Books of Enoch

The Books of Enoch may be the most entertaining of the Jewish scriptures to read, which could explain why both Jews[note 1] and Catholics decided that they couldn't possibly be canonical. This almost led to the complete loss of these works, but thankfully the Ethiopian and the Eritrean Churches disagreed and preserved 1 Enoch in their language of Ge'ez. Part of 1 Enoch was also found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as sections of it being preserved in Greek and Latin. The fact that the only language the complete text was found in was Ge'ez led Wossenie Yifru to propose that this was the language spoken by people before the biblical flood, though most scholars believe that the original text was either written in Aramaic or Hebrew. The Bible was frequently influenced by books that most Christians and Jews consider to be non-canonical. Some examples of these are The Book of the Wars of the Lord, Book of Jasher, Book of Gad the Seer, Chronicles of King Ahasuerus, The Life of Adam and Eve, and the Martyrdom of Isaiah. There is a whole list of them at the other wiki. This page will focus on the influence of the Books of Enoch on the Bible or vice versa.

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The Transformer Metatron

According to Jewish tradition, Enoch was the great-grandfather of Noah who walked with God.

“”And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

—Genesis 5:24

Because he was a young 365 years old (Genesis 5:23), many people believed that Enoch was taken alive by God as his peers often lived to be over 700 years old.[note 2]. The belief that he was taken alive is shown in Hebrews 11:5.

“”By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

Rabbi Ishmael also subscribed to the idea that Enoch was still alive and he described in 3 Enoch how he was transformed into the robot Megatron archangel Metatron. During this transformation, Enoch grew to the size of the earth, grew 72 wings each of which 'was as the whole world',and he was given 365 eyes (3 Enoch 9:1–5). This angel was so powerful that he was called the lesser YHWH (3 Enoch 12:5).[1]

Judaeo-Christian tradition is a little unclear as to how Enoch acquired his knowledge. According to 1 Enoch, he acquired it directly from the angels.

“”(Enoch) saw the vision of the Holy One in the heavens, which the angels showed me, and from them I heard everything, and from them I understood as I saw, but not for this generation, but for a remote one which is for to come.

—1 Enoch 1:1-2[2]

Later Jewish texts have Enoch reading the The Book of the Angel Raziel, the angel equivalent of the Transformer's Creation Matrix. This book held the secrets of God and all the angels wanted it for themselves so Adam had to hide it in a cave after God returned it to him. It remained hidden until it was found and read by Enoch, who rehid it after he was done with it.[3] Then Enoch transformed into Metatron.

The Book of Enoch tells what Enoch/Metatron knows.

Human women are sexy

In Genesis 6:2-4 the Old Testament describes how 'the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.' and when they 'came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them'. These children were known as the nephilim[4] which loosely translates to giants. Cotton Mather was convinced he found a bone of a nephilim though more intelligent people would recognize it as a Mastodon bone. This impregnation of women by the sons of God was more fully developed in the Book of Enoch.

“”And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children… And they were in all two hundred; who descended ⌈in the days⌉ of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon… And these are the names of their leaders: Sêmîazâz, their leader, Arâkîba, Râmêêl, Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl, Dânêl, Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl, Asâêl, Armârôs, Batârêl, Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl, Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl… And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them… And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood.

—1 Enoch 6 -7[5]

Though it doesn't explicitly say it, one reason that the angels may have wanted to mate with human females could be due to the fact that all angels are dudes,[6] thus heterosexual angels didn't have a whole lot of options.[note 3] During this fall, the angels taught mankind forbidden knowledge. Azâzêl taught men how to make weapons, Semjâzâ taught enchantments, Ezêqêêl the knowledge of the clouds, and so on.[7] Interestingly, the idea of angels bringing 'evil' knowledge is the inverse of the Greek story of Prometheus. Whereas the Greeks cherished Prometheus as a champion for mankind for the knowledge he stole from the Gods, the Jews viewed Azazel[8] as a demon for giving mankind the knowledge of weapons. This makes historical sense considering the Jews were the ones constantly being conquered (Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, etc.) and therefore would be hateful of the knowledge of their conquerors. Azazel is later given a goat for some reason (Leviticus 16) though you wouldn't know that by reading the bible in English — almost all versions incorrectly translate the word to scapegoat. Thankfully most scholars are smarter than that.[9]

The "Most High, the Holy and Great One" was not happy with all of this fornication and man-eating so he sent Uriel to tell Noah about the deluge that was about to come so that Noah's seed could 'be preserved for all the generations of the world.' He also sent Raphael Raphael to 'Bind Azâzêl hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dûdâêl, and cast him therein.'[10] Leviticus 16 is a bit unclear as to whether Azazel was given the goat at Dûdâêl as it just says 'wilderness', but the Mishnah is less ambiguous about this. He was.[11]

It was because of the lustful angels described in Enoch that 1 Corinthians 11:10 instructed women to wear burqas.

Titles for the heavenly ruler that is not Yahweh

In addition to explaining how the transformer Metatron learned about the lustful 'sons of God' and the importance God placed on Noah's seed, the Book of Enoch describes the heavenly messiah and assigns several titles to him. Among these are the Elect One, The Son of Man, the Righteous One, and The Anointed (a.k.a. Christos (Χριστός), when translated into Greek). Unless specified otherwise, from this point forward abbreviations such as 62:1 will refer to the 1 Enoch translation done by Robert Henry Charles that can be found here.

The Elect One

The most prevalent title throughout Enoch for the heavenly judgement figure is the Elect One. This title is found in Chapters 39:6a, 40:5, 45:3,4, 49:2,4, 51:5a,3, 52:6,9, 55:4, 61:8,10, and 62:1. The following passage is one example of how this title is used within the context of the Book of Enoch.

“”On that day Mine Elect One shall sit on the throne of glory And shall try their works

—1 Enoch Chapter 45:3

The Elect One is a title found in the Old Testament where the word bachir[12] is used twice to refer to a messiah type figure. In Isaiah 42:1 it is used to describe a messiah figure who will judge the gentiles, and in Isaiah 45:4 it is used to refer to the messiah Cyrus the Great. It is also a title found throughout the New Testament, but the New Testament was originally written in Greek so the Hebrew word bachir is not used to signify his chosen. Oftentimes, the Greek word agapētos (αγαπητός),[13] which means beloved, is used. Much like bachir, agapētos is used to describe both his beloved/chosen people as well as his beloved/chosen son. The phrase 'Beloved Son' occurs 9 times in the New Testament.[14]

The interconnection between 'his chosen' (a.k.a elect) and 'his beloved' is shown in Matthew 12:18.

“”Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased

—Matthew 12:18

The most obvious example of the title "Elect One" may be from Luke 9:35 where the Greek word eklégomai[15] is used.

“”And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is (My Chosen One)[note 4]: hear him.

—Luke 9:35

The Son of Man

After 'the Elect One', the most prevalent title used in the Book of Enoch is the 'Son of Man'. This title is used in chapters 46:2-4, 48:2, 60:10, 62:7,9,14, 63:11, 70:1, and 71:14,17. One such example is as follows.

“” This is the Son of Man who hath righteousness With whom dwelleth righteousness, And who revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden. Because the Lord of Spirits hath chosen him, And whose lot hath the pre-eminence before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness for ever.

—1 Enoch 46:3

The title Son of Man is used 83 times in the New Testament[16] as well as a multitude of times in the Old Testament though only as a potential end time figure in the book of Daniel. The relevant passage is Daniel 7:13-14.

The Righteous One

The Book of Enoch uses the title 'the Righteous One' twice to refer to Ferris Bueller Master Splinter the heavenly messiah, once in Chapter 38:2, and once in Chapter 53:6.

“”And when the Righteous One shall appear before the eyes of the righteous

—1 Enoch Chapter 38:2

This is a title that also appears in the Bible on a couple of occasions, mostly in Acts (Acts 3:14, Acts 7:52, Acts 22:14). It is also a title that appears in 1 John 2:1.

Messiah

In the Old Testament, the word for anointed, messiach[17], is used when describing a messianic figure in the Old Testament. The heavenly ruler is also described as His Anointed twice in the Book of Enoch.

“”For they have denied the Lord of Spirits and His Anointed.

—1 Enoch Chapter 48:10

“”All these things which thou hast seen shall serve the dominion of His Anointed.

—1 Enoch Chapter 52:4

When the Hebrew word for anointed is translated into Greek it becomes Christos[18]. Most people probably don't doubt that Christos is in the New Testament, but in case you are wondering, it is used 538 times.

Things that 'The Elect One' et al. do according to Enoch

Resurrection

Judaism changed its original idea that souls rested in Sheol without knowledge or feeling[19] into the idea that their elect will be resurrected and given a place in heaven. This change in belief was most likely due to Zoroastrian influence who had a messiah-type figure called the Saoshyant that was responsible for raising the dead. The Book of Enoch describes how the Jews believed 'The Elect One' et al. would bring about this resurrection.

• 'This Son of Man whom thou hast seen Shall †raise up† the kings and the mighty from their seats' (46:4)
• 'And he shall choose the righteous and holy from among them: For the day has drawn nigh that they should be saved' (51:2)
• 'These shall bring the measures of the righteous, And the ropes of the righteous to the righteous, That they may stay themselves on the name of the Lord of Spirits for ever and ever' (61:3)
• 'The elect shall begin to dwell with the elect, And those are the measures which shall be given to faith And which shall strengthen righteousness. And these measures shall reveal all the secrets of the depths of the earth, And those who have been destroyed by the desert, And those who have been devoured by the beasts, And those who have been devoured by the fish of the sea, That they may return and stay themselves On the day of the Elect One; For none shall be destroyed before the Lord of Spirits, And none can be destroyed.' (61:4-5)
• 'And all who dwell above in the heaven received a command and power and one voice and one light like unto fire. And that One (with) their first words they blessed, And extolled and lauded with wisdom, And they were wise in utterance and in the spirit of life. And the Lord of Spirits placed the Elect One on the throne of glory. And he shall judge all the works of the holy above in the heaven, And in the balance shall their deeds be weighed.' (61:6-8)
• 'Those who deny the name of the dwelling of the holy ones and the Lord of Spirits. And into the heaven they shall not ascend, And on the earth they shall not come: Such shall be the lot of the sinners Who have denied the name of the Lord of Spirits Who are thus preserved for the day of suffering and tribulation.' (65:1-2)

End of Days

In Zoroastrianism, the Saoshyant and the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda fight against evil, falsehood and Angra Mainyu/Ahriman (the Zoroastrian devil) in a final battle called Frashokereti that occurs at the end of time. Most likely due to Zoroastrian influence, the Jewish people also began to believe in the End Times during the Persian, Greek, and Roman periods. The following are passages from the Book of Enoch that show this belief.

The strong/sinners/unfaithful shall be destroyed

• 'This Son of Man… shall loosen the reins of the strong. And break the teeth of the sinners.' (46:4)
• 'The angels shall return And hurl themselves to the east upon the Parthians and Medes: They shall stir up the kings, so that a spirit of unrest shall come upon them, And they shall rouse them from their thrones, That they may break forth as lions from their lairs, And as hungry wolves among their flocks. And they shall go up and tread under foot the land of His elect ones...' (56:5-6)
• 'In these days downcast in countenance shall the kings of the earth have become, And the strong who possess the land because of the works of their hands. For on the day of their anguish and affliction they shall not (be able to) save themselves. And I will give them over into the hands of Mine elect: As straw in the fire so shall they burn before the face of the holy: As lead in the water shall they sink before the face of the righteous, And no trace of them shall any more be found.' (48:8-9)

Also 38:1-2,45:6, 46:5, and 62:1-5.

The strong/sinners/unfaithful shall be sent to hell

• 'And he shall put down the countenance of the strong, And shall fill them with shame. And darkness shall be their dwellings And worms shall be their bed, And they shall have no hope of rising from their beds. Because they do not extol the name of the Lord of Spirits.' (46:6)
• 'In those days Sheol shall open its jaws, And they shall be swallowed up therein, And their destruction shall be at an end; Sheol shall devour the sinners in the presence of the elect.’(56:8)
• 'And on the day of their affliction there shall be rest on the earth, And before them they shall fall and not rise again: And there shall be no one to take them with his hands and raise them: For they have denied the Lord of Spirits and His Anointed. The name of the Lord of Spirits be blessed.' (48:10)

Also 46:7-8, 51:1.

The Elect will inherit the Earth/heaven

• 'And I will transform the earth and make it a blessing: And I will cause Mine elect ones to dwell upon it: But the sinners and evil-doers shall not set foot thereon.' (45.5)
• 'When the secrets of the righteous shall be revealed and the sinners judged, And the godless driven from the presence of the righteous and elect, From that time those that possess the earth shall no longer be powerful and exalted: And they shall not be able to behold the face of the holy, For the Lord of Spirits has caused His light to appear On the face of the holy, righteous, and elect. Then shall the kings and the mighty perish And be given into the hands of the righteous and holy. And thenceforward none shall seek for themselves mercy from the Lord of Spirits For their life is at an end.' (38:3-6)
• 'For I have provided and satisfied with peace My righteous ones And have caused them to dwell before Me: But for the sinners there is judgement impending with Me, So that I shall destroy them from the face of the earth.' (45:6)

Also 51:4-5.

Miscellaneous characteristics

The Elect One et al. has a couple of other characteristics that don't fit neatly into the above categories.

• The Elect One sits on the 'throne of glory' (51:2, 55:4, 69:27,29) beside Yahweh (46:1), and 'his dwelling-place (is) under the wings of the Lord of Spirits.'(39:7a).
• '(Has) the appearance of a man, And his face (is) full of graciousness.' (46:1)
• 'Before the sun and the signs were created, Before the stars of the heaven were made, His name was named before the Lord of Spirits.' (48:3)
• 'He shall be a staff to the righteous whereon to stay themselves and not fall, And he shall be the light of the Gentiles, And the hope of those who are troubled of heart.' (48:4)
• 'All the elect who dwell in the garden of life: And every spirit of light who is able to bless, and glorify, and extol, and hallow Thy blessed name, And all flesh shall beyond measure glorify and bless Thy name for ever and ever.' (61:12)
• 'For great is the mercy of the Lord of Spirits, and He is long-suffering, And all His works and all that He has created He has revealed to the righteous and elect In the name of the Lord of Spirits.’ (61:13)[note 5]
• 'All the righteous and elect before Him shall be †strong† as fiery lights, And their mouth shall be full of blessing.' (39:7b).
• 'Judges Azazel, and all his associates, and all his hosts in the name of the Lord of Spirits.’ (55:4).
• 'The Elect One standeth before the Lord of Spirits, And his glory is for ever and ever, And his might unto all generations.' (49:2)
• 'He is mighty in all the secrets of righteousness' (49:2,61:9), 'And in him dwells the spirit of wisdom, And the spirit which gives insight, And the spirit of understanding and of might, And the spirit of those who have fallen asleep in righteousness.' (49:3).
• 'And he shall judge the secret things, And none shall be able to utter a lying word before him.' (49:4)
• He 'hath he been chosen and hidden before Him.' (48:6)
• He 'Revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden.' (46:3)

Names of Yahweh

The messiological section of the Book of Enoch contains a couple of names for the Judaeo-Christian god that are unfamiliar to many people. One such name is "The Lord of Spirits" which is used throughout Enoch. The spirits the Lord has are found in Isaiah 11:2-3.

“”And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD

—Isaiah 11:2-3

Isaiah 11:2-3 is also quite similar to 1 Enoch 49:3 which describes the spirits of the messiah figure.

“”And in him dwells the spirit of wisdom, And the spirit which gives insight, And the spirit of understanding and of might, And the spirit of those who have fallen asleep in righteousness.

—1 Enoch 49:3

Other examples of God's spirit are found in Judges 3:10, Judges 11:29, Judges 15:14, 1 Samuel 16:13, 2 Samuel 23:2, 1 Kings 18:12, 2 Kings 2:16, 2 Chronicles 18:23, Isaiah 40:13, Ezekiel 11:5, and Micah 2:7 among several others.

A more peculiar term found in the Book of Enoch is the Head of Days (47:3, 48:2, 55:1) or 'One who had a head of days' (46:1). This terminology is quite similar to passages found Daniel 7:9, Daniel 7:13, and Daniel 7:22 where the title is translated into English as the "Ancient of Days." The Jewish Encyclopedia says that the two terms are interrelated [20] and it is easy to see the connection when one compares Daniel 7:9 with 1 Enoch 46:1.

“”I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool.

—Daniel 7:9

“” And there I saw One who had a head of days, And His head was white like wool

—1 Enoch 46:1

The garment Daniel 7:9 described is found in Enoch 14:20. "His raiment shone more brightly than the sun and was whiter than any snow."

Other Biblical influences and interactions

References to Enoch in the New Testament

Enoch is mentioned twice in the New Testament, first in Hebrews 11:5 and later in Jude 1:14-15. In the case of Hebrews 11:5, it tells us that 'before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.' In the case of Jude 1:14-15, the following is Enoch's testimony.

“”And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 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.

These appear to be two different accounts, Hebrews 11:5 was written by someone who wished to restrict Enoch's testimony to 'that he pleased God' and Jude 1:14-15 was taken from 1 Enoch. The seventh from Adam was taken from 1 Enoch 60:8. The Lord coming with ten thousand saints to pass judgement on people was a description of 1 Enoch 1:9, 40:1 and 56, as well as Deuteronomy 33:2. Passing judgement against sinners who speak against him was in 1 Enoch 5:4, 27:2, 38:2, 45:1-2, and 46:5.

Daniel 7

Daniel 7 describes a day of judgement where "4 great beasts come up from the sea." One of them was like a lion with eagles wings, another was like a bear, another was like a leopard with four wings and four heads, and the fourth beast had iron teeth and ten horns. Once you get past the description of the beasts, you have Daniel 7:9 which is the passage that is strikingly similar to 1 Enoch 46:1 because both are talking about an Ancient of Days type figure sitting on a throne with hair like wool. Then you have Daniel 7:10 - 'a fiery stream came forth from him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.' This is similar to Enoch 14:18-22.

“”I looked and saw a lofty throne… from underneath the throne came streams of flaming fire so that I could not look thereon. And the Great Glory sat thereon, and His raiment shone more brightly than the sun and was whiter than any snow. None of the angels could enter and could behold His face by reason of the magnificence and glory and no flesh could behold Him. The flaming fire was round about Him, and a great fire stood before Him, and none around could draw nigh Him: ten thousand times ten thousand (stood) before Him, yet He needed no counselor.

The fiery imagery is also mentioned in Ezekiel 1:1, Psalm 50:1, and Psalm 97:1. Daniel 7:10 goes on to say that the judgment was set, and the books were opened. This is similar to Enoch 10:11-12, among many other judgement passages found in 1 Enoch. After Daniel 7:10, you get Daniel 7:11-12 which talks a little more about the beasts. Then you get Daniel 7:13 which describes the Son of Man. "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him."

Some of the writers of the other wiki don't like the idea that Daniel 7:13 was talking about a messiah figure, but there is no reason to doubt that a messianic reference was intended. The entirety of Daniel 7 is a dream vision about a day of judgment and the Book of Enoch clearly shows that the Son of Man was a judgment figure. Moreover, as we have just seen, Daniel 7 and 1 Enoch are interrelated as they are using similar language such as the "Ancient of Days" that appears in no other section of the Bible. Additionally, other apocryphal books such as the Apocryphon of Daniel reveal that heavenly messianic beliefs were prominent in the Second Temple Period of Judaism.[21] The New World Encyclopedia, which is operated by the Unification Church, more accurately understands it as a messianic reference.[22] In any case, Daniel 7 then goes on to explain that the 4 beasts he saw were actually 4 kings and the 'saints of the most high' were going to destroy these kings in order to possess the kingdom forever. This is similar to Jude 1:14-15, Deuteronomy 33:2, and its corresponding 1 Enoch passages such as 1 Enoch 40:1 and 1 Enoch 56 mentioned earlier. Apparently the fourth beast with the horns was too much for the saints until the Ancient of Days acted on their behalf.[note 6]

70 generations until Jesus

According to Enoch 10:11-12, God said to Michael 'Go, bind Semjâzâ and his associates (the fallen angels) who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their uncleanness… and bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is for ever and ever is consummated.' Thus, according to Enoch, the day of judgement will occur in 70 generations. If you count Enoch as generation 1 and Jesus as generation 70, the genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3:23-38 has Jesus belonging to the 70^th generation.

God's Elect One bringing forth judgment to the Gentiles

Matthew 12:18 is usually seen as copying Isaiah 42:1 and this is probably correct as the two passages are strikingly similar. However it should be noted that the idea of God's Elect One bringing forth judgment to the Gentiles is more fully developed in the Book of Enoch.

Glory for ever and ever

1 Enoch Chapter 49:2 says 'The Elect One standeth before the Lord of Spirits, And his glory is for ever and ever, And his might unto all generations.' This bears a striking resemblance to Romans 11:36, Philippians 4:20, and Galatians 1:5.

Mark 13:26

Mark 13:26 says 'And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.' Similar imagery is found in 1 Enoch 18, 56, 57, and 62.

Matthew 25:31-46

Matthew 25:31-46 says the following:

“”When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left… And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

1 Enoch 62 is strikingly similar.

“”The Lord commanded the kings… ‘Open your eyes and lift up your horns if ye are able to recognize the Elect One.’ And the Lord of Spirits seated him on the throne of His glory... And the spirit of righteousness was poured out upon him, And the word of his mouth slays all the sinners, And all the unrighteous are destroyed from before his face. And there shall stand up in that day all the kings and the mighty, And the exalted and those who hold the earth, And they shall see and recognize How he sits on the throne of his glory, And righteousness is judged before him, And no lying word is spoken before him... And all the kings and the mighty and the exalted and those who rule the earth Shall fall down before him on their faces, And worship and set their hope upon that Son of Man, And petition him and supplicate for mercy at his hands. Nevertheless that Lord of Spirits will so press them That they shall hastily go forth from His presence, And their faces shall be filled with shame, And the darkness grow deeper on their faces. And He will deliver them to the angels for punishment, To execute vengeance on them because they have oppressed His children and His elect. And they shall be a spectacle for the righteous and for His elect: They shall rejoice over them, Because the wrath of the Lord of Spirits resteth upon them, And His sword is drunk with their blood. And the righteous and elect shall be saved on that day, And they shall never thenceforward see the face of the sinners and unrighteous. And the Lord of Spirits will abide over them, And with that Son of Man shall they eat And lie down and rise up for ever and ever. And the righteous and elect shall have risen from the earth, And ceased to be of downcast countenance. And they shall have been clothed with garments of glory. And these shall be the garments of life from the Lord of Spirits: And your garments shall not grow old, Nor your glory pass away before the Lord of Spirits.

Other passages

There are a multitude of other biblical passages that have similarities to Enoch, particularly from Revelation and 1 Peter. The following is a list of such passages and their connection will be elaborated upon in the annotated version of the Bible. The following list is taken from the introduction to the Book of Enoch as edited by Robert Henry Charles which was the translation that was used throughout this page. It too is in the public domain and can be found here on page 162. It is a good source for other information such as 1 Enoch's influence on the early Christian writers and on non-canonical works such as 4 Ezra.

Matthew 19:28, Matthew 19:29, Matthew 25:41, Matthew 26:24, Luke 1:52, Luke 9:35, Luke 16:8, Luke 18:7, Luke 21:28, Luke 23:35, John 5:22, John 12:36, John 14:2, Acts 3:14, Acts 4:12, Acts 10:4, Acts 17:31, Romans 8:38, Romans 9:5, 1 Corinthians 6:11, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Ephesians 1:9, Ephesians 1:21, Colossians 1:16, Colossians 2:3, 1 Thessalonians 5:3, 1 Thessalonians 5:5, 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 1 Timothy 1:9, 1 Timothy 1:15, 1 Timothy 4:9, 1 Timothy 5:21, 1 Timothy 6:15, Hebrews 4:13, Hebrews 11:5, Hebrews 12:9, 2 Peter 3:9, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:8, 1 John 2:15, Jude 1:6, Jude 1:14, Jude 1:15, Revelation 2:7, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 3:10, Revelation 3:17, Revelation 3:20, Revelation 4:6, Revelation 4:8, Revelation 6:10, Revelation 6:15, Revelation 6:16, Revelation 7:1, Revelation 7:15, Revelation 9:1, Revelation 9:20, Revelation 13:14, Revelation 14:9, Revelation 14:10, Revelation 14:20, Revelation 17:14, Revelation 20:13, Revelation 20:15, Revelation 21:4, Revelation 22:2, Revelation 22:3, Revelation 22:14, Revelation 22:19

According to another source, the translator Nickelsburg made a strong case for 1 Peter corresponding with Enoch 108.[23] The relevant passages are as follows.

1 Peter 1:7, 1 Peter 1:23, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 Peter 2:23, 1 Peter 3:9, 1 Peter 3:12, 1 Peter 3:16, 1 Peter 3:19, 1 Peter 3:20, 1 Peter 4:4, 1 Peter 4:16, 1 Peter 5:4, 1 Peter 5:6

Dating Enoch

1 Enoch

1 Enoch is a composite work so when trying to date it you need to look at the different parts. 1-36 is commonly referred to as the Book of the Watchers, 37-71 is often called the Book of Parables or the Similitudes of Enoch, 72 through 82 is called the Astronomical book or the Book of the Heavenly Luminaries, 83 to 90 is referred to as the Book of Dream Visions and 91-108 is referred to as the Epistle of Enoch. In addition, fragments of the Book of Noah are contained throughout Enoch (6:1-11:2, 54:7-55:2, 60:1-24, 65:1-69:25, 106:1-107:3)[24].

The Book of Watchers, the Book of the Heavenly Luminaries, the Book of Dream Visions, and the Epistle of Enoch are all found in the Dead Sea Scrolls so there is no doubt that they are old. But just how old are they? The Book of Watchers is viewed as the oldest of the works (it is the section that deals with fallen angels impregnating human females). Its oldest parts are dated to third century BCE or earlier, but some of the newer portions may date to 200-100 BCE. The Book of the Heavenly Luminaries is dated to around 200 to 100 BCE. The Book of Dream Visions is believed to have been written sometime in the time range of 163 to 37 BCE. And the Epistle of Enoch dates to around 170 to first century BCE.[25]

The portion of Enoch that gives scholars the most difficulty is the Book of Parables which is the section that deals with the heavenly messiah. Robert Charles dated the parables to 94-63 BCE, excluding the years 79-70 BCE. However other dates have been given ranging from 2nd century BCE to 270 CE, though the later dates are based on precarious assumptions. Erik Sjöberg argued that it was written before 70 CE and M. D. Hooker agrees with him.[26] According to James H. Charlesworth, 'Isaac, Nickelsburg, Stone, Knibb, Anderson, Black, VanderKam, Greenfield and Sutter' also agree with a probable pre-70 CE date and 'no specialists now argue that I Enoch 37-71... postdates the first century.'[25][27]

While the Book of Parables was not found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Book of Noah was found and Darrel D. Hannah mentions that Book of Noah may have served as source material for the original composition of the Parables.[28] Fragment 4Q534 of the Book of Noah prophesizes that this messiah will have red hair, will have discernment at age two, will read three books, will have either visions or wise seers visit him, will have wisdom and discretion, will know the secrets of man and the secrets of all living things, will prevail over plans against him, will rule over all things (or all living things), and his plans will succeed forever because he is the Elect of God.[29] The Apocryphon of Daniel, also found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, describes a messianic battle occurring at the End of Days and describes the messiah as being the “Son of God” or “Son of the Most High”.[21] The Book of War, also found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, describes the apocalyptic battle as well.[21] Descriptions of this apocalyptic battle are found throughout the Parables.

2 Enoch

2 Enoch survives in two Slavonic texts and is concerned with the creation of mankind. Parts of 2 Enoch were originally written in Greek and uses the Septuagint, Sirach, and the Book of Wisdom and therefore those parts would have been comprised after those works were written (sometime after 30 BCE). Other parts may be older. The fact that the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs uses passages from 2nd Enoch and the second temple is still standing in the text implies a pre-Christian or early Christian date. Thus most scholars date 2 Enoch sometime between 30 BCE and 70 CE.[30].

3 Enoch

3 Enoch, a.k.a. Metatron Enoch, is attributed to Rabbi Ishmael. He lived between 90-135 CE so assuming he didn’t write 3 Enoch before he was 18, we are talking about a date somewhere in the range of 108-135 CE.[30] The Book of Raziel the Angel which is loosely associated with 3 Enoch is more difficult to date. It can’t be definitely dated until the 13th century though parts of it are thought to have been written earlier.

Influence

The Book of 1 Enoch influenced the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Assumption of Moses, 2 Baruch, 4 Ezra, and the New Testament. 1 Enoch is also interconnected with the book of Jubilees, but given that this book was from the same era, it is difficult to determine which way the literary dependence runs. The Book of 2 Enoch influenced the Book of Adam and Eve, the Apocalypse of Moses, the Apocalypse of Paul, the Sibylline Oracles, the Ascension of Isaiah, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs.[30] As far as the New Testament is concerned, Robert Charles explained that the Book of Enoch molded the New Testament doctrines concerning the nature of the Messianic Kingdom and of the future life, the Messiah, Sheol and the resurrection, and demonology.[31] The Book of Enoch also influenced the founders of the early Christian church. Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen,[30] and Justin Martyr were among those influenced by it.[32]

See also

• Apocrypha

Notes

1. Minus Beta Israel
2. Enoch's father was 962 years old when he died (Genesis 5:18-19) and his son died at 969 (Genesis 5:21,27)
3. Do they have porn in heaven?
4. King James translates this as beloved but Chosen One is the better translation and is found in most other versions of the bible.
5. It is a little unclear as to whether 61:12 and 61:13 was referring to the Elect One or the Lord of Spirits, but the importance of this distinction is minimized given the later Christian tradition of the trinity.
6. By converting Constantine?

References

1. 3 Enoch
2. 1 Enoch 1
3. Enoch's Ascent: A Tale of a Jewish Angel By Rami Shapiro
4. Nephilim
5. 1 Enoch 6
6. Male angels
7. 1 Enoch 8
8. Azazel
9. Atonement Day
10. 1 Enoch 10
11. Dûdâêl
12. Bachir
13. Agapētos
14. Beloved Son
15. Eklégomai
16. Son of Man
17. Mashiach
18. Christos
19. Jewish Encyclopedia Sheol
20. Jewish Encyclopedia-Ancient of Days
21. deadseascrolls.org
22. Daniel
23. The Book of Enoch and the New Testament
24. The Book of Noah
25. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Book_of_Enoch
26. Dating the Similitudes of Enoch by Christopher L. Mearns
27. http://www.logoschristian.org/enoch.html
28. Darrel D. Hannah Enoch and the Messiah Son of Man: Revisiting the Book of Parables p. 472
29. Dead Sea Scrolls-Book of Noah.
30. Books of Enoch
31. The apocrypha and pseudepigrapha of the old Testament in English page 184
32. The apocrypha and pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English page 181-183