3 Enoch

Odeberg1928 source English page 331

CHH. XXXVIII, XXXIX] _ CELESTIAL QEDUSHSHA 123 (3) Until the prince of the world calls them, saying: “‘Be ye quiet in your place! Fear not because of the ministering angels who sing the Song before the Holy One, blessed be He”. As it is written (Job xxxviii. 7): ““When the morning stars sang together and all the children of heaven shouted for joy”’. CHAPTER* XXXIX The explicit names fly off from the Throne and all the various angelic hosts prostrate themselves before it at the time of the Oédushsha R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me: | (1) When the ministering angels utter the “Holy” then all the explicit names that are graven with a flaming style on the Throne of (3) until the Prince of the World calls them. The Prince of the World is here the ruler or prince of the heavenly bodies, the constellations, planets, sun and moon. Ch. xxx. 2, he is the leader of the 72 princes of kingdoms and pleads the cause of the world (i.e. all the inhabitants of the world) before the Most High when seated on the judgement-throne. These two functions, leader of the planets=constellations and of the princes of kingdoms are naturally combined, when, according to the development of the conception of the princes of kingdoms, they are represented as the rulers of the planets and constellations (so even in this book, ch. xvii. 8, in its present redaction). The Prince of the World has been identified with Metatron by one party of cabbalistic traditionists. Within the present book functions are attributed to Metatron that are essential to the Prince of the World. Metatron is indicated as the ruler over the princes of kingdoms, chh. x. 3, xlviii 0 9 et al., and he has authority over the planets (and constellations) acc. to ch. xlvi. 2, and over the princes of kingdoms and the rulers of the world, ch. xiv. 1, 3. The Prince of the World was present at the Creation and in the days of Creation he uttered the words of Ps. civ. 31 (“‘ The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works’). 7713. Chullin, 60 a, hence to him refers the passage, Ps. xxxvii. 25, "1 have been young and now am 011": TB. Yebam. 13 a. Cf. further, note on ch. iii. 2. Ch. xxxix. This chapter continues the picture of the preceding chapter (the com- motion of all the heavens with the inclusion of the constellations and the planets at the sound of the Thrice Holy): the Explicit Names on the very Throne of Glory and the highest classes of angels are all moved into expressions of glorification of the Most High at the time of the Oédushsha. (1) all the explicit names that are graven with a flaming style on the Throne of Glory. The explicit names are represented as a plurality; hence we are here on the ground of mystical speculations concerning the different Divine Names consisting of various permutations of the Tetragrammaton and of the other names of God and expressions representing the Godhead occurring in the 7% For the various meanings attached to the term ‘Shem Méphorash’ see FE (e.g. vol. i. 622); Gaster, The Sword of Moses, intr.; Bousset, R¥. pp. 344 et al. The