The back side of P.Mich.inv. 5552, showing portions of the Book of Enoch in Greek. This manuscript is part of the Chester Beatty Papyri, and is the 3rd leaf of the surviving manuscript, which also contained an unknown Christian homily attributed to Melito of Sardis. Most likely originated in Egypt. Currently housed in: (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Early illustration (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Enoch is a figure in the Generations of Adam. Enoch is described as Adam’s greatx4 grandson (through Seth), the son of Jared, the father of Methuselah, and the great-grandfather of Noah. The text reads – uniquely in the Generations – that Enoch “walked with God: and he was not; for God took him,” (Genesis 5:22-29) suggesting he did not experience the mortal death ascribed to Adam’s other descendants.
Despite the brief descriptions of him, Enoch is one of the main two focal points for much of the 1st millennium BC Jewish mysticism, notably in the Book of Enoch. Additionally, Enoch is important in some Christian denominations: He is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church on July 26. He also features in the Latter Day Saint movement.
Enoch appears in Genesis as the seventh of the ten pre-Deluge Patriarchs. The function of the Patriarchs is primarily to mark the passage of immense periods of time[citation needed]: each lives for several centuries, has a son, lives more centuries, and dies. Enoch is unique in the series on two counts: his life-span of 365 years is extremely short in the context of his long-lived peers, and he does not die, the Bible noting rather that “he was not, for God took him.” (Genesis 5:22-29).
In the Septuagint the phrase “God took him” is rendered with the Greek verb metatithemi a common Greek verb for moving from one place to another.
Sirach 44:16 states, “Enoch pleased God and was translated into paradise that he may give repentance to the nations.”
In classical Rabbinical literature, there are divergent opinions of Enoch. After Christianity and Judaism had separated, the prevailing view regarding Enoch was that of Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, which thought of Enoch as a pious man, taken to Heaven, and receiving the title of Safra rabba (Great scribe).
However, while Christianity was separating from Judaism, the Jewish view of Enoch was he was the only pious man of his time and was taken away before he would become corrupted.
According to Rashi [from Genesis Rabba], Enoch was a righteous man, but he could easily be swayed to return to do evil. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, hastened and took him away and caused him to die before his time. For this reason, Scripture changed the wording in the account of his demise and wrote, and he was no longer in the world to complete his years.
Among the minor Midrashim, esoteric attributes of Enoch are expanded upon. In the Sefer Hekalot, Rabbi Ishmael is described as having visited the 7th Heaven, where he meets Enoch, who claims that earth had, in his time, been corrupted by the demons Shammazai, and Azazel, and so Enoch was taken to Heaven to prove that God was not cruel. Similar traditions are recorded in Sirach. Later elaborations of this interpretation treated Enoch as having been a pious ascetic, who, called to mix with others, preached repentance, and gathered (despite the small number of people on Earth) a vast collection of disciples, to the extent that he was proclaimed king. Under his wisdom, peace is said to have reigned on earth, to the extent that he is summoned to Heaven to rule over the sons of God. In a parallel with Elijah, in sight of a vast crowd begging him to stay, he ascends to Heaven on a horse.
Enoch is often confused with Enos. However, Enos is grandson to Adam (Genesis 5:5-6), and great-great-grandfather of Enoch (Genesis 5:9-18).
The New Testament contains 3 references to Enoch. The first is a brief mention in Luke’s genealogy of the ancestors of Jesus (Luke 3:37).
The second mention is where the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews writes, “By faith Enoch was transferred, that he should not see death, and was not found, because God had transferred him; for before his transference he had the witness that he had pleased God well.” (Hebrews 11:5)
The third mention is in the Epistle of Jude (1:14-15) where the author attributes to “Enoch, the Seventh from Adam” a passage unknown in the Old Testament. The quotation is believed by most modern scholars to be taken from 1 Enoch 1:9 which exists in Greek, in Ethiopic, as part of the Ethiopian Orthodox canon, and also in Aramaic among the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Though the same scholars recognize that 1 Enoch 1:9 itself is a midrash of the words of Moses “he came from the ten thousands of holy ones” from Deuteronomy 33:2. The introductory phrase “Enoch, the Seventh from Adam” is also found in 1 Enoch (1 En. 60:8), though not in the Old Testament. In the New Testament this Enoch prophesies “to” ungodly men, that God shall come with His holy ones to judge and convict them (Jude 1:14-15).
Early Christianity contains various traditions concerning the “translation” of Enoch. Regarding the quotation in Jude, most of early Christianity considered it an independent quotation pre-dating the flood. Regarding the Book of Enoch itself Origen, Jerome and Augustin mention it, but as of no authority. Justin, Athenagoras, Irenaeus, Clemens Alexandrinus, Lactantius, and others borrowed an opinion out of this book of Enoch, that the angels had connection with the daughters of men, of whom they had offspring (‘the giants of the past’). Tertullian, in several places, speaks of this book with esteem; and would persuade us, that it was preserved by Noah during the deluge.
According to the Futurists (a group of Jesuit missionaries mainly led by Joachim Bouvet into China at the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century and based on ideas of Matteo Ricci 1552 to 1610), Fu Xi in China’s ancient history is actually Enoch.
Enoch is not counted as a saint in Roman Catholic tradition, though Enoch has a saints day, July 26, in the Armenian Apostolic Church. The “St. Enoch” in the place name St. Enoch’s Square, Glasgow, is a corruption from the site of a medieval chapel to Saint Teneu, the legendary mother of Saint Mungo, and unconnected with Enoch.
Enoch is revered in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and the Enochic texts Jubilees and 1 Enoch regarded as the 13th and 14th books, respectively, of the Tewahedo Old Testament canon. Most churches, including the Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Protestant churches, do not accept the books. Some Evangelical commentators consider Enoch to be one of the Two Witnesses in the Book of Revelation due to the fact that he did not die according to Genesis 5:24. Two televangelists holding this view, for example, are Pastor John Hagee of Christians United for Israel and Hebrew Roots Bible teacher Perry Stone.
Among the Latter Day Saint movement and particularly in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Enoch is viewed as having founded an exceptionally righteous city, named Zion, in the midst of an otherwise wicked world. This view is encountered in the Mormon scripture (see Standard Works), the Pearl of Great Price and the Doctrine and Covenants, which states that not only Enoch, but the entire peoples of the city of Zion, were taken off this earth without death, because of their piety.
(Zion is defined as “the pure in heart” and this city of Zion will return to the earth at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.) The Doctrine and Covenants further states that Enoch prophesied that one of his descendants, Noah, and his family, would survive a Great Flood and thus carry on the human race and preserve the Gospel.
The Book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price has several chapters that give an account of Enoch’s preaching, visions and conversations with God. In these same chapters are details concerning the wars, violence and natural disasters in Enoch’s day, and notable miracles performed by Enoch.
The Book of Moses is itself an excerpt from Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible, which is published in full, complete with these chapters concerning Enoch, by Community of Christ, as the Holy Scriptures/Inspired Version of the Bible, where it appears as part of the Book of Genesis. D&C 104:24 (CofC) / 107:48-49 (LDS) states that Adam ordained Enoch to the higher priesthood (now called the Melchizedek, after the great high priest) at age 25, that he was 65 when Adam blessed him, and he lived 365 years after that until he was translated, so making him 430 years old when that occurred.
Additionally in LDS theology, Enoch is implied to be the scribe who recorded Adam’s blessings and prophecies at Adam-ondi-Ahman, as recorded in D&C 107:53-57 (LDS) / D&C 104:29b (CofC).
Enoch called the people back to his forefathers’ religion, but only a few listened to him, while the majority turned away. According to the Talmud Selections (pp. 18-21) when the people went astray, Enoch who lived a pious life in seclusion was given prophethood. He came among the people and by his sermons and speeches made the people give up the idolatry and obey the Command of God. Enoch ruled them and during his reign there was peace and justice. Enoch and his followers left Babylon for Egypt. There he carried on his mission, calling people to what is just and fair, teaching them certain prayers and instructing them to fast on certain days and to give a portion of their wealth to the poor.
Enoch allegedly taught the sons of men the art of building cities, and enacted some admirable laws. He discovered the knowledge of the Zodiac, and the course of the Planets; and he pointed out to the sons of men, that they should worship God, that they should fast, that they should pray, that they should give alms, votive offerings, and tenths. He reprobated abominable foods and drunkenness, and appointed festivals for sacrifices to the Sun, at each of the Zodiacal Signs.
Enoch’s name signified in the Hebrew, Initiate or Initiator. The legend of the columns, of granite and brass or bronze, erected by him, is probably symbolical. That of bronze, which survived the flood, is supposed to symbolize the mysteries, of which Masonry is the legitimate successor from the earliest times the custodian and depository of the great philosophical and religious truths, unknown to the world at large, and handed down from age to age by an unbroken current of tradition, embodied in symbols, emblems, and allegories.
His teachings had a substantial Zoroastrian influence on Judaism when Jewish exiles were exposed to the Persian religion during the Babylonian captivity. Some Jews adopted Enochian tradition in Babylon during the Exile and brought it back to Canaan when Cyrus gave them leave to Return. The Enochian Jews were detested by the priesthood in Jerusalem, and they were forced to flee into the desert before 300 BCE. Naturally, they supported the Maccabees during the uprising of 165 BCE. The Enochians at Qumran updated the text to include Judah the Hammer in the big story.
The last of the Essene stragglers buried the secret book in Cave IV at Qumran c.70 CE. The urban Christians and Jews of the Near East rejected it. The authors of the Apocalypse rewrote and retitled it, but they didn’t understand the heptadic structure of the original lines, the arrangement of sevens. Only the students of the Merkabah in Babylonia possessed the key to the Enochian mystery.
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