The book of Enoch is an important book in the sense that it inspired much of Christian theology. It discussed divine elements of Christianity and even had parts removed from it by the Catholic Church, as they believed its ideas to be too controversial. It has inspired artists and writers for many years.
The book of Enoch is an ancient, non-canonical work, which has qualities found in pseudepigrapha. It details the journey of the eponymous Noahic patriarch and his dealings with other Biblical figures. It is presented as a revelation from God to Enoch.
When Was the Book of Enoch Removed from The Bible
By the fifth century, the Book of Enoch was mostly excluded from Christian biblical canons, and it is now regarded as scripture only by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
Background of the Book of Enoch
The Book of Enoch is thought to have been written between the third century B.C. and the first century A.D. It is attributed to Enoch, a figure from the Bible who was said to have lived before the Great Flood. The book is made up of several sections, with the most well-known being the Book of Watchers, which describes fallen angels who sinned by mating with human women.
Exclusion from Christian Biblical Canons
Despite its popularity in early Christianity, the Book of Enoch was gradually excluded from most Christian canons by the fifth century. The reasons for this exclusion are not entirely clear, but it may have been due to concerns about its authorship and content, which diverge significantly from orthodox Christian teachings.
Acceptance by Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Churches
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church are unique in their acceptance of the Book of Enoch as scripture. In these traditions, the book is seen as having prophetic and apocalyptic significance, providing insights into the nature of sin, judgment, and the end times.
Implications for Christian Theology
The inclusion of the Book of Enoch in the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox canons has implications for Christian theology. It raises questions about the boundaries of scripture, the authority of traditional Christian canons, and the diversity of beliefs within the broader Christian tradition.
Overall, the Book of Enoch remains a fascinating and controversial text within Christianity, highlighting the complexity of the relationship between ancient Jewish literature and Christian theology.
| Key Points: |
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| The Book of Enoch was written between the third century B.C. and the first century A.D. |
| It was mostly excluded from Christian biblical canons by the fifth century. |
| The Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Churches consider it to be scripture. |
| Its acceptance raises questions about the boundaries of scripture and authority within Christianity. |
The First Book of Enoch, also known as the Ethiopic Book of Enoch, is a sacred text found among the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947. Initially accepted by the Jewish and Christian communities as a viable book of scripture, the Book of Enoch is presently pseudepigraphical or not included in any biblical canon.
The Book of Enoch (also 1 Enoch;[a] Hebrew: סֵפֶר חֲנוֹךְ, Sēfer Ḥănōḵ; Ge’ez: መጽሐፈ ሄኖክ, Maṣḥafa Hēnok) is an ancient Hebrew apocalyptic religious scripture, assigned by tradition to the patriarch Enoch who was the father of Methuselah and the great-grandfather of Noah. The Book of Enoch includes a number of unique pieces of information, including an explanation of why the flood described in Genesis was morally essential, an explanation of the origins of demons and Nephilim, an explanation of why some angels fell from heaven, and a prophetic exegesis of the thousand-year reign of the Messiah. According to the conventional interpretation, Enoch is the author of three books, including the two separate works known as 2 Enoch and 3 Enoch.
As far as the majority of Jewish and Christian church bodies are concerned, none of the three volumes are recognized to be canonical scripture.
The oldest parts of the book of 1 Enoch, which are mostly found in the Book of the Watchers, are thought to have been written between 300 and 200 BC, while the most recent chapter, which is known as the Book of Parables, is most likely written around 100 BC.
In Genesis 5:21-24 we are told that Enoch walked with God. In my research I have found the book of Enoch. I have read it over and over and found it to be very moving and very inspiring. It was the very key to bring me back to our Lord and Savior. It is a blue print of all things past, present, and future from Genesis to the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) our Messiah, to the secret day of judgment. It is almost the whole Bible in one book.
he book of Enoch is one of the Pseudepigrapha books and was apparently written during the second or first century before Jesus Christ. It should be noted that this book is usually regarded to be the Ethiopic Apocalypse of Enoch. There is also a Slavonic Apocalypse which is called the second book of Enoch that was written late in the first century A.D. There is a third book or Hebrew Apocalypse of Enoch which is believed to have been written in the fifth to sixth century A.D. However, the book that is referred as the book of Enoch is the first book which contains one hundred and eight chapters which comprise five sections that are often also called books. What follows is a description of the book of Enoch, a comparison of Enoch to the book of Jude, and the answer to the question, “Why is the book of Enoch not included in the Bible?”
Book of Enoch
Overview of First Enoch (2nd to 1st B.C.)
The first book of Enoch has five sections. James H. Charlesworth outlines the book as follows:
- Book of the Watchers (1-36)
- Book of the Similitudes (37-71)
- Book of the Astronomical Writings (72-82)
- Book of the Dream Visions (83-90)
- Book of the Epistle of Enoch (91-107)
Chapters 1-5 provide a short introduction of Enoch and speak to the major themes of rewards, punishment, the end of the world and final judgment. Book 1 includes chapters 6-36 and is primarily about angels, the Tree of Life, Jerusalem, and the universe. Book 2 includes chapters 37-71 and deals with the One, the Son of God, or the Messiah, resurrection, the flood, Noah, future judgment, and paradise. Book 3 includes chapters 72-82 which deal with the stars, moon, astronomy, the universe, and Enoch’s mission. Book IV includes chapters 83-90 which concern predictions about the flood, a historical sketch, the future of Israel, and the messianic kingdom. Book V includes chapters 91-105 that deal with various challenges for the wicked and righteous. The concluding chapters of 106-108 discuss the sin after the flood until the coming of the Messiah.
Comparison of books of Jude and Enoch
While the book is fascinating to read, it is important to note that the first book of Enoch is not Scripture. That is, the book is not inspired by God. The book was quoted in the Apocryphal book of Baruch, and in several early church manuscripts: Barnabas 16:5, Idolatry 15:6 (Tertullian), and Eccl. Proph 3 (Clement of Alexandria). Some have speculated that Jude 14-15 is a quote from the book of Enoch and concluded that Jude regarded Enoch as Scripture. The following two quotes compare Jude 14-15 to the suspected passage in the book of Enoch.
Jude 14-15
. . . Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. (NASB) Jude 14-15
Enoch 1:9
. . . Behold, he will arrive with ten million of the holy ones in order to execute judgment upon all. He will destroy the wicked ones and censure all flesh on account of everything that they have done, that which the sinners and the wicked ones committed against him. – Enoch 1:9
Upon examination of these two texts, the reader will note that Jude refers to “thousands” of angels, but Enoch refers to “millions.” This could appear to be significant, but the Greek word in Jude that is translated as “thousands” is myrias. It literally means “ten thousand” when used in the singular. When the Greek word is plural, it means “innumerable.” Balz and Schneider state,
myrias “appears 8 times in the NT: in the literal sense, Acts 19:19 . . .; in the sense of myriads/thousands/tens if thousands (without further specification of the exact number).”
Note that the Greek word, myrias, is plural in Jude. In R. H. Charles’ Greek text of 1 Enoch myrias appears. t should be noted that R. H. Charles has written many books about the book of Enoch. He has supplied a Greek text of Enoch. The Greek text supplied by him has myrias in the plural. This means the Greek texts of Jude 14-15 and Enoch 1:9 both contain myrias and the apparent difference of “thousands” and “ten million” is due to differences in translation of the same word. The difference is not real since the Greek word is identical.
Careful examination of the two passages reveals some significant differences, however. First, Jude says that God will “convict” all of the ungodly, but Enoch says that they will be “destroyed.” In the Greek language the words for convict and destroy are different. Therefore, this is a significant difference. There are other significant differences such as Jude says, “harsh things” but Enoch does not. Jude says, “spoken against” but Enoch says, “committed against him.” A comparison of the two passages reveal that the Greek text of Jude has 29 words but the text supplied by R. H. Charles has 36 words.
Therefore, it is inaccurate to conclude that Jude just copied Enoch. It is important to notice that Jude does not quote the first book of Enoch but simply reports that Enoch “prophesied, saying.” That is, Jude is not citing the book of Enoch but the prophet Enoch.