The book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work that is ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon used by Jews, apart from the Beta Israel canon. It is regarded as canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, but no other Christian group. The older sections of the book consist of five textual units:
- The Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1–36)
- The Book of Parables of Enoch (1 Enoch 37–71) (also called the Similitudes of Enoch)
- The Astronomical Book (1 Enoch 72–82) (also called the Book of the Heavenly Luminaries or Book of Luminaries)
- The Book of Dream Visions (1 Enoch 83–90) (also called the Book of Dreams)
- The Epistle of Enoch (1 Enoch 91–108)
Most scholars believe that these five sections were originally independent works, themselves a product of much editorial arrangement, and were only later redacted into what we now call 1 Enoch.
The first part of the Book of Enoch describes the fall of the Watchers, the angels who fathered the Nephilim. The remainder of the book describes Enoch’s visits to heaven in the form of travels, visions and dreams, and his revelations.
The book consists of five quite distinct major sections:
- The Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1 – 36)
- The Book of Parables of Enoch (1 Enoch 37 – 71) (also called the Similitudes of Enoch)
- The Astronomical Book (1 Enoch 72 – 82) (also called the Book of the Heavenly Luminaries or Book of Luminaries)
- The Book of Dream Visions (1 Enoch 83 – 90) (also called the Book of Dreams)
- The Epistle of Enoch (1 Enoch 91 – 108)
The Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1 – 36)
The first part of the Book of Enoch describes the fall of the Watchers, the angels who fathered the Nephilim (Genesis 6:1-4). The remainder of the book describes Enoch’s visits to heaven in the form of travels, visions and dreams, and his revelations.
The Book of Parables (1 Enoch 37 – 71)
The Book of Parables contains three parables narrating Enoch’s journeys through the heavens. These parables are important for scholars as they function as the basis for later non-canonical books like the Book of Giants.
The Astronomical Book (1 Enoch 72 – 82)
The Astronomical Book, also known as The Book of the Heavenly Luminaries, describes the movement of the sun, moon and stars. It is unique from the other sections in that it does not claim to be directly revealed to Enoch from God.
The Book of Dream Visions (1 Enoch 83 – 90)
In the Book of Dream Visions, Enoch is taken up to heaven and foresees the history and the future including the Flood of Noah and the Messianic Kingdom.
The Epistle of Enoch (1 Enoch 91 – 108)
The last section consists of a discourse attributed to Enoch which Enoch delivers to his sons with the purpose of exhorting them to keep righteousness and good judgement.
The ancient Jews evidently possessed a compilation of texts known as 1 Enoch. The collection was separated into five works:
- Book of the Watchers
- Book of Parables of Enoch
- Astronomical Book
- Book of Dream Visions
- Epistle of Enoch
Researchers believe that these texts were written in stages by different authors in different historical contexts between 300 BC and 100 AD.
The Book of Enoch remained in circulation for several centuries in various forms. There is some debate about the original language of composition – some argue for Aramaic while others argue for Hebrew. There are fragments and translations that survive in various ancient languages like Greek, Latin and Syriac.
But by the 4th century AD, the Book of Enoch was mostly excluded from Christian Bibles. It was considered heretical and not inspired scripture. The mainstream rabbinic authorities of Judaism also ultimately rejected Enoch as not canonical. Only the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Eritrean Orthodox Church kept Enoch as part of their scriptural canon.
So in summary, the Book of Enoch is a collection of texts composed between about 300 BC and 100 AD by various authors. It was circulated among ancient Jews and some early Christians. While popular for a time, it was ultimately excluded or rejected from the biblical canon by most Christians and Jews. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is the only one today that considers Enoch to be inspired scripture.
Content of the Book of Enoch
Here is a summary of the different sections of 1 Enoch:
The Book of the Watchers (Chapters 1–36)
The Book of the Watchers expands on theorigin of the Nephilim and the Watchers/fallen angels. The fallen angels teach humans various forms of knowledge such as magic, astrology, weaponry, cosmetics, mirrors, sorcery/medicine, etc. This leads to increasing wickedness of humans and the Great Flood.
The Parables (Chapters 37–71)
The Parables, also known as Similitudes, contain visions or parables which Enoch saw. It speaks of the coming of the Messiah and the end of the world.
The Astronomical Book (Chapters 72–82)
The Astronomical Book describes the movement of heavenly bodies and also speaks of theluminaries rising and setting in the order and in their own time and never change.
The Dream Visions (Chapters 83–90)
The Dream Visions deal with the first dream vision which is an allegorical account of the history of Israel, that uses animals to represent human beings and human beings to represent angels.
Epistle of Enoch (Chapters 91-108)
The Epistle speaks of the coming judgment of the wicked and the resurrection of the righteous. The text concludes with divine blessings upon the righteous.
The major sections of 1 Enoch contain accounts of watchers/fallen angels, visions and parables of the coming Messiah, descriptions of heavenly bodies and their movements, a retelling of the history of Israel using symbolism, and prophecies of judgment and blessing.
Should the Book of Enoch be in the Bible?
There are several reasons why the Book of Enoch is not included in the Biblical canon:
- Enoch likely contains material from multiple authors over several centuries. It lacks historical unity and consistency.
- Parts of the text promote suspect theology, such as angelology concerning fallen angels.
- Enoch makes use of other non-canonical and pseudepigraphical works.
- No manuscript evidence exists from before the 2nd century BCE, calling into question origins.
- The text does not seem to have existed in Hebrew/Aramaic. Only Greek translations have survived.
- Enoch was not included in early canons and was considered apocryphal. It is not quoted in the New Testament.
- Important early Church Fathers like Origen and Tertullian rejected Enoch.
So in summary, the Book of Enoch has a number of theological and historical issues that resulted in its exclusion from the biblical canon. It lacks unity and original source material. It also contains unsound theological elements. So while insightful in some ways, it does not meet the criteria for inspired scripture.
However, the Book of Enoch still provides interesting historical insights into Jewish thought and theology around the 1st century BCE and CE. But based on the issues outlined above, there is no compelling case that it should be added to the biblical canon.
References to Enoch in the Bible
Despite the Book of Enoch not being part of the biblical canon, there are some references to Enoch in the Bible:
Genealogy of Enoch
Enoch is mentioned in genealogies in 1 Chronicles 1:3, Luke 3:37, and Hebrews 11:5. He was a descendant of Adam through Seth.
Enoch’s Faith Commended
Hebrews 11:5 states “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.”
Prophecy of Enoch
Jude 1:14-15 attributes a prophecy to Enoch: “It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
So Enoch is identified as a man of faith and a prophet, but the biblical canon does not contain the book that bears his name.
Key Differences Between the Bible and Book of Enoch
Here are some of the key theological differences between the traditional biblical canon and the Book of Enoch:
- The Book of Enoch expands on angels interbreeding with humans to produce nephilim, an idea not present in the canonical account of Genesis 6.
- Enoch says sin originates with the angels, not with humans.
- The sun and moon are portrayed as living, eternal beings.
- Enoch lays greater emphasis on angels compared to the canonical books.
- A more robust angelology is present, with concern about angelic intermediaries.
- The Canaanites are of angelic descent while Jews are fully human.
- Animal sacrifice portrayed as an affront to God, contrary to the Old Testament sacrificial system.
- The creation week and Noah’s flood are more precisely dated.
In essence, Enoch portrays a very different worldview and theology than the Old and New Testaments, especially regarding angels, sin, and sacrifice. This helps explain its exclusion from the biblical canon.
Influence of the Book of Enoch on Christianity
Despite being excluded from the biblical canon, the Book of Enoch still had some interesting influences and contributions to Christianity:
- Helped shape Christian beliefs about the Messiah as “Son of Man.”
- Concept of fallen angels interbreeding with humans inspired later Christian legends.
- Helped develop conceptual foundations of Christian angelology and demonology.
- Focused attention on theodicy – the question of why evil exists.
- Shape themes of journeying through heavens later reflected in the Apostle Paul’s writings.
- Millennialism and interest in the end times draws links back to Enoch’s apocalyptic visions.
- Ethiopic Christians and some other unorthodox sects still include Enoch in their Old Testament canon.
So while not canonical, the Book of Enoch still contributed substantially to the landscape of early Jewish and Christian thought. It helped form perspectives on evil, judgement, and the afterlife.
Key Takeaways on the Book of Enoch
- The Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish text composed between 300 BCE and 100 CE.
- It is ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah and son of Jared.
- It describes Enoch’s encounters with fallen angels, visions, astronomical knowledge, and moral exhortations.
- Early Christians valued the Book of Enoch and some considered it scripture.
- The Book of Enoch was ultimately excluded from biblical canon, apart from some Ethiopian churches.
- Enoch is still mentioned favorably in the New Testament epistle of Jude.
- While not canonical, Enoch still helped shape Christian theology on topics like angels, demons, and the Messiah.
So in summary, the Book of Enoch provides fascinating historical insights into Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity. But due to numerous concerns, it was excluded from the Old Testament biblical canon. Nevertheless, echoes of Enoch’s visions and prophecies can still be found reverberating through the New Testament writings today.