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 The History of The Book of Enoch
The epistle of Jude is the only New Testament book that seems to include
a direct citation of The Book of Enoch. The apparent reference to Enoch’s prophecy is in
Jude 14-15:
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from
Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15 To execute judgment
upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed,
and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Referring to
1 Enoch 1:9:
And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones to execute judgment upon all, and to destroy all the
ungodly: and to convict all flesh of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, and
of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.
The book was thought to have been lost, for over 2,000 years, with many ancient
sources referring to it, and even quoting parts, but no complete copies were known. Then in 1773, James Bruce brought
three copies back from Ethiopia, having spent some years exploring the country.
Enoch had two main reasons for writing his book. The first was because the Watchers instructed him to do it, (see
section 15 at 81.5 and 81.6). The second reason; was to save his family from the flood.
Enoch wrote his book, after his grandson Lamech was born, but before Noah was born. Noah is only named in the section
that Methuselah wrote, (see section 10 at 107.3), and of course in his own section (section 11, The Book of Noah).
So, there may still have been 40 - 80 years left before the flood, at the time when Enoch wrote his book.
There is a long gap between the time of the flood and the time when Moses gave praise to Enoch in Genesis. Genesis
dates from around 1400 BC, and forms part of the Torah (the first five books of the bible).
In Genesis, there is Enoch's family; as named by him in this book, and a quick recap of some of Enoch's story.
It seems likely therefore, that copies of the Book of Enoch survived into Egyptian times, 3500 BC, and was known
to Moses around 2,000 years later.
Moses presumably took a copy of the book with him when they all left Egypt, and he was no doubt pleased to see
Enoch's prophecy fulfilled.
The book probably existed mainly in Hebrew during the thousand years after the exodus. No Hebrew copies exist today,
however, although there are some Hebrew passages quoted in some of the Aramaic fragments that survive from a few
centuries BC.
The appearance of the book in Ethiopia, is probably due to events in Jerusalem during the reign of King Manasseh
of Judah, (695 - 642 BC), which are documented in the Bible, (2Chronicles 33:1 - 20, and at 2Kings 21:1 - 18).
King Manasseh was not of the Jewish faith, he erected alters to Baal and Asherah in Solomon's Temple. In Kings
at 21:16, it says that so much innocent blood was shed that it filled Jerusalem from end to end. At this time,
the religious establishment left the country, taking the Ark of the Covenant and all the important religious texts
with them.
After a number of years in Egypt, the refugees went further south, near to the source of the Nile, at Lake Tana
in Ethiopia. The descendants of these people are the Falashas, who even today follow the form of Judaism that had
been practiced in Israel only before 620 BC. The Ethiopians translated The Book of Hanokh into Ge'ez, and had enough
respect to look after it.
Meanwhile, all Hebrew versions disappeared but a substantial part of the book had survived in Greek, and some parts
in Aramaic, but until Scottish traveler, and freemason, James Bruce, returned from Ethiopia in 1773, with three
manuscripts, no one in the west had ever seen the whole book.
The two commonly available translations were done soon after this and the book was received with an embarrassed
silence, for the most part, and not widely read.
This translation is This book is based on a new translation published in 1978, which was produced as a result of
research into a large number of the Ethiopian manuscripts and a review of all other surviving fragments.
Back to Book of Enoch
The following is an article by Jona Lendering ©
The First book of Enoch is one of the Old Testament pseudepigrapha, in other
words a book with a Jewish, religious content that was once regarded as one of the sacred scriptures, but was not
recognized as truly inspired by the rabbis who made the canon of the Jewish Bible.
The name 'Enoch' (or Henoch) can be found in Genesis, where this patriarch is mentioned as the seventh descendant
of Adam and Eve.
Jared had lived 162 years when he begat Enoch, and after he begat Enoch, he lived 800 years, and begat sons and
daughters. All the days of Jared were 962 years. Then he died.
Enoch had lived 65 years when he begat Methuselah, and after he begat Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years,
and begat sons and daughters. All the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God. Then he vanished because
God took him. [Genesis 5.18-23]
Since the writer of Genesis does not write that Enoch died and 'walked with God', later generations thought that
he had seen all mysteries of the universe. From the third century BCE on, authors used him as their spokesman,
attributing all sorts of secret knowledge to his revelation. Five of these texts were joined together at an unknown
moment, and are now known as the First book of Enoch. It is also called the Ethiopian book of Enoch, because the
book is best known from some forty manuscripts from Ethiopia. However, there are many Aramaic fragments of the
constituent parts among the Dead Sea scrolls, a handful of Greek fragments and one scrap in Latin.
The title First book of Enoch suggests that there has to be a Second book too. This is a text on the lives of Enoch
and his descendants; it is only known to us in a Slavonic translation and it is not known when it was written.
The Third book of Enoch was written in the fifth/sixth century and describes how the second-century rabbi Ishmael
journeyed into heaven and saw God's throne and chariot. This work has influenced the Zohar, the sacred book of
Jewish Cabbala.
Back to the First book of Enoch. It consists of five main parts, which can be subdivided. These parts were composed
at different times and never meant as a unity.
The Book of watchers (§1-36): a third century or early second century BCE text on the Last judgment and the
reason why God will judge harshly.
Introduction (§1-5): the Last judgment;
Narrative (§6-36): the fallen angels, their children by mortal women, the corruption of mankind, Enoch's unsuccessful
intercession for the fallen angels, a vision of mankind's doom, and Enoch's journey to Earth, Hell, and Heaven.
The Book of similitudes (§37-71): a text from the first century CE, dealing with aspects of the Last judgment.
First parable: a description of heaven, where Enoch sees the habitations of the just, the angels and the Messiah
(§38-44);
Second parable: a description of a.o. the Messiah, the messianic age and his judgment (§45-57; quote);
third parable: a description of phenomena during the judgment by the Son of man (§58-71).
The Astronomical book (§72-82): a treatise from the third century BCE on meteorology, astronomy and the calendar.
The Book of dream visions (§83-90): two visions that were composed during the Maccabaean revolt (165-160 BCE).
First vision: the Deluge as the first judgment (§83-84);
Second vision: a history of Israel until the Maccabaean revolt (§85-90).
The Epistle of Enoch (§91-108): warnings, blessings and an apocalypse, composed in the early second century
BCE.
The Apocalypse of weeks (§91 and 93)
Woes to the sinners, adhortations to the righteous ones (§94-104)
An appendix (§105-108)
This complex work was extremely influential and is very important. It is the oldest known apocalyptic text -older
than the canonical book of Daniel- and this proves that it is incorrect to maintain that the apocalyptic genre
originated in the age of the Maccabaean revolt.
Several other pseudepigrapha refer to 1 Enoch. One may think of the Book of jubilees and the Book of giants. It
is also quoted in the New Testament, e.g. by Luke and Jude.
The Enochic books were very popular in the library of the sect at Qumran. Oddly enough, there are only fragments
of the first and last three units; the Book of similitudes is conspicuously absent, which may be explained from
the fact that the library contained no manuscripts of compositions from the first century CE. Several copies make
it clear that the Book of watchers and the Book of the dream visions were already joined in c.100 BCE.
The First book of Enoch is quoted in the Christian Bible (Epistle of Jude 14-15). Its theory that the Messiah would
arrive seventy generations after Enoch is present in the Gospel of Luke (more).
There are nu indications that the book was popular among the Pharisees, and when the rabbis of Yavne, the spiritual
descendants of Phariseism, established the canon of the Bible, they ignored Enoch.
A translation of the First book of Enoch can be found in James Charlesworth (ed.), The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
(1983 New York), volume one, pp.5-89.
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