Enoch Part 1:1

https://steemit.com/religion/@ericp1/enoch-part-1-1

Part 1: Who is Enoch?
   Section 1: What Does the Bible Say?
   Section 2: What Do Other Ancient Writings Say?
Part 2: What Did Enoch Write?
   Section 1: Analysis of 1 Enoch
   Section 2: Analysis of 2 Enoch
   Section 3: Analysis of 3 Enoch
   Section 4: Analysis of Other writings Attributed to Enoch
Part 3: What makes Him Intriguing?

Part 1: Who is Enoch?

Section 1: What Does the Bible Say?

Introduction

This is a 3-part series about one of the most interesting and unique people of the Bible. Enoch has captivated readers with the unique story of the end of his life, caused countless controversy with the words he has written, and has become a favorite person in scripture among the people. This series breaks down the facts of who he is and where in scripture he is referenced as well as non-scriptural references of Enoch, the one who walked with God. The second part will focus on his works including the Book of Enoch, considered by most to be an apocryphal writing, as well as other writings believed to be attributed to him. The third part of the series will put all the information together to attempt to understand why he and his writings are controversial, why his book is not in the Bible, and why he is listed among the favorites when discussing people of the Bible. At the end of this series, I pray that you will have a good understanding of Enoch, and maybe rank him among your favorite people of the Bible.

Due to the extensive amount of information regarding Enoch and his writings the parts of this series will be broken down into subsections. My desire is to bring light to this unique person of scripture and his importance in how God uses him to teach us practical life lessons, specifically regarding faith. I will also discuss his writings, the controversy surrounding them, and pose possible answers to the question of why his work is not in the Bible we use today. The information can be overwhelming, and therefore I will break it up in small bite-sized portions. I pray that this opens your eyes to the big world out there that we are not even aware exists. I also pray that it frees your mind to ask questions that you never thought of before. Finally, I pray that this brings you closer to God, and gives you a better understanding of how wonderful our Creator is and how much He loves us. Enjoy.

Which Enoch?

In assessing who Enoch is, I believe the approach we should take is by first identifying who Enoch is not. There are numerous names repeated in the Bible and that can cause confusion, such as John the Baptist and John the Apostle or Mary mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Mary of Clopas. There are two Enochs named in the Bible and both appear in Genesis.

The first Enoch mentioned in the Bible is the son of Cain. Cain is the son of Adam and Eve that killed his brother, Able. This Enoch had a city named after him that his father (Cain) built. Genesis 4:17-18, “Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son. 18 Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael became the father of Methushael, and Methushael became the father of Lamech.” There is no other scripture referring to Enoch, son of Cain. Now that we have the other Enoch out of the way we can turn our attention on the person of our focus: the one who walked with God.

The other Enoch mentioned in scripture is the Enoch we are discussing, and the author of multiple books (Enoch 1, Enoch 2, and Enoch 3) that continue to cause considerable controversy. Enoch was the son of Jared, and the father of Methuselah. You may have heard the phrase, “old as Methuselah”. That phrase came from the fact that Methuselah was the oldest person mentioned in scripture, who lived to be 969 years old. It is ironic since his father, Enoch, was taken from the earth at what was considered a young age of that time at 365 years old. Enoch was the seventh-generation descendant of Adam. Enoch was also the great-grandfather of Noah.

The lineage is:

Adam-Seth-Enosh-Kenan-Mahalalel-Jared-Enoch-Methuselah-Lamech-Noah.

Old Testament Verses About Enoch:

Genesis 5:18-32 (Genealogy from Adam)

“18 Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years and became the father of Enoch. 19 Then Jared lived eight hundred years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters. 20 So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.

21 Enoch lived sixty-five years and became the father of Methuselah.22 Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”

25 Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years and became the father of Lamech. 26 Then Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years after he became the father of Lamech, and he had other sons and daughters. 27 So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.

28 Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years and became the father of a son. 29 Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the Lord has cursed.” 30 Then Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other sons and daughters. 31 So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died.

32 Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”

1 Chronicles 1:1-4 (Genealogy from Adam)

“Adam, Seth, Enosh, 2 Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, 3 Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, 4 Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth.”

As we can see, the importance of Enoch in the lineage is obvious. Enoch was the seventh-generation from Adam. The oldest man mentioned in scripture was Enoch’s son, and Enoch’s great-grandson was Noah. There are many names in Genesis that show genealogy that do not carry the weight of importance as Enoch, however. That fact is attributed to Genesis 5:24 which says, “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” This is fascinating, because he is reported to not have died a death that we understand to be the standard way of passing on to our afterlife. Enoch did not have a physical death as we know it today. Only one other person in scripture is mentioned to not have a typical death and that is of Elijah. Enoch was 365 years old when god took him away. The average age of men during that time was well over 700 years. Enoch was “no more” at what would have been the prime of his life. This small but significant detail draws much interest as well as the way he “was no more”.

There are two books of the Old Testament that mention Enoch, and there are three more references to him in the New Testament. This has caused great dissent as to why the Book of Enoch is not accepted as the inspired word of God and placed in the Bible, since he is specifically mentioned in the New Testament. One of the tests of validity for books that are or are not believed to be the inspired word of God is based on whether other inspired works mention the later. Scripture verifies scripture. Jesus mentioned scripture from Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Moses to name a few, which validated the inspired words they wrote. Keep in mind that works that are not inspired by God do not make them untrue. The events recorded can still be factual; they simply are not given to us by God. So why does Enoch not receive the same recognition? We will cover that in the coming parts, but an interesting question indeed. We will now look at what the New Testament writers say about Enoch.

New Testament Verses about Enoch:

Jude 1:14-16 (Warnings of History of the UnGodly)

14 It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 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.” 16 These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.

Hebrews 11:5-6 (Triumphs of Faith)

5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Luke 3:36-38 (Geneology of Jesus)

36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Enoch is mentioned in 5 different books/letters of the generally accepted protestant Bible. We will cover other writings that mention Enoch in the next section. The mentioning of Enoch in 1 Chronicles repeats what we already know about his lineage and descendants. Genesis spurs our interest in this man, because he did not die. He was somehow taken from this earth. Elijah was treated in similar fashion, except the description of Elijah’s departing provides some sort of imagery. Elijah was taken away into the sky by a chariot of fire pulled by horses of fire. 2 Kings 2:11-12, “As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven. 12 Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more…” That is a verse that we can read and imagine in our minds what took place. How magnificent would that have been to see? However, when we read about how Enoch was no more there is no description for us to wrap our minds around. This obviously creates interest in Enoch, but then when we read the New Testament we begin to learn so much more about Enoch that he becomes a center of fascination. We must be cautious that we do not focus on him, as a person, too much, and remember that it was through his faith in God that we discuss him at all.

The New Testament gives us additional insight as to the man known as Enoch, he who walks with God. The first reference to Enoch in the New Testament is found in the Gospel according to Luke. Luke provides us with a genealogy of Jesus, and we learn that Jesus is a descendant of Enoch. The intrigue only grows from here. Luke has linked Enoch as an ancestor of Jesus. Moses wrote Genesis and tells us the story that Enoch did not die. Ezra wrote 1 Chronicles and repeats the lineage of Enoch as Moses had stated. We now have Moses, Ezra, and Luke verifying the identity of Enoch and his place in history.

The next mention of Enoch in the New testament comes out of Hebrews. Although there is disagreement on the true author of Hebrews, it is mostly agreed or believed to have been Paul the Apostle. Regardless of the one that wrote Hebrews, it is agreed that Hebrews is the inspired word of God. The reason this aspect is important is because Hebrews confirms what Moses wrote about Enoch not seeing death and adds that Enoch’s body was never found because it was no more. The message of Hebrews is not about Enoch, rather it is about faith. Enoch had faith in God and did not suffer death. It is our faith in Jesus Christ that will prevent us from suffering a spiritual death. The fascination with Enoch should be at a tipping point by now. We now have four of the most prominent figures of the Bible writing the inspired word of God and mentioned Enoch.

The third and final mention of Enoch in the New Testament was by Jesus’ half-brother, Jude. Jude wrote one of the smallest letters in the Bible, but it is full of powerful warnings and promises of what God is going to do. They are promises and warnings at the same time. To the faithful, they are promises of a better world to come, but to the unfaithful it is a final warning to change their ways. Jude mentions Enoch in a similar way as Paul. The reference is to give an example of how to be compared to how others were during the time of Enoch. Enoch and his great grandson, Noah, were faithful, and “walked with God”. They were spared while many others perished under God’s wrath.

Conclusion of Bible Verses about Enoch

The massive amount of information we gain from such a few small verses can be overwhelming. Enoch’s importance in scripture is not an understatement. Let us recap what we have thus far. The protestant Bible of 66 books identifies Enoch in 5 separate books written by 5 different men over the course of 1500 years. The five men of scripture that mentioned Enoch were: Moses, Ezra, Luke, Paul, and Jude in order of appearance in the Bible. There are few aspects of scripture that are almost unanimously agreed upon, but no one denies the divine authority given to these five men of the Bible. There reputation was as great during their time as it is today. The fact that they reference or discuss Enoch proves his importance and proves his existence. Moses stated that Enoch did not die, walked with God, and he was the ancestor to Noah. Ezra stated Enoch was a descendant of Adam and ancestor to Noah. Luke identifies that Enoch is an ancestor of Jesus. Paul states that Enoch did not die because of his faith. Jude stated Enoch was a descendant of Adam and that he prophesied to the people during his time. After reading scripture of Enoch, the picture of his faith and relationship with God should become more evident.

Enoch is an example of faith. God used him to show that even during times of great falling away and debauchery that we can continue to be faithful in our walk with God. Enoch lived in times that we could compare with today, aside from giants. We can use his story to strengthen our resolve that we can live in a fallen world and not suffer the penalty of death by staying focused on God. In the next section, we will discuss other ancient texts that mention Enoch including the Dead Sea Scrolls and works considered to be apocryphal and pseudepigrapha. This journey into the life of Enoch is just beginning.

All verses taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise stated.