Book of Enoch
The Book of Enoch is any of several pseudepigraphal works that attribute themselves to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah; that is, Enoch son of Jared.
Most commonly, the phrase "Book of Enoch" refers to 1 Enoch, which is wholly extant only in the Ethiopic language. There are two other books named "Enoch": 2 Enoch (surviving only in Old Slavonic, c. first century AD; English translation by R. H. Charles (1896); and 3 Enoch (surviving in Hebrew, c. fifth - sixth century). The numbering of these texts has been applied by scholars to distinguish the texts from one another. The remainder of this article deals with 1 Enoch only.
Whilst this book does not form part of the canon of Holy Scripture for the larger Christian Churches, various groups, including the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, regard parts or all of 1 Enoch to be inspired Scripture. The currently known texts of this work are usually dated to Maccabean times (ca. 160s BC).
Content
The Book of Enoch describes the fall of the Watchers, the angels who fathered the Nephilim (cf. the bene Elohim, from Genesis 6:1-2 NRSV). The fallen angels went to Enoch to intercede on their behalf with God after he declared to them their doom. The remainder of the book describes Enoch's visit to Heaven in the form of a vision and his revelations.
The book contains descriptions of the movement of heavenly bodies (in connection with Enoch's trip to Heaven), and some parts of the book have been speculated about as containing instructions for the construction of a solar declinometer (the Uriel's machine theory).
Further Reading
- Dr. John P. Pratt. Enoch Calendar Testifies of Christ. Reprinted from Meridian Magazine, Sept. 11, 2001. (Dr. Pratt has a Ph.D. in astronomy; was also a LDS missionary).
Text
- The Book of Enoch, R.H Charles, trans. Dover, 2007. ISBN 0486454665.
- 1 Enoch, George W. E. Nicklesburg and James C. Vanderkam. Augsburg Fortress, 2004. ISBN 0800636945.
Study and Commentary
- 1 Enoch 1: A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108, George W. E. Nicklesburg. Augusburg Fortress, 2001. ISBN 0800660749.
- The Lost Prophet: The Book of Enoch and Its Influence on Christianity, Margaret Barker. Sheffield Phoenix, 2005. ISBN 1905048181.