God's Face and the Creation of Humans 2 Enoch 44

### Document 1: The Image of God and Human Creation in 2 Enoch

The concept of humans being created in the image of God is central in both the canonical scriptures and in *2 Enoch*. In *Genesis* 1:27, God creates man in His image, a concept that is echoed in *2 Enoch* but with further elaboration on the nature of this image and its implications. According to *2 Enoch*, God's face serves as the model for the human face, thus affirming the dignity and sanctity of every individual. This profound idea is emphasized by *2 Enoch* 44:2, which warns that whoever insults a human face, whether great or small, insults the face of the Lord Himself.

In *2 Enoch* 30:10-14, the creation of humanity is described with remarkable detail. God commands His Wisdom to create man from seven different consistencies: flesh from the earth, blood from dew, eyes from the sun, bones from stone, intelligence from angelic swiftness, veins and hair from the earth’s grass, and the soul from God’s breath. These descriptions are not merely physical components but represent a blend of visible and invisible aspects of human nature, revealing a profound interplay between the material and spiritual worlds. God not only gives man physical form but also seven natures: hearing, sight, smell, touch, taste, endurance, and sweetness. These elements reflect man’s capacity to interact with the world and to perceive the divine wisdom embedded in creation.

The passage further underscores the uniqueness of humanity, referring to man as a “second angel” who is appointed as the ruler of the earth, bearing God’s wisdom (2 Enoch 30:12). This elevated status reflects humanity’s special role in creation, as being simultaneously small in greatness and great in smallness. The duality of man's nature—both physical and spiritual, visible and invisible—is emphasized in this description. God’s challenge to humanity, represented in Adam, is whether man will choose the path of light or darkness, good or evil (2 Enoch 30:14). The choice highlights man's free will, given as a test of his love for the Creator.

Interestingly, *2 Enoch* employs a Gnostic-like motif where Wisdom (Gk. Sophia) is given a role in the creation of man (2 Enoch 30:8). Some scholars suggest this could be a Jewish precursor to later Gnostic developments, where Sophia is a key figure in Gnostic cosmology. While Gnostic traditions emphasize the fall and redemption of Wisdom, *2 Enoch* integrates Wisdom into a positive account of creation, where the role of Sophia aligns with God’s plan for humanity's exaltation, not its downfall.

The creation narrative in *2 Enoch* closely mirrors Genesis 1:27, where humans are made "in the image of God." However, *2 Enoch* enriches this idea by linking the human face to God's divine face. The repeated admonition not to treat any human with contempt in *2 Enoch* 44 reflects the high regard for the image of God in man. Just as Adam was created in God’s likeness, so all humans bear this divine reflection. This idea resonates with *Genesis* 5:3, which notes that Adam’s son Seth was born in Adam’s image, after his likeness. This continuity between God's image and humanity's image demonstrates the enduring significance of the divine-human connection, even after the Fall.

In essence, *2 Enoch* teaches that disrespect for another human is disrespect for God Himself, for to insult a person's face is to insult the face of the Creator. This idea finds resonance in James 3:9, where the apostle warns against using the tongue to curse men, who are made in God's likeness, while simultaneously blessing God. This moral imperative is profound in *2 Enoch* and adds a rich layer of ethical teaching to the doctrine of creation, making it clear that reverence for the Creator should manifest in the way humans treat each other, as all bear the face of God.

---

### Document 2: The Theological Implications of the Image of God in 2 Enoch and Gnostic Thought

In *2 Enoch*, the theology surrounding the creation of humanity bears striking similarities to the notion of divine reflection, seen not only in biblical texts but also in Gnostic thought, particularly the Valentinian tradition. The creation of Adam in *2 Enoch* follows a detailed process where man is formed from seven components, and the human face is directly linked to the face of God. This intricate account, especially in *2 Enoch* 30:10-14, can be seen as an extension of *Genesis* 1:27, where humans are created "in the image of God." Here, *2 Enoch* amplifies this idea by providing the components of human creation as a fusion of visible and invisible aspects, grounding human existence in both the material and spiritual realms.

In Valentinian Gnostic traditions, as preserved in the *Excerpta ex Theodoto*, there is a rejection of the idea that spiritual entities in the Pleroma, including God, are formless or incorporeal. Rather, spiritual beings, including the Only-Begotten and the First-Created, have bodies that correspond to their status and preeminence, though these bodies differ from the corporeal forms familiar to humans. This corporeality is not bound by material limitations, but it nevertheless reflects form and distinction, a theme that resonates with *2 Enoch's* emphasis on God having a face and creating man in the image of that face.

In *2 Enoch* 44:1-2, the narrative takes the theological idea of the image of God one step further by connecting the dignity of the human face with the divine face. This notion—that to insult a human face is to insult God's face—parallels the Gnostic concept that divine beings, even though they may be spiritual, possess form and visibility. For the Valentinians, the divine and the human share an intimate connection, just as in *2 Enoch*, where humanity’s creation reflects the divine.

In both *2 Enoch* and Gnosticism, the corporeality of divine beings challenges the often abstract and incorporeal depictions of God found in other traditions. While *2 Enoch* presents this in terms of human creation and the sanctity of the human form, Valentinian Gnosticism extends the idea to all spiritual beings, asserting that even the First-Created and the Only-Begotten have specific forms that reflect their divine nature.

The ethical dimension in *2 Enoch*, however, adds a unique layer to this theology. In *2 Enoch* 44:2, human dignity is directly tied to the divine image, leading to a moral exhortation against treating others with contempt. This teaching finds a parallel in *James* 3:9, where the apostle reminds believers that humans, made in the likeness of God, should not be cursed with the same tongue used to bless God. The intrinsic connection between the divine image and human identity emphasizes the theological importance of treating others with respect, reflecting God's presence in all.

In conclusion, *2 Enoch* and Valentinian Gnosticism both reflect a deep connection between the divine and the human, grounded in the idea that spiritual beings, including God, have form and substance. While Gnosticism focuses more on the metaphysical aspects of spiritual corporeality, *2 Enoch* presents this concept in a more practical, ethical framework, urging reverence for the divine image reflected in humanity. These traditions, though distinct, both affirm the profound significance of the human form as a reflection of the divine, with important implications for how humans perceive themselves and others.

God's Face and the Creation of Humans in 2 Enoch

According to Genesis, humans are created in the image of God. 2 Enoch takes this idea and likens God's face to the human face, which is God's image, and which should not be treated with contempt.

Chapter 30:10 On the sixth day I commanded my wisdom to create man from seven consistencies: one, his flesh from the earth; two, his blood from the dew; three, his eyes from the sun; four, his bones from stone; five, his intelligence from the swiftness of the angels and from cloud; six, his veins and his hair from the grass of the earth; seven, his soul from my breath and from the wind.

11And I gave him seven natures: to the flesh hearing, the eyes for sight, to the soul smell, the veins for touch, the blood for taste, the bones for endurance, to the intelligence sweetness [enjoyment].

12I conceived a cunning saying to say, I created man from invisible and from visible nature, of both are his death and life and image, he knows speech like some created thing, small in greatness and again great in smallness, and I placed him on earth, a second angel, honourable, great and glorious, and I appointed him as ruler to rule on earth and to have my wisdom, and there was none like him of earth of all my existing creatures.

13And I appointed him a name, from the four component parts, from east, from west, from south, from north, and I appointed for him four special stars, and I called his name Adam, and showed him the two ways, the light and the darkness, and I told him:

14This is good, and that bad, that I should learn whether he has love towards me, or hatred, that it be clear which in his race love me.

15For I have seen his nature, but he has not seen his own nature, therefore through not seeing he will sin worse, and I said After sin what is there but death?

In this respect another, even more striking parallel between the account of creation in 2 Enoch 30 and the Gnostic materials should be mentioned. In the longer recension44 of 2 Enoch 30.8 the deity commanded his Wisdom45 to create man out the seven components.46 Scholars have previously noted the parallels between this role of Wisdom (Gk. Sophia) in the creation of the first human in the Slavonic apocalypse and the Gnostic texts.47 Some scholars even suggested that the Sophia tradition in 2 Enoch 30 might be an early Jewish prototype of the later Gnostic developments.48

Enoch instructs his sons, that they might not insult the face of any person, small or great

2 Enoch 44:1 The Lord with his hands having created man, in the likeness of his own face, the Lord made him small and great.
2 Enoch 44:2 Whoever insults a person's face insults the face of the Lord;... Whoever treats with contempt the face of any person treats the face of the Lord with contempt.

In this passage, 2 Enoch likens the human face to the divine face, vers 1; reminds us of Gen 1:27 it has similar wording

44:1 The Lord with his hands having created man, in the likeness of his own face, the Lord made him small and great.

Gen 1:27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

"in the image of God" That is, in the image of the Elohim whom the Father used in the work of creation. Man is In the Image And Likeness Of The Elohim, or angels . The word image means a shadow, or a likeness. The word is reproduced in Daniel 2 in relation to the image, and thus relates to form or appearance.

Genesis 5:3 states that "Adam begat a son in his likeness after his image" which illustrates its use here.

Man was made "in the image" of the Elohim, and inasmuch as they are "sons of God," the image is divine (though the nature of man is not).

Of the Lord Jesus Christ also, we read that he is "the exact representation of his (God's) very being" (Heb. 1:3). Yahweh has corporeal existence in heaven.

"While image, then, hath reference to form or shape, 'likeness' hath regard to mental constitution, or capacity... Adam's mental capacity enabled him to comprehend and receive spiritual ideas

But whereas Adam was made in "the image and likeness of the Elohim," the descendants of Adam inherit the consequences of the Fall. Seth was "in the likeness after the image" of Adam (Gen. 5:3), and not that of God.

Therefore, since the Fall it has been impossible for man to reflect the divine excellence in its fullness, and this has required the formation of a New Man who should exactly reveal the divine image and likeness. This Christ accomplished by conquering the flesh (Rom. 1:3; Heb. 1:3; Col. 1:15).

Man is a facsimile of god that is of god's visible face
any disrespect for any human being is to disrespect  God himself

2 Enoch 44:2 Whoever insults a person's face insults the face of the Lord; ....Whoever treats with contempt the face of any person treats the face of the Lord with contempt.

James 3:8 But the tongue, not one of mankind can get it tamed. An unruly injurious thing, it is full of death-dealing poison. 9 With it we bless God, even [the] Father, and yet with it we curse men who have come into existence “in the likeness of God


And now, my children, it is not from my own lips that I am reporting to you today, but from the lips of the Lord who has sent me to you. As for you, you hear my words, out of my lips, a human being created equal to yourselves; but I, I have heard the words from the fiery lips of the Lord. For the lips of the Lord are a furnace of fire, and his words are the fiery flames which come out. You, my children, you see my face, a human being created just like yourselves; I, I am one who has seen the face of the Lord, like iron made burning hot by fire, emitting sparks. For you gaze into (my) eyes, a human being created just like yourselves; but I have gazed into the eyes of the Lord, like the rays of the shining sun and terrifying the eyes of a human being.

Finally Theodotus is an important figure in Valentianian Gnosticism rejects the idea that the Pleroma is non-corporeal 

10 But not even the world of spirit and of intellect, nor the arch angels and the First-Created, no, nor even he himself is shapeless and formless and without figure, and incorporeal; but he also has his own shape and body corresponding to his preeminence over all spiritual beings, as also those who were first created have bodies corresponding to their preeminence over the beings subordinate to them. For, in general, that which has come into being is not unsubstantial, but they have form and body, though unlike the bodies in this world. Those which are here are male and female and differ from each other, but there he who is the Only-Begotten and inherently intellectual has been provided with his own form and with his own nature which is exceedingly pure and sovereign and directly enjoys the power of the Father; and the First-Created even though numerically distinct and susceptible of separate distinction and definition, nevertheless, are shown by the similarity of their state to have unity, equality and similarity. For among the Seven there is neither inferiority nor superiority and no advance is left for them, since they have received perfection from the beginning, at the time of the first creation from God through the Son. And he is said to be “inapproachable Light” as” Only-Begotten,” and “First-Born,” “the things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man,” – and such a one shall not be found either among the First-Created or among men, – but they “always behold the face of the Father” and the face of the Father is the Son, through whom the Father is known. Yet that which sees and is seen cannot be formless or incorporeal. But they see not with an eye of sense, but with the eye of mind, such as the Father provided.