Four Faces and Four Voices

The books of Enoch preserve many curious visions. At times, they present ideas not mentioned by anyone else. And what always amazes me personally are all the rich details that Enoch texts include. Take this seemingly typical scene where Enoch describes what he saw in heaven, "I saw a multitude beyond count or measure… I saw four distinct faces, different from those standing… I heard as voices came from those four faces... The first voice blessed the LORD of Spirits eternally." (1 Enoch 40 trans P. Shir) The passage builds on the imagery of the familiar vision in Ezekiel 1:5-21 and 10:9-22, describing the four faces. But the details that describe the heavenly creatures in Enoch go beyond what Ezekiel depicts. The four creatures that the faces represent are, in fact, four well-known angels.

Revelation 4:6-8 also depicts four “living creatures” - חַיּוֹת  (chayot) with four different faces, just like in Ezekiel 1:5-21 and 10:9-22, and it’s very similar to this passage in Enoch. "...and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf, the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.'" (Rev 4:6-8 NASB) These four are sometimes known as “angels of presence” (מלאכי הפנים; malachei hapanim) mentioned in the Bible (Ex 23:20-23; 33:14-15). But in Enoch, each face has a distinct message to announce. We saw that the first one blesses God, but what about the other three? Let's keep reading...