Enoch () ''Henṓkh''; ar, أَخْنُوخ ',
ommonly_in_ommonly_in_Qur'ānic_literature">Qur'ān.html"_;"title="ommonly_in_Qur'ān">ommonly_in_Qur'ānic_literature__'_is_a_biblical_figure_and_Patriarchs_(Bible).html" "title="Qur'ānic_literature.html" ;"title="Qur'ān.html" ;"title="ommonly in Qur'ān">ommonly in Qur'ānic literature">Qur'ān.html" ;"title="ommonly in Qur'ān">ommonly in Qur'ānic literature ' is a biblical figure and Patriarchs (Bible)">patriarch
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
prior to Noah's flood, and the son of Jared (biblical figure), Jared and father of Methuselah. He was of the Antediluvian period in the Hebrew Bible.
The text of the Book of Genesis
The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...
says Enoch lived 365 years before he was taken by God. The text reads that Enoch "walked with God: and he was no more; for God took him" (), which is interpreted as Enoch's entering heaven alive
Entering heaven alive (called by various religions "ascension", "assumption", or "translation") is a belief held in various religions. Since death is the normal end to an individual's life on Earth and the beginning of afterlife, entering hea ...
in some Jewish and Christian traditions, and interpreted differently in others.
Enoch is the subject of many Jewish and Christian traditions. He was considered the author of the Book of Enoch and also called the scribe of judgment. In the New Testament, Enoch is referenced in the
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-volu ...
, the
Epistle to the Hebrews
The Epistle to the Hebrews ( grc, Πρὸς Ἑβραίους, Pros Hebraious, to the Hebrews) is one of the books of the New Testament.
The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle. Mos ...
, and in the
Epistle of Jude
The Epistle of Jude is the penultimate book of the New Testament as well as the Christian Bible. It is traditionally attributed to Jude, brother of James the Just, and thus possibly brother of Jesus as well.
Jude is a short epistle written in ...
, the last of which also quotes from it. In the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
Eastern Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first m ...
, and
Oriental Orthodoxy
The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent ...
, he is venerated as a
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
.
The name of Enoch (
Hebrew: חֲנוֹךְ ''Ḥănōḵ'') derives from the Hebrew
root
In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...
חנך (''ḥ-n-ḵ''), meaning to train, initiate, dedicate, inaugurate. With חֲנוֹךְ/חֲנֹךְ (''Ḥănōḵ'') being the
imperative form of the
verb
A verb () is a word (part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual descri ...
.
Enoch in the Book of Genesis
Enoch appears in the
Book of Genesis
The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...
of the
Pentateuch
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the sa ...
as the seventh of the ten pre-
Deluge
A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood.
The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the Biblical book of Genesis.
Deluge may also refer to:
History
*Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-Lithuanian Comm ...
Patriarchs
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate (bishop), primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholicism, Independent Catholic Chur ...
. Genesis recounts that each of the pre-Flood Patriarchs lived for several centuries. Genesis 5 provides a genealogy of these ten figures (from Adam to Noah), providing the age at which each fathered the next, and the age of each figure at death. Enoch is considered by many to be the exception, who is said to "not see death" (). Furthermore, states that Enoch lived for 365 years, which is shorter than other pre-Flood Patriarchs, who are all recorded as dying at over 700 years of age. The brief account of Enoch in Genesis 5 ends with the cryptic note that "he was not; for God took him". This happens 57 years after Adam's death and 69 years before Noah's birth.
Enoch and Enmeduranki
Enmeduranki En-men-dur-ana (also Emmeduranki) of Zimbir (the city now known as Sippar) was an ancient Sumerian king, whose name appears in the Sumerian King List as the seventh pre-dynastic king of Sumer. He was said to have reigned for 21,000 years.
Name
Hi ...
was an ancient
Sumerian pre-dynastic king who is considered as a Mesopotamian model for Enoch. Enmeduranki appears as the seventh name on the Sumerian King List, whereas Enoch is the seventh figure on the list of patriarchs in Genesis. Both of them were also said to have been taken up into heaven. Additionally,
Sippar
Sippar ( Sumerian: , Zimbir) was an ancient Near Eastern Sumerian and later Babylonian city on the east bank of the Euphrates river. Its '' tell'' is located at the site of modern Tell Abu Habbah near Yusufiyah in Iraq's Baghdad Governorate, some ...
, the city of Enmeduranki, is associated with sun worship, while the 365 years that Enoch is stated to have lived may be linked to the number of days in the solar calendar.
Apocryphal Books of Enoch
![William Blake Enoch Lithograph 1807](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/William_Blake_Enoch_Lithograph_1807.jpg)
Three extensive
Apocrypha
Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...
are attributed to Enoch:
*
The Book of Enoch (aka 1 Enoch), composed in
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
or
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
and preserved in
Ge'ez, first brought to Europe by
James Bruce
James Bruce of Kinnaird (14 December 1730 – 27 April 1794) was a Scottish traveller and travel writer who confirmed the source of the Blue Nile. He spent more than a dozen years in North Africa and Ethiopia and in 1770 became the first Europ ...
from Ethiopia and translated into English by August Dillmann and Reverent Schoode – recognized by the
Orthodox Tewahedo {{Short description, Collective term for Oriental Orthodox Churches in Eritrea and Ethiopia
Orthodox Tewahedo refers to two Oriental Orthodox Christian denominations with shared beliefs, liturgy, and history. The Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon i ...
churches and usually dated between the third century BC and the first century AD.
*
2 Enoch
The Second Book of Enoch (abbreviated as 2 Enoch and also known as Slavonic Enoch, Slavic Enoch or Secrets of Enoch) is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, through ten ...
(aka Book of the Secrets of Enoch), preserved in
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language.
Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...
, and first translated in English by William Morfill – usually dated to the first century AD.
*
3 Enoch, a Rabbinic text in Hebrew usually dated to the fifth century AD.
These recount how Enoch was taken up to
Heaven
Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
and was appointed guardian of all the celestial treasures, chief of the
archangel
Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...
s, and the immediate attendant on the
Throne of God
The Throne of God is the reigning centre of God in the Abrahamic religions: primarily Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The throne is said by various holy books to reside beyond the Seventh Heaven which is called ''Araboth'' ( ''‘ărāḇōṯ' ...
. He was subsequently taught all secrets and mysteries and, with all the angels at his back, fulfils of his own accord whatever comes out of the mouth of God, executing His decrees. Some esoteric literature, such as 3 Enoch, identifies Enoch as
Metatron
Metatron ( ''Meṭāṭrōn'', ''Məṭaṭrōn'', ''Mēṭaṭrōn'', ''Mīṭaṭrōn'', ''Meṭaṭrōn'', ''Mīṭṭaṭrōn'') or Mattatron ( ''Maṭṭaṭrōn'') is an angel in Judaism mentioned three times in the Talmud in a few br ...
, the angel which communicates God's word. In consequence, Enoch was seen, by this literature and the Rabbinic
kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...
of Jewish mysticism, as the one who communicated God's revelation to Moses, and, in particular, as the dictator of the
Book of Jubilees
The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), is an ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters (1,341 verses), considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as well as Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), where it is ...
.
Enoch in Book of Giants
The Book of Giants
The ''Book of Giants'' is an apocryphal Jewish book which expands upon the Book of Genesis, Genesis narrative of the Hebrew Bible, in a similar manner to the Book of Enoch. Together with this latter work, the ''Book of Giants'' "stands as an atte ...
is a Jewish
pseudepigrapha
Pseudepigrapha (also anglicized as "pseudepigraph" or "pseudepigraphs") are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.Bauckham, Richard; "Pseu ...
l work from the third century BC and resembles the Book of Enoch. Fragments from at least six and as many as eleven copies were found among the
Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the nor ...
collections.
Septuagint
The third-century BC translators who produced the
Septuagint
The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...
in
Koine Greek
Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...
rendered the phrase "God took him" with the Greek verb ''metatithemi'' () meaning moving from one place to another.
Sirach
The Book of Sirach () or Ecclesiasticus (; abbreviated Ecclus.) is a Jewish work, originally in Hebrew, of ethical teachings, from approximately 200 to 175 BC, written by the Judahite scribe Ben Sira of Jerusalem, on the inspiration of his fa ...
44:16, from about the same period, states that "Enoch pleased God and was translated into
paradise
In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...
that he may give repentance to the nations." The Greek word used here for
paradise
In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...
, ''paradeisos'' (), was derived from an ancient Persian word meaning "enclosed garden", and was used in the Septuagint to describe the garden of Eden. Later, however, the term became synonymous for heaven, as is the case here.
Enoch in classical Rabbinical literature
In classical Rabbinical literature, there are various views of Enoch. One view regarding Enoch that was found in the
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
Targum Jonathan is a western targum (interpretation) of the Torah (Pentateuch) from the land of Israel (as opposed to the eastern Babylonian Targum Onkelos). Its correct title was originally Targum Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Targum), which is how it wa ...
, which thought of Enoch as a pious man, taken to Heaven, and receiving the title of ''Safra rabba'' (''Great scribe''). After Christianity was completely separated from Judaism, this view became the prevailing rabbinical idea of Enoch's character and exaltation.
According to
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...
rom_Genesis_Rabbah.html" ;"title="Genesis_Rabbah.html" ;"title="rom Genesis Rabbah">rom Genesis Rabbah">Genesis_Rabbah.html" ;"title="rom Genesis Rabbah">rom Genesis Rabbah "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
Seventh Heaven, where he met Enoch, who claims that earth had, in his time, been corrupted by the demons Shammazai, and
Azazel
In the Bible, the name Azazel (; he, עֲזָאזֵל ''ʿAzāʾzēl''; ar, عزازيل, ʿAzāzīl) appears in association with the scapegoat rite; the name represents a desolate place where a scapegoat bearing the sins of the Jews during Y ...
, 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''.
]
Enoch in Christianity
New Testament
The New Testament contains three references to Enoch.
*The first is a brief mention in one of the genealogies of the ancestors of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-volu ...
. (Luke 3:37).
*The second mention is in the Epistle to the Hebrews
The Epistle to the Hebrews ( grc, Πρὸς Ἑβραίους, Pros Hebraious, to the Hebrews) is one of the books of the New Testament.
The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle. Mos ...
which says, "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." (Hebrews 11:5 KJV). This suggests he did not experience the mortal death ascribed to Adam's other descendants, which is consistent with Genesis 5:24 KJV, which says, "And Enoch walked with God: and he '' as' not; for God took him."
*The third mention is in the Epistle of Jude
The Epistle of Jude is the penultimate book of the New Testament as well as the Christian Bible. It is traditionally attributed to Jude, brother of James the Just, and thus possibly brother of Jesus as well.
Jude is a short epistle written in ...
(1:14–15) where the author attributes to "Enoch, the Seventh from Adam" a passage not found in Catholic and Protestant canons of the Old Testament. The quotation is believed by most modern scholars to be taken from 1 Enoch 1:9 which exists in Greek, in Ge'ez (as part of the Ethiopian Orthodox canon), and also in Aramaic among the Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the nor ...
. Though the same scholars recognise that 1 Enoch 1:9 itself is a midrash
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
of 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
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
this Enoch prophesies "to" ungodly men, that God shall come with His holy ones to judge and convict them ().
Influence in Christianity
The Book of Enoch was excluded from both the Hebrew Tanakh and the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint. It was not considered canon by either Jewish or early Christian readers. Church Fathers such as Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr ( el, Ἰουστῖνος ὁ μάρτυς, Ioustinos ho martys; c. AD 100 – c. AD 165), also known as Justin the Philosopher, was an early Christian apologist and philosopher.
Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and ...
, Athenagoras of Athens
Athenagoras (; grc-gre, Ἀθηναγόρας ὁ Ἀθηναῖος; c. 133 – c. 190 AD) was a Father of the Church, an Ante-Nicene Christian apologist who lived during the second half of the 2nd century of whom little is known for certain, ...
, Irenaeus
Irenaeus (; grc-gre, Εἰρηναῖος ''Eirēnaios''; c. 130 – c. 202 AD) was a Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the dev ...
, Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and ...
, Origen
Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, ...
, Tertullian
Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...
, and Lactantius
Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius (c. 250 – c. 325) was an early Christian author who became an advisor to Roman emperor, Constantine I, guiding his Christian religious policy in its initial stages of emergence, and a tutor to his son Cr ...
all speak highly of Enoch and contain many allusions to the Book of Enoch as well as in some instances advocating explicitly for the use of the Book of Enoch as Scripture. Because of the letter of Jude's citation of the Book of Enoch as prophetic text, this encouraged acceptance and usage of the Book of Enoch in early Christian circles. The main themes of Enoch about the Watchers corrupting humanity were commonly mentioned in early literature. This positive treatment of the Book of Enoch was associated with millennialism
Millennialism (from millennium, Latin for "a thousand years") or chiliasm (from the Greek equivalent) is a belief advanced by some religious denominations that a Golden Age or Paradise will occur on Earth prior to the final judgment and future ...
which was popular in the early Church. When amillennialism
Amillennialism or amillenarism is a chillegoristic eschatological position in Christianity which holds that there will be no millennial reign of the righteous on Earth. This view contrasts with both postmillennial and, especially, with premil ...
began to be common in Christianity, the Book of Enoch, being incompatible with amillennialism, came to be widely rejected. After the split of the Oriental Orthodox Church from the Catholic Church in the 5th century, use of the Book of Enoch was limited primarily to the Oriental Orthodox Church. Eventually, the usage of the Book of Enoch became limited to Ethiopian circles of the Oriental Orthodox Church. Another common element that some Church Fathers, like John of Damascus
John of Damascus ( ar, يوحنا الدمشقي, Yūḥanna ad-Dimashqī; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνός, Ioánnēs ho Damaskēnós, ; la, Ioannes Damascenus) or John Damascene was a Christian monk, priest, hymnographer, and a ...
, spoke of, was that they considered Enoch to be one of the two witnesses
In the Book of Revelation, the two witnesses (, ''duo martyron'') are two prophets who are mentioned in Revelation 11:1-14. Christian eschatology interprets this as two people, two groups of people, or two concepts. Some believe they are Enoch and ...
mentioned in the Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...
. This view still has many supporters today in Christianity.
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints theology
Among the Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...
and particularly in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
, Enoch is viewed as having founded an exceptionally righteous city, named Zion
Zion ( he, צִיּוֹן ''Ṣīyyōn'', LXX , also variously transliterated ''Sion'', ''Tzion'', ''Tsion'', ''Tsiyyon'') is a placename in the Hebrew Bible used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole (see Names ...
, in the midst of an otherwise wicked world. This view is encountered in the standard works
The standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church, the largest in the Latter Day Saint movement) are the four books that currently constitute its open scriptural canon. The four books of the standard works are:
* T ...
, the '' Pearl of Great Price'' and the ''Doctrine and Covenants
The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...
'', 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
The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messi ...
of Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
.) The ''Doctrine and Covenants'' further states that Enoch prophesied that one of his descendants, Noah
Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
, and his family, would survive a Great Flood and thus carry on the human race and preserve the Scripture. The Book of Moses
The Book of Moses, dictated by Joseph Smith, is part of the scriptural canon for some in the Latter Day Saint movement. The book begins with the "Visions of Moses," a prologue to the story of the creation and the fall of man (Moses chapter 1), a ...
in the ''Pearl of Great Price'' includes chapters that give an account of Enoch's preaching, visions, and conversations with God. They provide details concerning the wars, violence and natural disasters in Enoch's day, but also reference the miracles performed by Enoch.
The Book of Moses is itself an excerpt from Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...
's translation of the Bible, which is published in full, complete with these chapters concerning Enoch, by Community of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...
, in the ''Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
The Joseph Smith Translation (JST), also called the Inspired Version of the Holy Scriptures (IV), is a revision of the Bible by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, who said that the JST/IV was intended to restore what ...
'', where it appears as part of the Book of Genesis. D&C 104:24 (CofC) / (LDS) states that Adam ordained Enoch to the higher priesthood (now called the Melchizedek
In the Bible, Melchizedek (, hbo, , malkī-ṣeḏeq, "king of righteousness" or "my king is righteousness"), also transliterated Melchisedech or Malki Tzedek, was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as "most high God"). He is f ...
, after the great king and high priest) at age 25, that he was 65 when Adam blessed him, and that he lived for an additional 365 years until he and his city were blessed, making Enoch 430 years old at the time that "he was not, for God took him" (Genesis 5:24).
Additionally in LDS theology, Enoch is implied to be the scribe who recorded Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
's blessings and prophecies at Adam-ondi-Ahman
Adam-ondi-Ahman (, sometimes clipped to Diahman) is a historic site in Daviess County, Missouri, about five miles south of Jameson. It is located along the east bluffs above the Grand River. According to the teachings of the Church of Jesus C ...
, as recorded in D&C (LDS) / D&C 104:29b (CofC).
Enoch in Islam
In Islam, Enoch ( ar, translit=ʼAkhnūkh, أَخْنُوخ) is commonly identified with Idris Idris may refer to:
People
* Idris (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname
* Idris (prophet), Islamic prophet in the Qur'an, traditionally identified with Enoch, an ancestor of Noah in the Bible
* Idris G ...
, as for example by the '' History of Al-Tabari'' interpretation and the ''Meadows of Gold
''Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems'' ( ar, مُرُوج ٱلذَّهَب وَمَعَادِن ٱلْجَوْهَر, ') is a book of history in Arabic of the beginning of the world starting with Adam and Eve up to and through the late Abbasid Cal ...
''. The Quran contains two references to Idris; in Surah Al-Anbiya
Al-Anbiyaʼ ( ar, الأنبياء, ; "The Prophets") is the List of chapters in the Quran, 21st chapter (sūrah) of the Quran with 112 verses (āyāt). Regarding the timing and contextual background of the believed revelation (''asbāb al-n ...
(The Prophets) verse number 85, and in Surah Maryam (Mary) verses 56–57:
*(''The Prophets'', 21:85): "And the same blessing was bestowed upon Ismail and Idris and Zul-Kifl, because they all practised fortitude."
*(''Mary'' 19:56–57): "And remember Idris in the Book; he was indeed very truthful, a Prophet. And We lifted him to a lofty station".
Idris is closely linked in Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
tradition
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
with the origin of writing and other technical arts of civilization,[''History of Prophets in Islam and Judaism'', B. M. Wheeler, ''Enoch''] including the study of astronomical phenomena, both of which Enoch is credited with in the Testament of Abraham The Testament of Abraham is a pseudepigraphic text of the Old Testament. Probably composed in the 1st or 2nd century AD, it is of Jewish origin and is usually considered to be part of the apocalyptic literature. It is regarded as scripture by Be ...
. Nonetheless, although some Muslims view Enoch and Idris as the same prophet while others do not, many Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s still honor Enoch as one of the earliest prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
s, regardless of which view they hold.
Idris seems to be less mysterious in the Qur'an than Enoch is in the Bible. Furthermore, Idris is the only Antediluvian prophet named in the Qur'an, other than Adam.
Enoch in theosophy
According to the theosophist
Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...
Helena Blavatsky
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, uk, Олена Петрівна Блаватська, Olena Petrivna Blavatska (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 187 ...
, the Jewish Enoch (or the Greek demigod
A demigod or demigoddess is a part-human and part-divine offspring of a deity and a human, or a human or non-human creature that is accorded divine status after death, or someone who has attained the "divine spark" ( spiritual enlightenment). A ...
Hermes
Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...
) was "the first Grand Master and Founder of Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...
."[ ('']Lucifer
Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...
'', October, 1791)
Family tree
See also
*Adam and Eve (LDS Church)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) teaches that Adam and Eve were the first man and the first woman to live on the earth and that their fall was an essential step in the plan of salvation. Adam in particular is a central ...
*New Adam
The Last Adam, also given as the Final Adam or the Ultimate Adam, is a title given to Jesus in the New Testament. Similar titles that also refer to Jesus include Second Adam and New Adam.
Twice in the New Testament an explicit comparison is m ...
*Entering heaven alive
Entering heaven alive (called by various religions "ascension", "assumption", or "translation") is a belief held in various religions. Since death is the normal end to an individual's life on Earth and the beginning of afterlife, entering hea ...
*Hermes Trismegistus
Hermes Trismegistus (from grc, Wiktionary:Ἑρμῆς, Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τρισμέγιστος, "Hermes the Thrice-Greatest"; Classical Latin: la, label=none, Mercurius ter Maximus) is a legendary Hellenistic figure that originated as a Syn ...
*Metatron
Metatron ( ''Meṭāṭrōn'', ''Məṭaṭrōn'', ''Mēṭaṭrōn'', ''Mīṭaṭrōn'', ''Meṭaṭrōn'', ''Mīṭṭaṭrōn'') or Mattatron ( ''Maṭṭaṭrōn'') is an angel in Judaism mentioned three times in the Talmud in a few br ...
Notes
References
External links
The Descendants of Adam
(1914)
* Andrei A. Orlov essays on 2 Enoch
The Second Book of Enoch (abbreviated as 2 Enoch and also known as Slavonic Enoch, Slavic Enoch or Secrets of Enoch) is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, through ten ...
:
Enoch as the Heavenly Priest
',
',
' and
'
* Ed. Philip P. Wiener
Philip P. Wiener (July 8, 1905 – April 5, 1992) was an American philosopher who was a specialist on Pragmatism, Charles S. Pierce, Leibnitz, the history and philosophy of science, and the history of ideas. He co-founded the ''Journal of the Hi ...
br>''Dictionary of the History of Ideas'':
Cosmic Voyages (1973)
* Dr. Reed C. Durham, Jr
(1974)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enoch
Bereshit (parashah)
Book of Genesis people
Entering heaven alive
People in the catholic epistles
Primordial teachers
Book of Jubilees