Egyptian-Hebrew stream·The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch)·Book I — Book of the Watchers·Chapter XXII — The Four Hollows of the Dead
Sheol divided: the righteous, the sinners, the slain, the rebellious
On the western mountain Enoch sees four hollow places where the spirits of the dead are gathered: one for the righteous (with a bright spring); one for sinners who escaped earthly judgment; one for the slain (the souls of the murdered cry out); one for the rebellious who shall not rise.
Source context
- Theme
- hollow mountain caverns as post-mortem repositories for the souls of the dead, differentiated by moral condition
- Soul-faculty
- Consciousness Soul
Steiner
not engaged in the GA corpus
Cross-tradition
- Greek underworld cosmology (Plato, Phaedo 107c–114c)Plato's Phaedo describes differentiated post-mortem regions — Tartarus, Acheron, Erebus — where souls are sorted according to the gravity of their earthly deeds, a structural parallel to the four hollow mountain chambers of 1 Enoch 22.
- Rabbinic and Kabbalistic Gehinnom doctrineRabbinic literature distinguishes compartments within Gehinnom assigned to souls of differing moral weight, exhibiting cross-tradition congruence with Enoch's fourfold differentiation of post-mortem dwelling places.
- Zoroastrian eschatology (Avestan Chinvat Bridge doctrine)The Zoroastrian soul's fate at the Chinvat Bridge is determined by the balance of righteous versus wicked deeds, paralleling the Enochic logic of moral differentiation as the criterion for assignment to distinct posthumous chambers.
Chapter XXII
XXII. Sheol, or the Underworld.
CHAPTER XXII.
1And thence I went to another place, and he showed me in the west ⌈another⌉ great and high mountain [and] of hard rock.
**E**
2And there was in it †four† **hollow** places, deep and wide and very smooth. †How† smooth are **the hollow places** and deep and dark to look at.
** G g**
2And there were †four† hollow places in it, deep and very smooth: †three† of them were dark and one bright; and there was a fountain of water in its midst. And I said: '†How† smooth are these hollow places, and deep and dark to view.'
3Then Raphael answered, one of the holy angels who was with me, and said unto me: 'These hollow places have been created for this very purpose, that the spirits of the souls of the dead should assemble therein, yea that all the souls of the children of men should assemble here. And these places **have**
** been made** to receive them till the day of their judgement and till their appointed period ⌈till the period appointed⌉, till the great judgement (comes) upon them.' **E**
5I saw the spirits of the children of men who were dead, and their voice went forth to heaven and made suit. 6. Then I asked Raphael the angel who was with me, and I said unto him: 'This spirit--whose is it whose voice goeth forth and maketh suit?'
**G g**
5I saw (the spirit of) **a dead man** making suit, and his voice went forth to heaven and made suit. 6. And I asked Raphael the angel who was with me, and I said unto him: 'This spirit which maketh suit, whose is it, whose voice goeth forth and maketh suit to heaven?'
7And he answered me saying: 'This is the spirit which went forth from Abel, whom his brother Cain slew, and he makes his suit against him till his seed is destroyed from the face of the earth, and his seed is annihilated from amongst the seed of men.'
**E**
8Then I asked regarding it, and regarding all the **hollow places**: 'Why as one separated from the other?'
9And 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 as the **bright** spring of **water**. 10. **And** such has
** G g**
8Then I asked regarding all the **hollow places**: 'Why is one separated from the other?'
9And he answered me saying: 'These three have been made that the spirits of the dead might be separated. And **this** division has been made for the spirits of the righteous, in which there is the bright spring of water. 10. And **this** has been made for sinners
** E** been made for sinners when they die and are buried in the earth and judgement has not been executed on them in their lifetime. 11. Here their spirits shall be set apart in this great pain till the great day of judgement and punishment and torment of those who †curse† for ever, and retribution for their spirits. There He shall bind them for ever. 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. 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 judgement nor shall they be raised from thence. 14. Then I blessed the Lord of glory and said: 'Blessed be my Lord, the Lord of righteousness, who ruleth for ever.' ** G g** when they die and are buried in the earth and judgement has not been executed upon them in their lifetime. 11. Here their spirits shall be set apart in this great pain, till the great day of judgement, scourgings, and torments of the accursed for ever, **so that** (there maybe) retribution for their spirits. There He shall bind them for ever. 12. And **this** 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. 13. And **this** has been made for the spirits of men who shall not be righteous but sinners, who are godless, and of the lawless they shall be companions: but their spirits shall not be punished in the day of judgement nor shall they be raised from thence. 14. Then I blessed the Lord of Glory and said: 'Blessed art Thou, Lord of righteousness, who rulest over the world.'
JSON: /api/sources/book-of-enoch/enoch-watchers/22-chapter-xxii.json