1 Enoch

The Book of Enoch for Beginners

The Book of Enoch for Beginners

My book, The Book of Enoch for Beginners, was published on September 27, 2022. It just hit 100 reviews on Amazon, with an average of 4.4 stars or 4.18 on Goodreads. Jacob Prhalow recently reviewed the book, as did  Brent Niedergall. Click through and read what they have to say. I appreciate the early reviews on Amazon and comments I have received saying the book is easy to read and well-designed.

The book had its origins in my PhD program in 2005, but also right here on Reading Acts. In 2016, I edited material I produced for a PhD seminar class on the Old Testament pseudepigrapha into a series of blog posts in summer 2016. Those posts have always been popular; Enoch appears in my “top ten” posts monthly. People hear things about First Enoch and look to Google for answers.

What is The Book of Enoch for Beginners: A Guide to Expand Your Understanding of the Biblical World? When you travel, sometimes you buy a tour guidebook to give you the highlights of the place you are visiting. This book is like a tour guide for First Enoch. It is only 152 pages, so the book is not a detailed, academic commentary on Enoch. I try to explain some of the details in each section of the book and offer suggestions on how First Enoch can shed light on Judaism and Christianity in the first century. If you need an academic commentary on 1 Enoch, you should invest in Nickelsburg and VanderKam’s two-volume Hermenia commentary. They are expensive but by far the best work on Enoch.

Why write a book on First Enoch? A few people have asked me why I spent time studying a non-canonical book like First Enoch. This book is not in the Bible, not even in the Apocrypha. Unless you are an Ethiopian Christian, you might have never heard of this book before! There are two main reasons I wrote the book. First, it is a fascinating glimpse into the world of developing Judaism in the centuries just before Jesus. Most people think of First Enoch as an apocalypse, and although that is not wrong, it is not apocalyptic in the modern sense. There are some wild “end of the world as we know it” scenes in the book, but they are not at all like a science fiction movie, nor are there predictions about how American gas prices somehow lead to the rise of the antichrist. The book talks far more about how people lived as faithful Jews in an evil world and gives some insight into what was important to Jews living in the time between the Testaments.

Second, there is a great deal of misinformation out there about what is in First Enoch. Recent conspiracy theories capitalize on the general population’s ignorance of First Enoch and make claims about the book that are just not true (including flat earth theories). Some People imagine later Roman Catholics suppressed First Enoch because it has the “real truth.” Movies like Noah or supernatural television shows dredge First Enoch for information about angels and demons. My book tries to explain what First Enoch actually says in order to put to rest some of these strange ideas.

First Enoch for Beginners is only $12.99 in paperback, and delivery is free for Amazon Prime members (and as of today, it is 15% off for some reason). The Kindle version is only $6.99 and is available for free to borrow in Kindle Unlimited. It was the #1 New Release in Amazon’s “Additional Biblical Texts” category when it came out (but it has dropped to #103).  I admit that is a narrow category, but most of the top books are free/cheap reprints of apocryphal books.

If you do buy the book, please consider leaving (hopefully) five stars on Amazon and, if you have the time, a short review (25 words is Amazon’s minimum). Stars and reviews sell books these days.

 

Talk Junkies Podcast on 1 Enoch

I was interviewed for the podcast Talk Junkies last week. The topic was 1 Enoch, based on my recently published The Book of Enoch for Beginners. I enjoyed chatting with Paul about apocryphal books (and quite a few other things before we were done). Hopefully this podcast helps clarify what 1 Enoch is and what we can expect when reading books like 1 Enoch.  This is a link to their YouTube channel if you would like to listen to the podcast (like and subscribe, as the say). It is available where ever podcasts are found.

Talk Junkies 1 Enoch

The Book of Enoch for Beginners  was published on September 27 and is $12.99 in paperback (delivery is free for Amazon Prime members). The Kindle version is only $6.99 and is available to borrow in Kindle Unlimited for free. It was the  #1 New Release in “Additional Biblical Texts” category on Amazon.

What is The Book of Enoch for Beginners: A Guide to Expand Your Understanding of the Biblical World? When you travel, sometimes you buy a tour guidebook to give you the highlights of the place you are visiting. This book is like a tour guide for 1 Enoch. It is only 152 pages, so the book is not a detailed, academic commentary on Enoch. I try to explain some of the details in each section of the book and offer some suggestions on how 1 Enoch can shed like on both Judaism and Christianity in the first century. If you need an academic commentary on 1 Enoch, you should invest in Nickelsburg and VanderKam’s two-volume Hermenia commentary. They are expensive, but by far the best work on Enoch.

Why write a book on 1 Enoch? A few people have asked me why I spent time studying a non-canonical book like 1 Enoch. This book is not in the Bible, not even in the Apocrypha. Unless you are an Ethiopic Christian, you might have never heard of this book before! There are two main reasons I wrote the book, First, it is a fascinating glimpse into the world of developing Judaism in the centuries just before Jesus. Most people think of 1 Enoch as an apocalypse, and although that is not wrong, it is not apocalyptic in the modern sense. There are some wild “end of the world as we know it” scenes in the book, but they are not at all like a science fiction movie nor are there predictions about how American gas prices somehow lead to the rise of the antichrist. The book talks far more about how people live as faithful Jews in an evil world and gives some insight into what was important to Jews living in the time between the Testaments.

Second, there is a great deal of misinformation out there about what is in 1 Enoch. Recent conspiracy theories capitalize on the general population’s ignorance of the book and make claims about the book that are just not true (including flat earth theories). People think the book was suppressed by later Roman Catholics because it has the “real truth.” Movies like Noah or supernatural television shows dredge 1 Enoch for information about angels and demons. My book tries to explain what 1 Enoch actually says in order to put to rest some of these strange ideas.

Third, 1 Enoch is often important for understanding the background of the Bible. For example, I used 1 Enoch when I discussed heavenly throne room scene in Daniel. 7.

Like Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1 and Daniel 7, Enoch sees a flaming throne and a being with bright clothing light lightning. The name of the one on the throne in Daniel “Ancient of Days” is similar to the “Antecedent of Time.” There is a huge multitude of angelic witnesses in both Daniel and 1 Enoch.

Jim West reviewed the book as did Brent Niedergall. Click through and read what they have to say. I appreciate the early reviews on Amazon and comments I have received saying the book is easy to read and well designed. If you get the book, please consider leaving (hopefully) five-stars on Amazon and if you have the time, a short review (25 words is Amazon’s minimum). Stars and reviews sell books these days.

 

The Book of Enoch for Beginners

The Book of Enoch for Beginners

My new book, The Book of Enoch for Beginners is now available on Amazon on September 27. It is only $12.99 in paperback and delivery is free for Amazon Prime members (and as of today, it is 10% off). The Kindle version is only $6.99 and is available to borrow in Kindle Unlimited for free. As of today, it is the #1 New Release in “Additional Biblical Texts” category on Amazon. I admit that is a fairly narrow category, but there are some really good books on that list.

The book had its origins in my PhD program in 2005, but also right here on Reading Acts. In 2016 edited material I produced for a PhD seminar class on the Old Testament pseudepigrapha into a series of blog posts in summer 2016. Those posts have always been popular; Enoch appears in my “top ten” posts every month. People hear things about First Enoch and look to google for answers.

What is The Book of Enoch for Beginners: A Guide to Expand Your Understanding of the Biblical World? When you travel, sometimes you buy a tour guidebook to give you the highlights of the place you are visiting. This book is like a tour guide for First Enoch. It is only 152 pages, so the book is not a detailed, academic commentary on Enoch. I try to explain some of the details in each section of the book and offer some suggestions on how First Enoch can shed like on both Judaism and Christianity in the first century. If you need an academic commentary on 1 Enoch, you should invest in Nickelsburg and VanderKam’s two-volume Hermenia commentary. They are expensive, but by far the best work on Enoch.

Why write a book on First Enoch? A few people have asked me why I spent time studying a non-canonical book like First Enoch. This book is not in the Bible, not even in the Apocrypha. Unless you are an Ethiopic Christian, you might have never heard of this book before! There are two main reasons I wrote the book, First, it is a fascinating glimpse into the world of developing Judaism in the centuries just before Jesus. Most people think of First Enoch as an apocalypse, and although that is not wrong, it is not apocalyptic in the modern sense. There are some wild “end of the world as we know it” scenes in the book, but they are not at all like a science fiction movie nor are there predictions about how American gas prices somehow lead to the rise of the antichrist. The book talks far more about how people live as faithful Jews in an evil world and gives some insight into what was important to Jews living in the time between the Testaments.

Second, there is a great deal of misinformation out there about what is in First Enoch. Recent conspiracy theories capitalize on the general population’s ignorance of First Enoch and make claims about the book that are just not true (including flat earth theories). People think First Enoch was suppressed by later Roman Catholics because it has the “real truth.” Movies like Noah or supernatural television shows dredge First Enoch for information about angels and demons. My book tries to explain what First Enoch actually says in order to put to rest some of these strange ideas.

Jim West reviewed the book as did Brent Niedergall. Click through and read what they have to say. I appreciate the early reviews on Amazon and comments I have received saying the book is easy to read and well designed.

If you get the book, please consider leaving (hopefully) five-stars on Amazon and if you have the time, a short review (25 words is Amazon’s minimum). Stars and reviews sell books these days.

 

Jude and His Sources: Non-Canonical Books

The book of Jude makes use of at least two books that were not considered to be inspired by the Church or the Jews. In v. 9 he alludes to the Testament of Moses and in Jude 14-15 he quotes 1 Enoch.

Michael and SatanBauckham points out that besides the direct citation of 1 Enoch 1, the book of Jude knows1 Enoch 1-36 and perhaps sections later in the book. 1 Enoch was popular at Qumran and there may be allusions to the book in Revelation as well. This section of 1 Enoch is an expansion of the story of the Nephilim and the Giants a found in Genesis 6. Jude does not allude to that plot line at all, but rather to the rather generic statement that God is coming to execute justice on ones who have rebelled against him. In the context of 1 Enoch, this is the angels who have intermixed with humans and created “the Giants” and taught humans all manner of sin.

The reference to the archangel and Satan discussing the bones of Moses does not appear in the Testament of Moses, although it is likely that the words Jude uses are quoted from the lost ending to that book. Richard Bauckham has a considerable section on the sources for Jude 9 which includes a catalog of all of the variations of this story in Jewish and Christian sources as well as a list of references to the Assumption of Moses, a lost book usually confused with the Testament of Moses (Jude, 2 Peter, 48, 67). Bauckham concludes that the Assumption is a re-worked version of the Testament (76). There are a number of Christian sources that seem to have known the story in detail, and a few pre-Christian Jewish sources contain disputes between the devil and an angel over various events (Isaac’s sacrifice, for example).

That Jude would allude to these Jewish texts is a good argument for the circulation of the book within Jewish communities in Judea, perhaps in the “near diaspora” communities. We know that 1 Enoch appears at Qumran. Although the Testament of Moses has not been found among the DSS, it is not unlikely that this is evidence for an early date and Jewish Christian context for the book.

The common way to explain Jude’s use of these texts is to say they are simply “illustrations of truth: similar to a pastor using a commonly known story, film, or T.V. show as a sermon illustration. Jude is not trying to tell his readers that these books are inspired and worthy of inclusion in the Bible, but rather using texts that they are already familiar with in order to make a point. The reference to Enoch is a bit touchy, since it says Enoch in fact prophesied the Lord’s return – although one could argue Jude is saying the popular book of Enoch says this, rather than “historical Enoch.”

It is possible that Jude uses these texts because they are popular with the false teachers. In my post on Jude’s use of the Hebrew Bible I commented that Jude alludes to the wilderness tradition frequently, perhaps his opponents used the wilderness tradition and a book like 1 Enoch in their own teaching. The allusion to the Testament of Moses may be appropriate since the event took place in the wilderness and the end of that period of Israel’s history. The Qumran Community immediately comes to mind, since they are in the wilderness, not far from Nebo and made use of 1 Enoch. But Jude seems to imply the opponents are a perversion of Christian teaching, so perhaps they are an Essene like group which has accepted Jesus as Messiah.

In any case, Jude is turning their own favorite books around on them to show that they are false teachers. Jude’s purpose is to combat a false teaching which has “smuggled” itself into the church.

What are the implications of the book of Jude’s use of these sources?

A Righteous Remnant in 1 Enoch 83-84

1 Enoch 83-90 follows a long section of the astronomical speculations, although it is related to chapter 82 as a continuation of Enoch’s dialogue with Methuselah (83:1). These two chapters serve as an introduction to the Animal Apocalypse, a slightly veiled allegory of history up to the Maccabean period.

Enoch-manusrcriptEnoch received these visions before he was married and still living with his grandfather, Mahalalel (Gen 5:12-17). After Enoch receives a vision the coming flood (83:2b-2), he relates his dream to his grandfather Mahalalel. This is Enoch’s first vision, and like Samuel and Eli (1 Sam 3), Enoch requires guidance from his grandfather to understand the vision.

Within the world of the story, the vision refers to the coming flood. But the description goes beyond Genesis 7 to convey “a picture of cosmic collapse and annihilation” (Nickelsburg, 1 Enoch, 349). As is typical in the Enoch literature, the imagery of the flood is conflated with the ultimate judgment of God.

1 Enoch 83:3-4 I saw in a vision the sky being hurled down and snatched and falling upon the earth. When it fell upon the earth, I saw the earth being swallowed up into the great abyss, the mountains being suspended upon mountains, the hills sinking down upon the hills, and tall trees being uprooted and thrown and sinking into the deep abyss. (OTP 1:61)

Mahalalel explains that sin is so great the earth must “sink into the abyss” (primordial chaos), but there is a possibility God would allow a remnant to remain on the earth. He therefore counsels Enoch to pray for the earth (83:6-9), which he does (83:10-11, 84:1-6).  Enoch first praises God and acknowledges his greatness (83:2-4). These two verses resonate with many texts in the Hebrew Bible, although it is remarkably similar to Daniel 2:37-38 (describing Nebuchadnezzar) and Daniel 7:14 (describing the rule of the Son of Man), but also Isaiah 66:1-2 (heavens as God’s throne, the earth as his footstool).

1 Enoch 84:2 Blessed are you, O Great King, you are mighty in your greatness, O Lord of all the creation of heaven, King of kings and God of the whole world. Your authority and kingdom abide forever and ever; and your dominion throughout all the generations of generations; All the heavens are your throne forever, and the whole earth is your footstool forever and ever and ever.

These intertextual allusions to canonical books (as well as using the form of a biblical Psalm) create the image of a biblical prophet interceding on behalf of a people about to face the justice and wrath of God. Like Moses, David or Daniel, Enoch confesses the people of his generation ought to be destroyed for their wickedness (although he blames the angels, 84:5).

Enoch’s request on behalf of the present generation. Even if the angels must come under judgment, Enoch prays that God would allow a remnant of humans survive the devastation. He asks God to raise up the righteous and true flesh “as a seed-bearing plant” (84:6). Within the world of the story of 1 Enoch, this refers to the world after the flood and the family of Noah as a righteous family to repopulate the world. Noah is called a “preserved seed” (1 Enoch 10:3; 65:12; 67:3).

But the image of a plant which survives the coming judgment also resonates with the righteous remnant in Isaiah 6:13. For the writer of this apocalypse, the final judgment is still in the future. The prayer is that God will once again preserve the righteous remnant in that coming apocalyptic judgment.

It is very difficult to date with certainty any section of 1 Enoch, but if these two chapters were originally an introduction to the Animal Apocalypse (which follows in 1 Enoch 85-90), then the historical context of the righteous remnant in the present generation the Maccabean revolt and the righteous ones who remained faithful to the Law when tested by Hellenists.

But is this prophetic speech created to support the Hasmoneans (as the righteous ones struggling against the Greeks), or the Hasadim as they struggled against the later Hasmonean kings? Defining the “righteous remnant” seems to be a regular feature of apocalyptic literature (in the ancient world or today).