Written by Paul J Bucknell on April, 26, 2022
Jude 14-15 Who is the Prophet Enoch?
Jude 14-15 quotes Enoch’s prediction of God’s judgment of the wicked. Since it is not included in the Bible, what is the Book of Enoch?
The canon of the Bible does not include The Book of Enoch, although words from him are quoted here in Jude 14-15 and accepted as authentic.
Jude 14-15
“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.”” (Jude 14-15, NASB)
The Background of Enoch
Enoch, the seventh in line from Adam, was the great grandfather of Noah. The Scriptures don’t write much on Enoch’s life, but we need to distinguish him from another Enoch in Genesis 4. What is written of him, however, is notable, “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (Gen 5:24).
Genesis 5:21-24
“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.”(Genesis 5:21-24)
Enoch bypassed the experience of death due to his close relationship with the Lord. The author of Hebrews affirms this interpretation and speaks terrific words about him, encouraging us to relish our times with God.
“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” (Heb 11:5).
This statement “taken up” is very unusual. We can take it as one of those notable life exceptions due to God’s intervention in the world. We should not be at all surprised to read of his prophesy due to his intimacy with God, but this does not mean Enoch wrote the Book of Enoch.
The Book of Enoch
The Book of Enoch is not part of the canon but was written after the Old Testament had closed. Only the Ethiopian Orthodox Church considered it Scripture. Jude was familiar with The Book of Enoch, as well as others, but we need not regard it as Scripture but as just interesting reading. The prophecy that Jude quotes comes from Enoch 2.0 (or 1:9).
2.0 Behold, he comes with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon them, and destroy the wicked, and reprove all the carnal for everything which the sinful and ungodly have done, and committed against him. (Quoted by Jude, vss. 14, 15.)
Where can we find the Book of Enoch? We can easily find the book on the web in our information age. But be careful of many books and beliefs about such books, especially the cultic Gnostic books. People’s views can deviate much from the Scripture. My book, The Origins of the Bible, explores those books sometimes considered part of the Scripture. The Book of Enoch is on two lists:
Where can we find the Book of Enoch? We can easily find the book on the web in our information age. But be careful of many books and beliefs about such books, especially the cultic Gnostic books. People’s views can deviate much from the Scripture. My book, The Origins of the Bible, explores those books sometimes considered part of the Scripture. The Book of Enoch is on two lists:
“Tertullian wanted to Canonize Enoch because of Jude’s quote; Chrysostom says that the authenticity of Jude was in doubt because of the quote from Enoch.”
Many consider The Book of Enoch written by past Christians because of several references to the Messiah, the Christ. But later on, they discovered parts of Enoch in the Qumran Scrolls, proving that it was written before Christ’s time–before the time of Christians. The church never considered the Book of Enoch part of the Bible canon or the Apocrypha, which some of the church accepts as Scripture.
- The OT apocrypha - Books considered by some to be part of the Canon (only accepted by the Ethiopian church; not by the Jewish leaders).
- OT pseudepigrapha - Books named after a Bible character masquerade as being written by that character. In this case, the Book of Enoch is associated with Enoch, but probably, only parts, like this prophecy, were written by him.
A Conclusion
Enoch probably would not want us to focus on his authorship but the truth of the judgment stated in Jude 14-15. This is a strong theme throughout The Book of Jude. He knew the truth of coming judgment and was willing to proclaim it, something our world greatly needs right now. Just because The Book of Enoch is named after him or includes his prophecy, we cannot safely conclude he authored the whole book or copied from his words verbatim. If we remember these things, it’s safe to read The Book of Enoch.
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