hope of those who inherit eternal life, is named Phanuel.’
10And these are the four angels of the Lord of Spirits and the four voices I heard in those days.
The language it was written in
Aramaic (the Qumran fragments' language); parts possibly Hebrew. The Parables (chs. 37–71) have no Qumran witness and their original language is debated.
What survives, and where
Aramaic: Dead Sea Scrolls
Eleven fragmentary manuscripts from Qumran Cave 4 covering every section except the Parables (3rd c. BC – 1st c. AD).
Greek
Substantial portions: chs. 1–32 (Codex Panopolitanus), quotations in Syncellus, and the Chester Beatty papyrus of the Epistle.
Ge’ez (Ethiopic)
The only complete text, preserved by the Ethiopian church, whose canon receives the book; the base of every full translation.
What you are reading here
R. H. Charles's 1917 English translation, made from the Ge’ez against the Greek and Aramaic evidence then known — public domain, quotable in full.
No tagged word floor exists for the Aramaic or Ge’ez text; word-by-word study on this shelf awaits a future ingest. What stands here is the manuscript story itself.