Despite the brevity of the Enoch narrative in the Old Testament, later traditions about Enoch highlight the importance he held in religious communities that were attempting to create a religious environment wherein heaven could be obtained. Yet many may not be aware of these rich Enoch traditions or understand their relationship to the Latter-day Saint canon. With this in mind, Jared Ludlow outlines these traditions by reviewing them throughout the different literature in which they appear. He then explores the insights provided by Joseph Smith and recorded in Joseph’s translations of the Bible and the Book of Moses. In exploring these insights, Ludlow notes the pivotal role Enoch plays in our understanding of the accountability of human action, from the Creation to the “end of days,” wherein all will stand accountable before God. —DB and AS

“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). This brief yet rich passage of Old Testament scripture has puzzled and fascinated Bible readers and interpreters for millennia. Despite having such a cursory role in the Old Testament, Enoch went on to be a popular figure in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim literature well into late antiquity.[1] What does it mean to say that Enoch walked with God? How and where did God take him? Turning to the Old Testament will not provide much assistance to these questions since there are only four verses that discuss Enoch’s life and mission. However, later texts, prophets, and apostles—particularly those from the Restoration—shed light on Enoch, this significant Old Testament prophet. These later sources highlight the increased and glorious roles that Enoch played within his own society on earth as well as his elevated functions in the heavenly courts above.

Old Testament

The Old Testament is brief about Enoch’s mission on earth. “And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him” (Genesis 5:21–24). This passage’s most important contribution is that it twice states that Enoch walked with God (Genesis 5:22, 24; yithallek et-ha’elohim). The phrase “walk with God” shows up in additional Old Testament passages in relation to other prophetic figures. Genesis 6:9 describes Noah as a just man—perfect (or blameless) in his generations—and as one who “walked with God,” a description indicating that Enoch was Noah’s forerunner.[2] Abraham was commanded by God to “walk before [him]” and be perfect (Genesis 17:1; [halak or yithallek] lipne in various Old Testament passages).[3] Abraham’s servant tried to convince Laban that Rebekah should marry Isaac. The servant quotes from his master’s instructions, saying, “The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee” (Genesis 24:40; emphasis added).[4] When Jacob blessed his son Joseph, Jacob referred to his own father and grandfather as fathers who did walk before God (Genesis 48:15). “A bit more intimacy seems to be suggested by ‘walking with’ as over against ‘walking before.’ ‘Walk with’ captures an emphasis on communion and fellowship. In a number of passages, all addressed to a king or his dynasty, ‘to walk with God’ strongly suggests obedience and subordination (1 K. 2:4; 3:6; 8:23, 25; 9:4), rather than worship and communion.”[5] Walking with God seems to denote not only obedience but also a close relationship with God that may have included walking (literally) in God’s presence, such as what Adam and Eve did and seemed to enjoy in the Garden of Eden before their expulsion.[6] The later parts of the Old Testament seem to replace the idea of walking with[7] or before[8] God with walking in God’s paths and laws (e.g., Exodus 16:4; 18:20).[9] God stated that his purpose in giving commandments to the Israelites was so that he could walk among them and be their God (Leviticus 26:12), but this is not fulfilled to all the congregation as it had been for the earlier patriarchs.

The other Old Testament phrase about Enoch that has led to even more speculation about this prophet is found in Genesis 5:24: “And he was not; for God took him.” There is no explanation given in the Genesis text for what this phrase means.[10] Although the Hebrew verb laqach has a variety of meanings—including taking things (stealing), taking a wife (marrying), and taking a life (killing)—laqach has usually been interpreted in this verse as God taking up Enoch in his body from the earth (in Latter-day Saint terms, God made Enoch a translated being).[11] This interpretation is in direct opposition to how the other ancestors in the genealogical list are described as they faced the reality of the Fall and tasted death.[12] There is another Old Testament example of God taking up (laqach) another living human, Elijah, from the earth. In this later passage, more description of the process by which Elijah was taken up into the heavens from the earth is given as Elijah conversed with his successor, Elisha: “Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (2 Kings 2:10–11; emphasis added). Genesis’s description of Enoch seems to be in this sense: a living body being taken up to heaven (translated) by God.[13] As will be shown next, the New Testament helps explain this passage in this sense also.

New Testament

The New Testament is also very brief in its treatment of Enoch. He is first mentioned in the New Testament in the Gospel of Luke’s genealogy of Jesus. In this genealogical line, Enoch is listed as the seventh patriarch after Adam, just as the Old Testament states. Yet nothing else is revealed except that Enoch was the son of Jared and the father of Methuselah (Luke 3:37).

Hebrews 11:5 is the key passage for understanding more about Enoch’s departure from the earth. In this great chapter on faith, Enoch is held up as a role model of faith along with two other antediluvian figures: Abel and Noah. The verse specifically says that because of Enoch’s faith, he was “translated that he should not see death” (Hebrews 11:5). The Greek term μετατίθημι is the same term that is used in the Septuagint to describe what God did to Enoch in Genesis 5:24. The phrase “that he should not see death” is not present in the Septuagint: its presence here makes explicit the fact that God’s “taking” of Enoch meant that he left earth without death.[14] The verse continues to explain that Enoch was no longer found on the earth because (1) God had translated Enoch and (2) God had translated Enoch to show him “that he [had] pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5).[15] The Greek sense of that phrase—“that he pleased God”—is that Enoch’s translation demonstrated to him (in the past perfect tense: had witness borne to him) that he had pleased God and that Enoch’s testimony, or witness, continues to stand for others to see. It is worth noting that the Hebrew text of Genesis 5:22, 24 focuses on Enoch “walking with God,” while the Septuagint emphasizes that “he [Enoch] pleased God.” The author of Hebrews draws on this Septuagint description.

The next crucial verse (Hebrews 11:6) states that without faith it is impossible to please God, so Enoch is held up as the example of one who did please God through faith and faithfulness.[16] Perhaps part of the purpose for Enoch’s translation was to show a faithless generation that what he had been teaching was true (see discussion below on Moses 7:20–28 and 8:2, which explains that a “residue” remained because the people were cursed and because Noah needed to come from Enoch’s posterity).

One other passage of New Testament scripture is important in reference to Enoch. In this case, Enoch is not only mentioned, but he is quoted.[17] Jude 1:14–15 once again acknowledges that Enoch is the seventh descendant from Adam and then Jude quotes from Enoch’s prophecy: “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Besides highlighting the extreme wickedness of the people during Enoch’s day, this passage foresees the great coming of the Lord with thousands of his saints. Other passages of scripture also prophesy of the great multitudes of saints/angels who will accompany Jesus’s glorious Second Coming (e.g., Deuteronomy 33:2; Daniel 7:10; Zechariah 14:5; Matthew 25:31; Hebrews 12:22).[18] But where does this prophecy of Enoch come from? It is not found in Genesis, which only gives the brief description of his ministry discussed above. Many scholars have turned to noncanonical texts related to Enoch in attempts to answer this question.

Other Second Temple Jewish Texts

The Second Temple period—roughly from the Israelites’ return from the Babylon Exile until the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple by the Romans (450 BC–AD 70)—is replete with texts related to the Old Testament.[19] This is the time period of great copying and translating of the Hebrew Bible, a period that produced the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible), Targums (or Targumim (pl.); Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Bible), and the Dead Sea Scrolls. In addition to these manuscripts of biblical texts, many additional texts related to Old Testament figures and events were produced. Most of these texts were deemed noncanonical and are now categorized as Pseudepigrapha, which is a collection of texts falsely ascribed to Old Testament figures and most likely not written by them or from their actual time period.[20] For the modern reader, some texts may appear to be filled with fanciful tales that have no basis in the actual historical lives of these figures.[21] Yet the modern view of the Pseudepigrapha as noncanonical was not always in line with the ancient readers’ view of the collection. Some of these pseudepigraphal texts were read and copied by ancient Jewish and Christian congregations who probably accepted the texts as either part of their authoritative canon or, at least, as having some teachings worthy of the congregations’ attention.[22] It is from one such text, 1 Enoch 1:9, that this New Testament prophecy of Enoch is found and copied. Besides this quotation of a passage from a Second Temple text, several other texts discuss similar issues and events that expand Enoch’s role in ancient Jewish and Christian thought.

First Enoch is probably the most well-known Second Temple text related to Enoch.[23] It is an apocalypse (a heavenly journey account) that has only been found in its complete form in Ethiopic. First Enoch is most likely a composite text of five originally independent texts[24] that are usually broken down by chapters as follows: Book of the Watchers (1–36), the Book of Parables or Similitudes (37–71), the Astronomical Book or Book of the Luminaries (72–82), the Book of Dreams (83–90), and the Epistle of Enoch (91–108).[25] The order of these sections is not chronological, with the earliest sections having been written in Palestine in the third century BC and the last before or during the first century AD. First Enoch was probably originally written in Aramaic, then translated into Greek and other languages, including the text’s only complete form in Ethiopic.[26] The Ethiopian church canonized the text, and more than ninety Ethiopic manuscripts of 1 Enoch have been found—the oldest one has been dated back to around the fifteenth century.[27] Fragments from most of the sections of 1 Enoch have been found among the Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls in Cave 4 and in some Greek texts found at places like Oxyrhynchus and Cairo (and possibly Qumran Cave 7). A brief discussion of each of the sections of 1 Enoch will follow.

The first section of 1 Enoch (chaps. 1–36) is commonly called the Book of the Watchers. It gets it title from the story at the beginning of Genesis 6 about the “sons of God” watching the “daughters of man” and taking them to wife. The sons’ actions initiated a period of great wickedness and eventually led to the Flood and its attendant destruction. Some later texts from the Second Temple period view this story as being about angelic or heavenly beings (the sons of God) leaving their heavenly abode and cohabitating with human women.[28] Their union resulted in “mighty men” or “men of renown” who were also known as “giants” (Genesis 6:4), which led to the conceptions associated with Greek mythological characters. In the midst of this peculiar society, Enoch came and preached repentance. The first part of the Book of the Watchers includes a strong oracle of eschatological judgment from the mouth of Enoch as he warns the people that God will appear with his heavenly army to destroy the wicked. In 1 Enoch 1:4–5, Enoch says, “He [God] will appear with his host, and will appear in the strength of his power from heaven. And all will be afraid, and the Watchers will shake, and fear and great trembling will seize them unto the ends of the earth.”[29] Yet amid the wicked exist some of the elect that Enoch also speaks to and encourages. The second part of the Book of the Watchers delves into more detail about the Watchers and their illicit plans. This section ends while Enoch serves as a mediator figure (a scribe of righteousness) between heaven and the Watchers and upholds the warning of punishment that they received. The last section of the Book of the Watchers (chapters 17–36) gives a great description of Enoch’s journeys to the ends of the earth and the cosmos, including his travels to the mountain of God and the tree of life, to the Garden of Eden and the tree of wisdom, and through Sheol (the world of the spirits), where the dead were held. The Book of Watchers ends with Enoch’s praise of God’s creations and his great deeds.

The second section of 1 Enoch (chapters 37–71) can be termed the Book of Parables or Book of Similitudes because of the text’s description of the instructions and parables that were given to Enoch (1 Enoch 68:1). Chronologically, it is probably the latest of all the sections of 1 Enoch and dates to roughly the late first century AD. The second section of 1 Enoch consists of three individual parables, or figurative discourses, bound together by an account of an otherworldly journey by Enoch. Central to this journey is Enoch’s view of the divine throne room, replete with the Son of Man enthroned. Upon seeing the judgment scene, Enoch relates the following in 1 Enoch 46:1–3:

And there I saw one who had a head of days,

and his head [was] white like wool;

And with him [there was] another, whose face had the appearance of a man,

and his face [was] full of grace, like one of the holy angels.

And I asked one of the holy angels who went with me, and showed me all the secrets, about that Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was, [and] why he went with the Head of Days.

And he answered me and said to me:

“This is the Son of Man who has righteousness,

and with whom righteousness dwells;

he will reveal all the treasuries of that which is secret,

for the Lord of Spirits has chosen him,

and through uprightness his lot has surpassed all before the Lord of Spirits forever.”

This passage’s greatest importance may be in how it interprets the Son of Man traditions of Daniel 7 and how it depicts Final Judgment.[30] The judgment (the flood) at the time of Noah functions as a prototype of the Final Judgment. The righteous who currently suffer at the hands of the wicked—the wicked who are often rulers—will enjoy life on a restored earth with the Son of Man while the sinners are destroyed by fire. Thus, throughout this section, Enoch is the figure who asks questions and receives answers from his angelic escorts to describe all the heavenly scenes and future events.

The next section of 1 Enoch (chapters 72–82) discusses astronomical knowledge, so it is called the Book of the Luminaries or the Astronomical Book. One of the heavenly archangels, Uriel, has leadership over the celestial objects, and, in this section, he transmits that knowledge to Enoch, who then shares it with his son Methuselah.[31] In 1 Enoch 82:1–2 Enoch tells Methuselah, “And now, my son Methuselah, all these things I recount to you and write down for you; I have revealed everything to you and have given you books about all these things. Keep, my son Methuselah, the books from the hand of your father, that you may pass [them] on to the generations of eternity. I have given wisdom to you and to your children, and to those who will be your children, that they may give [it] to their children for all the generations forever—this wisdom [which is] beyond their thoughts.” The calendar system presented follows a 364-day calendar—unlike the lunar calendar, which has 354 days, or the common Mesopotamian calendar, which has 360 days—probably as an effort to maintain the Jewish festivals happening in their proper season (since the lunar calendar falls behind each year, and without any adjustment, harvest festivals would find themselves in the time of planting, and so forth).[32] Enoch’s knowledge of astronomy is found in other Second Temple texts, including in the Book of Jubilees, which was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls also contain at least four Aramaic fragmentary copies of the third section of 1 Enoch, which were all found in Qumran Cave 4. The astronomical knowledge said to have been passed down through Enoch in these texts had a modest impact on Jewish, Christian, and Ethiopian astronomy and especially on the Ethiopian calendar, which has 364 days per year.

The fourth section of 1 Enoch (chapters 83–90) is the Book of Dreams. The first two chapters are a dream vision, and then the next six chapters form the so-called Animal Apocalypse.[33] Both visions occur in Enoch’s grandfather’s home, although the first vision, about the imminent flood, comes when Enoch is learning literacy, and the second vision, about the end of days, came before he got married. In both cases, Enoch attempts to intercede, first for the earth/humankind, and secondly for the people of Israel. (Compare with the instances of Enoch intervening with God on behalf of others in Moses 7, discussed below). The Animal Apocalypse provides a sweep of religious history in the style of a fable, with animals representing different characters (e.g., bull=Adam; heifer=Eve) and different species representing different nationalities (e.g., Israelites=sheep; Egyptians=wolves). Perhaps the fable uses animals as symbolic imagery to veil the true meaning of the destructive events that would take place to the Israelites’ surrounding neighbors. The fable begins with Adam and ends with the final battle after which Jerusalem is rebuilt (with a new temple), and all have become righteous. Enoch beholds the world’s events unfold from a celestial temple. The final verses of this section record Enoch’s reaction to the vision: “But after this I wept bitterly, and my tears did not stop until I could not endure it; when I looked, they ran down on account of that which I saw; for everything will come to pass and be fulfilled; and all the deeds of men in their order were shown to me. That night I remembered my first dream, and because of it I wept and was disturbed, because I had seen that vision” (1 Enoch 90:41–42).[34]

The final section of 1 Enoch (chapters 91–108) is often called the Epistle of Enoch or The Two Ways of the Righteous and the Sinner. This section’s discourses on ethical behavior are similar to Near Eastern wisdom literature, which has an emphasis on the two ways or two choices in life (good and evil). This section compiles various accounts such as a description of Noah’s miraculous birth and various exhortations tied into the period of the flood and of the last days. Part of this final section reviews history like the Animal Apocalypse but does so in a schema of ten-week periods that represent eras of unequal lengths. Enoch is born in the first week, while the tenth week describes the time when a new heaven arises.[35] In between, the review of history covers figures like Noah, Abraham, and Moses and also covers important future events, including the destruction of the wicked and the blessing of the righteous. Throughout this section the exhortations from Enoch to the people are often set up in testamentary fashion. That is, Enoch gathers his children and others around him to give his last counsel before his departure from the earth (usually testaments are given before one’s death, but this is not the case with Enoch). The admonitions are pretty straightforward: to love righteousness (with promises of blessings) and to reject evil (with warnings of punishment and stern woes). He warns the wicked in 1 Enoch 103:7–8 with this somber imagery:

Know that their souls will be made to go down into Sheol, and they will be wretched,

and their distress [will be] great;

and in darkness and in chains and in burning flames

your spirits will come to the great judgment,

and the great judgment will last for all generations forever.

Woe to you, for you will not have peace.

Enoch sorrows over the people’s wickedness and laments that his eyes may become like a cloud of waters to weep over the people. Throughout this section Enoch plays a central role in instructing others and being the writer of all the signs of wisdom, wisdom that he gained by reading the “tablets of heaven” (e.g., 1 Enoch 93:2)

Second Enoch is another Enochic text compiled in the Pseudepigrapha, although it is not directly related to 1 Enoch. A major difference with 2 Enoch and its transmission with 1 Enoch is that rather than becoming a major part of the Ethiopic tradition, 2 Enoch became part of the Slavonic (eastern European) tradition (many Pseudepigrapha texts became popular in eastern Europe and were preserved and transmitted in the region’s liturgical codices and compendia). The full text of 2 Enoch has only been found in Slavonic, although some transcriptions and photographs of Coptic fragments of 2 Enoch were recently found among the stored finds of British excavations in Nubia that had focused on the Nubian kingdom’s Christian phase (during the fifth to fifteenth centuries AD). The dating of the Coptic fragments is uncertain. Although the twenty or so Slavonic manuscripts date from the Middle Ages (from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries AD), 2 Enoch was most likely written in the first century AD as a Jewish text, probably in Alexandria, and was then picked up and transmitted by Christians.[36] Second Enoch’s major theme is the ascent of Enoch through the heavens as he is initiated into the heavenly mysteries. “[There was] a wise man and a great artisan whom the Lord took away. And he [the Lord] loved him so that he might see the highest realms; and of the most wise and great and inconceivable and unchanging kingdom of God almighty, and of the most marvelous and glorious and shining and many-eyed station of the Lord’s servants, and of the Lord’s immovable throne” (2 Enoch 1:1–4).[37] As such, 2 Enoch’s form is both an apocalypse (heavenly journey) and a testament (last instruction) since Enoch shares with his children on earth his newfound heavenly knowledge from God and angels, including the secrets of creation: “Before anything existed at all, from the very beginning, whatever exists I [God] created from the non-existent, and from the invisible the visible. Listen, Enoch, and pay attention to these words of mine! For not even to my angels have I explained my secrets, nor related to them their origin, nor my endlessness [and inconceivableness], as I devise the creatures, as I am making them known to you today” (24:2–3). The later part of the text continues the line of Enoch’s family and their priestly role among the people.[38] This text is important in Enochic tradition because it represents a development in the depiction of Enoch as not simply “a human taken to heaven and transformed into an angel, but as a celestial being exalted above the angelic world.”[39] This depiction is an intermediate stage leading to later mystical rabbinic sources that describe a supreme angel Metatron or “the Prince of the Presence” that is sometimes identified with Enoch.[40]

Third Enoch, also known as Sefer Hekhalot, differs from the other Enochic texts not only in its later date (likely from the fifth or sixth century AD)[41] but also in its main character. Rather than Enoch being the protagonist character whose exploits move the text forward, 3 Enoch tells the story of Rabbi Ishmael, a character who takes a heavenly journey that includes seeing the archangel Metatron and learning that Metatron’s real identity was, in fact, Enoch. Thus, the text elaborates on Enoch but does so as a heavenly being seen by someone else on his heavenly journey. Third Enoch also explains how Enoch achieved his lofty status as a “youth” by becoming the youngest of the angels and how he fulfills his scribal and judicial roles.[42] Perhaps the most surprising thing about Metatron is his exalted role as a vice-regent to God and his title as the “lesser YHWH.”[43] Metatron/Enoch is a new figure associated with the Godhead, and he plays a powerful role in later Jewish mysticism.

The Testament of Abraham is another Second Temple Jewish text that mentions Enoch and his heavenly role. It is specifically its shorter recension (version), Recension B, that identifies Enoch by name as one of the figures at the heavenly judgment setting.[44] Within this judgment setting Enoch is described as a man of great stature with three crowns on his head—called the crowns of witness—and a golden pen in his hand.[45] As the “scribe of righteousness” and “teacher of heaven and earth,” Enoch not only records the sins and righteousness of each soul but also reads from the book of heavenly records when requested by the judge (Abel). In the particular case portrayed in chapter 10 of The Testament of Abraham, a female soul tried to deny charges of serious sin waged against her by the judge, but Enoch brings forward evidence against her.

And the judge [Abel] said to him [Enoch], “Give proof of the sin of this soul.” And that man opened one of the books which the cherubim had and sought out the sin of the woman’s soul, and he found (it). And the judge said, “O wretched soul, how can you say that you have not committed murder? Did you not, after your husband’s death, go and commit adultery with your daughter’s husband and kill her?” And he charged her also with her other sins, including whatever she had done from her childhood. When the woman heard these things, she cried aloud, saying, “Woe is me, woe is me! Because I forgot all my sins which I committed in the world, but here they were not forgotten.” (Testament of Abraham, Rec B, 10:10–15)[46]

When the archangel Michael, Abraham’s escort in this text, described Enoch’s role in the judgment setting in chapter 11, Abraham asked how Enoch could bear the weight of the souls, seeing that he had never tasted of death. Abraham also asked how Enoch could give sentence to all the souls. Michael quickly corrected Abraham’s question and stated that it was not permitted for Enoch to give sentence to the souls—it is the Lord who does so. Enoch only has to worry about recording. According to Michael this role was directly requested by Enoch: “Lord, I do not want to give the sentence of the souls, lest I become oppressive to someone.” The Lord replied: “I shall command you to write the sins of a soul that makes atonement, and it will enter into life. And if the soul has not made atonement and repented, you will find its sins (already) written, and it will be cast into punishment” (11:8–10). Through this interaction, we see Enoch becoming the heavenly scribe and participant at the judgment scene, roles that are found in other texts related to Enoch.

The Dead Sea Scrolls include not only fragments of texts like 1 Enoch, but they also include other Old Testament retellings that expand on Enoch and other Old Testament figures. The book of Jubilees, for example, discusses Enoch’s visions of the future, including the final judgment day, his knowledge of the heavens gained from living an extended period with the angels of God, and his exalted role as heavenly scribe and priest, during which he wrote many books and mediated for the people. Jubilees 4:17–19 enumerates several of the traditions surrounding Enoch.

This one was the first who learned writing and knowledge and wisdom, from (among) the sons of men, from (among) those who were born upon earth. And who wrote in a book the signs of the heaven according to the order of their months, so that the sons of men might know the (appointed) times of the years according to their order, with respect to each of their months. This one was the first (who) wrote a testimony and testified to the children of men throughout the generations of the earth. And their weeks according to jubilees he recounted; and the days of years he made known. And the months he set in order, and the sabbaths of the years he recounted, just as we made it known to him. And he saw what was and what will be in a vision of his sleep as it will happen among the children of men in their generations until the day of judgment. He saw and knew everything and wrote his testimony and deposited the testimony upon the earth against all the children of men and their generations.[47]

On the topic of writing, Enoch is said to have been the first patriarch who learned writing and wisdom among the sons of men (Moses 6:5–6 attributes this feat to Adam and his family).[48] Enoch wrote about astronomy and related issues so that mortals would know the appointed times of the years, which was an important concern in the book of Jubilees. Enoch also wrote his testimony and testified to the people and had stern warnings against the Watchers. A difference with this text from others is that rather than Enoch being translated from the earth, he was taken to the Garden of Eden to function as a scribe of the sins of humanity and to protect Eden from the floodwaters. “And we led him to the garden of Eden for greatness and honor. And behold, he is there writing condemnation and judgment of the world, and all of the evils of the children of men. And because of him none of the water of the Flood came upon the whole land of Eden, for he was put there for a sign and so that he might bear witness against all of the children of men so that he might relate all of the deeds of the generations until the day of judgment” (Jubilees 4:23–24).

The Book of the Giants was another Dead Sea Scroll text that included significant stories about Enoch. Several fragmentary manuscripts of this anthology of Enoch stories were uncovered among the scrolls. As the title suggests, this text revolves around the story of the Watchers at the beginning of Genesis 6 and their subsequent offspring who were “giants.” Enoch serves in his familiar mediatorial role as he interprets the giants’ ominous dreams and tries to intercede with God on the giants’ behalf. As the great scribe, Enoch returns with a tablet that foretells harsh judgment but still holds out an invitation for repentance.

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs includes the last counsel and teachings of Jacob’s sons to their descendants. Seven of these twelve testaments refer to a book (or books) of Enoch. Most of the references are warnings about the sins of the people that are leading them astray, but these warnings had been foretold in the writings of Enoch (e.g., Testament of Simeon 5.4).[49] The Testament of Dan 5.6 goes so far as to say that Satan has become their leader: “For I read in the Book of Enoch the Righteous that your prince is Satan and that all the spirits of sexual promiscuity and of arrogance devote attention to the sons of Levi in the attempt to observe them closely and cause them to commit sin before the Lord.”[50] The Testament of Levi says the people’s sins will become so bad and disgraceful that Jerusalem will not bear their presence, the curtain of the temple will be torn, and they will be scattered. “For the house which the Lord shall choose shall be called Jerusalem, as the book of Enoch the Righteous maintains” (Testament of Levi 10.5). Throughout these texts, it is righteous Enoch who has written the warnings and prophecies about their descendants.

When reviewing these Second Temple Jewish texts, we can learn how later Jews and Christians viewed Enoch and his roles. Enoch becomes primarily known as a scribe (often in judgment settings), a teacher of wisdom, a mediator between mortals and heaven, and an elevated celestial figure. Enoch received many sweeping visions of God’s creations and the unfolding of his salvation history among his children. Thus, Enoch’s importance and status was greatly expanded from the Genesis account, although the sources for these expansions are usually unknown. Similar to the Apocrypha, perhaps we can approach these texts as counseled in Doctrine and Covenants 91, when the Lord proclaimed that “there are many things contained therein that are true, . . . [and] there are many things contained therein that are not true, which are interpolations by the hands of man” (91:1–2). Whether truths or interpolations, however, these depictions are primarily later Jewish and Christian interpretations of Enoch; thus, the depictions highlight the significant roles Enoch played in each religion’s interpretations. When turning to Restoration scripture, on the other hand, we are told the source of the expanded stories of Enoch: revelatory experiences through the Prophet Joseph Smith, most notably during the process of the new translation of the Bible (the JST). When compared to the material discussed above, some parallels and significant differences become noticeable.[51]

Restoration Scripture

Our understanding about Enoch is greatly enriched because of the additional accounts about Enoch and his ministry that were revealed through the prophet Joseph Smith and now contained in the Pearl of Great Price, the Doctrine and Covenants, and other sources. The account of Enoch in the Book of Moses[52] came as part of Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible and extended the discussion (in Genesis) on Enoch’s ministry from around 5 verses to 114 verses.[53] Below we will highlight some of the key aspects of this JST account as well as look at what other Restoration scripture says about this great prophet.

Moses 6:26–27 gives a detailed description of Enoch’s commission as a prophet. The Spirit of God descended out of heaven and abode upon Enoch, whereupon he heard a voice from heaven declaring that he should prophesy and preach repentance to the people with a warning of God’s anger against their deep wickedness.[54] Enoch’s role as preacher to the wicked is similar to what we saw in the Jewish and Christian literature discussed above. Enoch’s meek, reluctant response in Moses 6:31 focused on his youthful age,[55] his self-perceived slowness of speech, and the fact that the people hated him. The Lord reassured Enoch in verse 32 that he would be protected in his ministry, his mouth would be filled, and God would give him utterance. God went on to say in verse 34 that not only would he justify Enoch’s words, but Enoch’s speech would be so powerful it would move mountains and change rivers’ courses. God finished his instructions to Enoch with the invitation to “walk with me.”[56] The Pearl of Great Price seems to use the term “walking with God” to emphasize Enoch’s lengthy life of righteousness, and the Book of Moses repeats it several times throughout Enoch’s ministry. Whereas in Genesis the phrase is mentioned right as Enoch is taken to God.

Enoch’s divine experience continued with God’s invitation to Enoch to anoint his eyes with clay and wash them, which he did (Moses 6:35). Enoch’s experience is similar to other prophets, like Jeremiah and Isaiah, who had their lips touched to prepare them for prophetic service. “However, in the case of both Joseph Smith’s revelations and pseudepigrapha, Enoch’s eyes ‘were opened by God’ to enable ‘the vision of the Holy One and of heaven.’ The words of a divinely given song recorded in Joseph Smith’s Revelation Book 2 are in remarkable agreement with 1 Enoch: ‘[God] touched [Enoch’s] eyes and he saw heaven.’ This divine action would have had special meaning to Joseph Smith, who alluded elsewhere to instances in which God touched his own [Joseph’s] eyes before he received a heavenly vision.”[57] Enoch then beheld all the spirits that God had created and many things not visible to the natural eye (Moses 6:36). As a result of those experiences, Enoch gained the reputation among the people as a seer. These visions of God’s vastness agree with texts discussed above in which Enoch came to know all of God’s creations. With his newly gained knowledge and experience, Enoch went forth and preached against the wickedness of the people—doing so offended some but produced curiosity in others (6:37–38). But none dared apprehend him for fear of God because Enoch walked with God (6:39). However, a man named Mahijah stepped forward and asked Enoch who he was and where he had come from (6:40).[58] Enoch gave a lengthy response that shared his commission from God to come among the people and teach them God’s word revealed through visions to him (6:41–44). Enoch then shared the fact that a book of remembrance had been preserved from their ancestors, allowing Enoch’s people to know their ancestors ever since Adam (6:45–46).[59] Enoch’s sharing of written knowledge is similar to times when Enoch in other texts taught his son Methuselah or when others later read Enoch’s words to learn their history and wisdom. The people here responded with trembling and could not stand in his presence (6:47). Enoch then taught about the plan of salvation, some of the first principles and ordinances of the gospel, and the atoning role of Jesus Christ (6:48–7:1), which are clear gospel principles certainly not found in earlier Enochic texts (although some do expound on the figure and purpose of the Son of Man).

Enoch proceeded to share his very powerful experience on Mount Simeon in which the heavens were opened, he was clothed with glory, and he saw and talked with the Lord (Moses 7:2–4). Similar to other ascension narratives in Enochic texts, here Enoch beholds the Lord and learns directly from him. The Lord granted a vision of the world for the space of many generations, which included the conquest of the people of Canaan over the land (7:4–9).[60] The Lord then commanded Enoch to preach repentance and baptize the people, which Enoch did, except among the people of Canaan (7:10–12). There is no reason given for why the Canaanites were excluded, but perhaps it was because of their violence and conquest (7:7). The narrative then shifts to the conflict between the people of God who were led by Enoch and their enemies. Through Enoch’s faith and the power of language that God had granted him, Enoch was able to work mighty changes throughout nature, such that all nations feared greatly (7:13).[61] After the enemies of the people of God fled to a newly raised up piece of land and both they and the giants of the land stood afar off, they were greatly cursed such that there would be wars and bloodshed among them (7:14–16). The righteous, however, saw great blessings as the Lord came and dwelt with them. The glory of the Lord came upon them, they flourished, and they were blessed upon the mountains and high places (meaning that Enoch’s people received power, rituals, and maybe even something we might equate with today’s endowments. See 7:16–17).[62] The people were united in righteousness without poor among them, so the Lord called them Zion (7:18). A significant difference between the Book of Moses and other Enochic texts is its emphasis on Enoch’s earthly ministry. Most of the other texts focus on Enoch’s heavenly ministry. In the Book of Moses, Enoch was not merely a mediator between heaven and earth, but he actively ministered among his people and prepared them for their own translations as well. The parallels between Restoration scripture and ancient sources seem to point to the existence of more accounts of Enoch than what has been transmitted through canonical sources, and the Latter-day Saint belief in the existence and knowledge of the gospel and the plan of salvation from the foundation of the world certainly comes through strongly in the Enoch material from Restoration scripture.

The next section of the text focuses on the dialogue between the Lord and Enoch, which leads into more of a heavenly ministry for Enoch. In the course of this dialogue Enoch sees all the nations of the earth and eventually Zion being taken up into heaven (Moses 7:19–23). Enoch was now “high and lifted up,[63] even in the bosom of the Father, and of the Son of Man,” and from his glorious vantage point, he saw the generations of man and the contest for the souls between heavenly angels sent to earth and Satan’s efforts among the wicked (7:24–27). Those who accepted the angels’ message were lifted into Zion by the powers of heaven (7:27), but the residue fell under Satan’s power and were the object of God’s weeping (7:28).[64] God’s weeping led Enoch to question how God could weep over such a seemingly insignificant portion of his creations. God responded that these people were the workmanship of his hands, and he had given them all the conditions and commandments needed to choose him to be their Father; but they had rejected him and now faced his indignation, which included facing the floods and being turned over to Satan to be their father (7:29–38). Yet even despite their wicked state, God had prepared a place and plan for them, wherein his chosen one could deliver them (7:38–39).

As Enoch began feeling godly compassion and sorrow for the scene unfolded before him, he “wept and stretched forth his arms, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook” (Moses 7:41; compare with 1 Enoch 90:39–42 mentioned above, when Enoch “wept bitterly” after God showed him a symbolic vision of the future). Yet even when beholding the terrible destruction of the floods, Enoch saw the temporal deliverance of Noah, his family, and their descendants, who were all spreading forth to fill the earth again, which comforted and gladdened Enoch’s heart (7:41–45). When Enoch asked about the timing of the day of the Lord, Enoch saw in vision the great day, and his soul rejoiced (7:45–47). Enoch’s attention then turned to the voice of the earth: “He heard a voice from the bowels [of the earth], saying: Wo, wo is me, the mother of men; I am pained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children.[65] When shall I rest, and be cleansed from the filthiness which is gone forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me, that I may rest, and righteousness for a season abide upon my face?” (Moses 7:48).

The Mother Earth figure may not be commonly presented in Latter-day Saint theology, but it is a common feature in many ancient religions. Not surprisingly, she appears in other Enochic literature where she cries out for the wickedness upon her (1 Enoch 7:4–6; 8:4; 9:2, 10; 4QEnGiants 8, lines 3–4, 6–12).[66] In the Book of Moses, Enoch turned to his familiar role as mediator when pleading to God in the name of Christ for rest and sanctification on behalf of the earth and also for the children of Noah (Moses 7:49–50). Making a covenant with Enoch, the Lord promised that he would stay the floods and call upon the children of Noah so that a remnant of Enoch’s seed would always be found on the face of the earth (7:51–52).[67] Enoch continued to be concerned about the earth and asked if she would receive her rest at the time of the coming of the Son of Man (7:54).[68] Enoch then beheld the crucifixion of Christ and the subsequent resurrection of the just (7:55–57), but it would still not be the time for the earth to rest. The earth’s rest would only occur when Christ returned in the last days (7:59–61). As part of the last days, a Holy City would be established for the elect, a New Jerusalem (7:62). A grand reunion would then occur as the Lord and Enoch would welcome the elect into their bosom, fall upon their necks, and kiss them, thus ushering in a thousand-year period of righteousness (7:63–64). In sum, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man and all the great tribulations that would precede it, and as the Lord showed Enoch all things, Enoch received a fullness of joy (7:65–67).[69]

The Pearl of Great Price’s account of Enoch ends with some events that parallel some of the Genesis account but changes the events to affect a corporate body (Zion) rather than simply affecting Enoch as an individual. All the days of Zion, in the days of Enoch, were 365 years (rather than Enoch’s lifespan alone) (Moses 7:68). Enoch and all his people walked with God as he dwelt in the midst of Zion until Zion was received into God’s own bosom (7:69). Enoch lived upon the earth four hundred and thirty years (8:1),[70] and the Pearl of Great Price specifically points out that Enoch’s son Methuselah was not taken up with the rest so that the Lord’s covenant that Noah would come from the fruit of his loins could be fulfilled (8:2). This explains how Enoch’s posterity would continue and what the fate of the residue left behind would be, as discussed in other Enochic texts. The order of the priesthood and the commission to declare the gospel are also continued from Enoch to Noah: “And the Lord ordained Noah after his own order, and commanded him that he should go forth and declare his Gospel unto the children of men, even as it was given unto Enoch” (8:19; emphasis added).

Other parts of Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible address Enoch. More emphasis seems to be placed in these passages on earlier covenants made with Enoch, which is not a significant theme in other Enochic literature. JST Genesis 9:15 first promises that God would establish his covenant with Noah, the same one “which I [God] made unto your father Enoch, concerning your seed after you” (see the following chapter in this volume). Shortly thereafter JST Genesis 9:21 describes the rainbow that would be shown to Noah as a sign of the covenant. The Lord says that when he sees the rainbow, he will be reminded of the everlasting covenant he made with Noah’s forefather, Enoch, “When men should keep all my commandments, Zion should again come on the earth, the city of Enoch which I have caught up unto myself” (JST Genesis 9:21). A covenant with Enoch is also mentioned in relation to Melchizedek’s ordination to the priesthood when it is said that “he was ordained an high priest after the order of the covenant which God made with Enoch” (14:27). This order was after the order of the Son of God, which did not come from earthly origins but from God, and thus the order had no beginning or end (14:28).[71] God’s covenant with Enoch was further described in the next verses in which it is explained that God swore unto Enoch and his seed that they would have power, by faith, to do many mighty works (many of which Enoch demonstrated in the Pearl of Great Price account). And those with this faith and with the priesthood “were translated and taken up into heaven” (14:32). Melchizedek and his righteous people had this faith and priesthood, thus, they “sought for the city of Enoch which God had before taken, separating it from the earth, having reserved it unto the latter days, or the end of the world” (14:34).

Doctrine and Covenants section 107 offers more insight on Enoch, especially in relation to priesthood authority.[72] Section 107:48 states that Enoch was 25 years old when Adam ordained him to the Melchizedek Priesthood, and Enoch was blessed by Adam again at age 65.[73] The next verse (107:49) reiterates Enoch’s experience with walking with the Lord but also emphasizes the frequent nature of it: “He saw the Lord, and he walked with him, and was before his face continually; and he walked with God three hundred and sixty-five years.” The last part of the verse differs from the Genesis account, which seems to imply that Enoch was translated at the age of 365, but in Doctrine and Covenants 107:49, 365 years is how long he walked with the Lord on the earth, which is then added to Enoch’s age (65) when he was given a second blessing from Adam. Thus, according to Doctrine and Covenants 107:49, Enoch was 430 years old when he was translated, which agrees with the age given in Moses 8:1. Section 107 goes on to describe a great gathering of high priests and other righteous people that happened three years before Adam’s death. Enoch was among these antediluvian patriarchs who met at Adam-ondi-Ahman, where the Lord appeared and where they all rose up to bless Adam. Then Adam gave his final counsel, blessings, and prophecies (Doctrine and Covenants 107:53–56), and all these things were recorded in a book of Enoch (107:57).[74]

Besides canonized Latter-day Saint scripture, there are a few other references to Enoch from early Church leaders. Joseph Smith taught that Enoch was reserved by God unto himself, explaining that Enoch “should not die at that time and [that God] appointed unto him a ministry unto terrestrial bodies of whom there have been but little revealed. He is reserved also unto the Presidency of a dispensation. . . . He is a ministering Angel, to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation, and appeared unto Jude as Abel did unto Paul, therefore Jude spoke of him 14 & 15 v.”[75] Brigham Young connected Enoch with temple worship: “Enoch had temples and officiated therein, but we have no account of it.”[76]

Significance of Enoch

Despite Enoch’s brief mention in the Old Testament, the figure of Enoch played a very significant role in early Judaism and Christianity. He is one of the dominant figures of the Second Temple period, perhaps precisely because so little was written about him in the Old Testament and because what was in the text seemed to beg for exploration and expansion. One prominent scholar went so far as to state that “the influence of Enoch in the New Testament has been greater than that of all the other apocryphal and pseudepigraphical books taken together.”[77] The rich transmission history of Enochic texts, from the Dead Sea Scrolls to medieval manuscripts, stands as a testament to the importance of Enoch and the texts associated with him. Some scholars have even argued in favor of the existence of a particular strand of Judaism in the first centuries BC—Enochic Judaism—which was similar to the development of Jewish sects like the Essenes and Pharisees.[78] Citations from Enoch texts are found in the Jewish apocalyptic writings of Jubilees, the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Assumption of Moses, 2 Baruch, and 4 Ezra. In later Jewish mystical texts, Enoch is raised to the highest levels of the heavenly courts, becoming a priest and vice-regent to God.[79]

The early Christian fathers and apologists treated some Enoch texts, particularly 1 Enoch, as a canonical text.[80] In this case, more than thirty patristic writers include quotations from Enoch.[81] Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria both cited 1 Enoch without questioning whether its character was sacred.[82] Tertullian acknowledged that some do not accept the genuineness of the prophecy of Enoch because it was no longer part of the Jewish canon or because it would have been lost in the flood, but Tertullian argued that either Noah had taken a copy on the ark with him, or he had reproduced it later through inspiration. In either case, Tertullian felt that the content in the prophecy of Enoch deemed it worthy of inclusion, especially because Enoch preached about the Lord and because part of Enoch’s testimony is preserved in Jude.[83] Irenaeus described the common view of Enoch as the following: “Enoch too, pleasing God , without circumcision , discharged the office of God's legate to the angels although he was a man , and was translated, and is preserved until now as a witness of the just judgment of God , because the angels when they had transgressed fell to the earth for judgment, but the man who pleased [God] was translated for salvation .”[84] However, Enoch’s importance in Christianity, especially western Christianity, began to wane around the fourth century AD as writers like Hilary, Jerome, and Augustine condemned his writings and rejected the mystical and apocalyptic strands associated with his literature. For example, Augustine wondered, “Does not the canonical epistle of Jude the apostle openly declare that Enoch spoke as a prophet? It is true that his alleged writings have never been accepted as authoritative, [n]either by Jews or Christians, but that is because their extreme antiquity makes us afraid of handing out as authentic works [that] may be forgeries.”[85]

Conclusion

When looking at all these examples of references to Enoch in the Old Testament and the Second Temple period, we see the rising importance of Enoch far beyond the brief mention of him in Genesis. He becomes a glorious personage who has special connections with the heavens but who still maintains contact with earthly inhabitants, often acting as a mediator for them. He is closely connected with the story of the Watchers because he tries to thwart the wickedness that eventually leads to the Flood. Enoch is the scribe par excellence whose writings, visions, and prophecies not only have been transmitted through the ages among his descendants but have also played a role in the heavenly judgment scene. Enoch’s rising prominence even leads some Jewish groups to see him as another power in heaven, a lesser YHWH. Among early Christians, Enoch was also a prominent figure, although his prestige declined in western Christianity after the fourth century AD. However, among eastern Christians, especially Ethiopic Christianity, Enoch maintained his special status as they used these texts to teach about judgment and mystical traditions in order to connect with God.

When we compare the Latter-day Saint Restoration scriptures about Enoch with these other texts, we see that they also amplify the role of Enoch among his people. We get much more detail about his great ministry here on earth as a prophet and seer and more about his heavenly duties. Enoch was a man of visions, which led him to preach repentance and see the future events of the world. Like the other texts, the Pearl of Great Price highlights Enoch’s conflict with the giants, his translated state, his intimate knowledge of the heavenly court, his role as mediator for others, his visions of the future Son of Man, and his scribal role of writing down his prophecies for his descendants. Restoration scriptures go on to emphasize Enoch’s connection with priesthood—the order of the priesthood was even called after Enoch (Doctrine and Covenants 76:57)—and the attendant powers associated with the priesthood. Covenants, priesthood, and commissions were granted to Enoch and transmitted to his posterity, most notably to Noah. In the end, Enoch is held up as the righteous model that all should aspire to be in order to create Zion societies here on earth that can be accepted by God in heaven. Enoch was successful in raising up a corporate body to the Lord, which was the original intention of God’s commandments—so the Lord could walk among the people and be their God. Likewise, we are all encouraged to walk with God and prepare for the last days, when the righteous will be gathered in one heart and one mind. May we heed Joseph Smith’s admonition to follow the example of our great ancestor, Enoch:

Let the Saints remember, that great things depend on their individual exertion, and that they are called to be coworkers with us and the Holy Spirit, in accomplishing the great work of the last days, and in consideration of the extent, the blessings and glories of the same, let every selfish feeling, be not only buried, but annihilated; and let love to God and man, predominate and reign triumphant in every mind, that their hearts may become like unto Enoch’s of old, and comprehend all things, present, past, and future, and come behind in no gift waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.[86]

Thanks to revelation received through the Prophet Joseph Smith, we once again enjoy the teachings of Enoch and the prominence that other communities ascribed to him as reflected in their literatures. But beyond commonalities and certain similarities existing between the literatures through time, the Lord has helped us understand Enoch’s ancient connection to the priesthood, the veracity of his life in ancient times and his relevance to future times, the influence covenants and obedience can have on communities that obtained heaven anciently, and the inspiration their experiences can have on developing such communities in the present. We learn of templates of salvation and God’s work in the past, present, and future in order to develop individuals who can obtain heaven and who can, once again, “walk with God.”

Notes

[1] James VanderKam, a scholar of Enochic literature, dates the earliest extrabiblical Enochic literature (what is now found in 1 Enoch 72–82) to the third century BC. James VanderKam, Enoch and the Growth of an Apocalyptic Tradition (Washington, DC: The Catholic Biblical Association of America, 1984), 17. This text likely relied on traditions surrounding Enoch that had existed previously, though it is impossible to state when such stories began. Later writings expanded on Genesis’s cryptic portrait of Enoch and often described him receiving “esoteric revelation about the nature of the universe and about the end time.” George W. E. Nickelsburg, Jewish Literature between the Bible and the Mishnah, 2nd ed. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005), 44.

[2] Moses 8:27, which is the Joseph Smith Translation equivalent of Genesis 6:9, states that Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth also walked with God. The phrase walk with God indicates the “moral conduct of life which finds favor in the eyes of God and has as consequence his intimate, protective friendship.” Benno Jacob, The First Book of The Bible: Genesis, ed. Ernest I. Jacob and Walter Jacob (New York: KTAV Publishing House, 1974), 42. One commentator interprets the phrase as implying that “Enoch stood in a direct and immediate relationship to God . . . and so was entrusted with God’s plans and intentions.” Claus Westermann, Genesis 1–11: A Commentary (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1984), 358.

[3] This expression “indicates the service of a loyal servant, who goes before his [or her] master (sometimes human but mostly divine), paving the way, or who stands before his [or her] master ready to serve. Thus, Hezekiah walked before God (2 K. 20:3 par. Isa. 38:3), as did the patriarchs (Gen. 17:1; 24:40; 48:15).” Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 1–17, NICOT (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1990), 258.

[4] It may be noteworthy that the phrase “before whom I walk” is not found in Abraham’s own direct words of instruction to his servant (Genesis 24:7), of which this later passage is a retelling, perhaps because of Abraham’s humility in not stating himself that he is righteously walking before the Lord. Yet the servant feels that this is a worthy description of Abraham.

[5] Hamilton, Book of Genesis, 258.

[6] “The hitpael of halak occurs more than 60 times in the Hebrew Bible and is often used to indicate habitual or ongoing association. F. J. Helfmeyer writes that the phrase in question means ‘“intimate companionship” . . . with God, like that expressed in the divine revelations of Noah and perhaps to Enoch.’ As it does elsewhere, the verb denotes that two parties are in continual contact (cf. 1 Sam 25:15 where the same verb and preposition appear but God is not the object of the preposition).” VanderKam, Enoch and the Growth, 31.

[7] This is derived from the hitpa’el verb form with a direct object marker.

[8] This is derived from the hitpa’el verb form with the preposition lipne. This construction is found in the injunction and promise to the members of the high priestly family that they would have walked before the Lord forever had they not honored their sons more than God (1 Samuel 2:30). With another verb form, but the same preposition, David is held up as a model of one who walked before God (2 Chronicles 7:17).

[9] Menahem Haran has argued that “any cultic activity to which the biblical text applies the formula ‘before the Lord’ can be considered an indication of the existence of a temple at the site, since this expression stems from the basic conception of the temple as a divine dwelling-place and actually belongs to the temple’s technical terminology.” Menahem Haran, Temples and Temple-Service in Ancient Israel: An Inquiry into Biblical Cult Phenomena and the Historical Setting of the Priestly School (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1995), 26. Some passages come close to saying something similar to the earlier meaning of walking with God when commanding that the Israelites should walk after the Lord, but the next phrase shows that it has the later meaning: “And keep his commandments” (Deuteronomy 13:4 [verse 5 in Hebrew]).

[10] For ancient interpretations of these enigmatic verses, see John Bowker, The Targums and Rabbinic Literature: An Introduction to Jewish Interpretations of Scripture (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969), 142–50. Craig R. Koester notes that “the OT does not explain what it meant for God to ‘take’ Enoch, but most took it to mean that Enoch did not die (Philo, Change 38; QG 1.86; Josephus, Ant. 1.85; Jub. 4:23), not that he was taken by death (Tg. Onq. Gen 5:24; Gen. Rab. 25.1; Rose, Wolke, 182).” Hebrews: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary by Craig R. Koester, The Anchor Yale Bible Commentary (New York: Doubleday, 2001), 476.

[11] “The negative particle ayin with suffix and the explanatory clause ki laqah oto elohim (note that there is no article on elohim) are too brief and enigmatic to be comprehensible in and of themselves. In view of the preceding wayyithallek hanok et haelohim it seems unlikely that enennu expresses an absolute denial of his existence; rather, the meaning is that ‘he was not there, was not present.’ The words which follow also support the interpretation that Enoch was removed to another location; they explain why he was not found in the customary places. The clause as it stands is marvelously laconic and open-ended, leaving questions such as the location of Enoch’s new home unanswered, but the verb laqah can in some contexts express more than the simple notion of taking. In some passages it is employed to describe removal to the divine presence: there are two instances in the story of Elijah’s removal (2 Kgs 2:9 [ellaqah] and v 10 [luqqah]).” VanderKam, Enoch and the Growth, 33.

[12] These other descriptions (Genesis 5:5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27, 31) end with phrases like “and he died.” For a good discussion of the many ways in which the description of Enoch breaks the pattern for the biographical summaries in Genesis 5, see James C. VanderKam, Enoch: A Man for All Generations (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1995), 4–6. The story of Enoch thus offers hope of life and overcoming death through God’s saving grace and obedience to his laws.

[13] J. Edward Wright notes that the Greek translation of Genesis 5:24 and its use of μετατίθημι (which can mean “to bring to another place,” “to set in another place,” “to conduct across,” or “to transform”) implies that Enoch did ascend into heaven. See J. Edward Wright, “Whither Elijah? The Ascension of Elijah in Biblical and Extrabiblical Traditions,” in Things Revealed: Studies in Early Jewish and Christian Literature in Honor of Michael E. Stone, ed. Esther G. Chazon, David Satran, and Ruth A. Clements (Leiden: Brill, 2004), 124.

[14] Harold W. Attridge, The Epistle to the Hebrews, Hermeneia Series: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989), 317.

[15] “The order of statements in Gn. 5:24 is doubtless assumed to reflect the order of events: first Enoch pleased God (cf. Gn. 5:22), then he was ‘removed.’ The implication of v.6c is that his ‘removal’ was a reward for his faithful life, and evidence that it had pleased God.” Paul Ellingworth, The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1993), 576.

[16] “The argument unfolds in this way: If Enoch pleased God, then Enoch was a person of faith, because ‘without faith it is impossible to please God’ (v.6). Both the reference to what is impossible (6:4, 18; 10:4) and the form of the argument (6:16; 7:12; 9:22) are familiar in Hebrews.” Fred B. Craddock, The Letter to the Hebrews: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections, New Interpreter’s Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998), 12:133.

[17] “Jude’s use of 1 Enoch became problematic for the later use of Jude’s letter in churches and for its acceptance as a canonical authority. Writing in the early to mid-third century, Origen attests to debates about Jude’s authority (Commentary on John 19.6). Jude was not included in the Syriac version of the New Testament (the Peshitta) until the sixth century. Jude was, however, listed as Scripture in the Muratorian canon (second or fourth century CE) and in Athanasius’s Festival Letter of 367 CE. Jerome specifically mentions Jude’s use of 1 Enoch as a mark against it, though he himself affirmed its authority as Scripture (Lives of Illustrious Men 4). Enoch, a book whose authorship could not be verified and which contained ‘incredible things about giants, who had angels instead of men as fathers, and which are clearly lies’ (On Jude, PL 93:129). Bede argued, however, that since the verse that Jude actually recites is consonant with Christian teaching, Jude ought not itself to be dismissed (On Jude, PL 93:129). Of course, the opposite argument could also be made, as in fact Tertullian did: since Jude regarded 1 Enoch so highly as to quote it, the church should accord 1 Enoch canonical authority (On the Dress of Women 3.3)!” David A. deSilva, The Jewish Teachers of Jesus, James and Jude: What Earliest Christianity Learned from the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 109–10.

[18] “Traditional Jewish scenarios depict the great parousia of God like the state visit of a monarch, whose honor and status are expressed by the number and bearing of his attendants and courtiers (Deut 33:2; Zech 14:5). Hence, myriads of heavenly, powerful, glorious angels attend the great God, who is often depicted as a warrior in triumphant procession (VanderKam, “The Theophany of Enoch I 3b–7, 9,” 148–50). When the coming of Jesus came to be described, the honorable trappings of a monarch’s parousia were transferred from God to him (Mark 8:38; Matt 25:31–33; 2 Thess 1:7). But the scenario here is more of a great assize than a warrior’s progress, for the myriads of angels will separate the good from the wicked. Jude stresses that this parousia is ‘to pass judgment’ and ‘convict’ the wicked.” 2 Peter, Jude: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary by Jerome H. Neyrey, The Anchor Yale Bible Commentary (New York: Doubleday, 1993), 81–82.

[19] For a good overview of these texts, see Nickelsburg, Jewish Literature between the Bible and the Mishnah. At the end of each chapter is a useful bibliography that lists good translations and commentaries for each text.

[20] The process of canonization of religious texts is a complicated process and varies from religious group to religious group. The mere copying of a religious text usually meant that it had some value or authority within a group, hence the need to produce another copy of it for reading or preservation. Some of the different Jewish and Christian sects recognized different books as part of their “scripture.” Councils were sometimes held to determine which books should be included in their respective canons.

[21] Latter-day Saint readers have often combed these pseudepigraphal texts for remnants of true stories and teachings from these Old Testament figures. While it is possible that some oral traditions from the time period of these individuals could have been passed down and written in these later texts, there is no way to prove this transmission. We should approach these texts with healthy skepticism since more than likely the later authors created stories around these earlier figures to boost the authority of their own writings.

[22] “Certain writers in the second and third centuries accepted at least parts of the Enochic corpus as Sacred Scripture authored by the prophet Enoch. The appeal to Enochic authority is explicit in Jude, Barnabas, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen. Other authors, although they do not invoke Enoch’s name, employ material of Enochic provenance to provide an authoritative explanation for the presence of evil in the world. Some of them cite a form of the tradition that is alluded to but not explicated in 1 Enoch, viz., the idea that the angels were sent to earth for the benefit of humanity and only subsequently sinned with the women (Papias, Justin, Athenagoras, Lactantius, Commodianus, Rufinus, and Pseudo-Clement). . . . These authors recount or allude to the [Enochic] stories as accurate explanations of how things are and how they came to be.” George A. Nickelsburg, 1 Enoch 1: A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch, Chapters 1–36; 81–108, ed. Klaus Baltzer, Hermeneia Series: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001), 101.

[23] For an excellent translation of this text, see George W. E. Nickelsburg and James C. VanderKam, 1 Enoch: A New Translation (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).

[24] “Thanks largely to the pioneering research of R. H. Charles (1855–1931), it was established that 1 Enoch is a collection of at least five separate writings. . . . Speculations about the date, provenance, and original language of these books varied until the discovery of Aramaic fragments of 1 Enoch among the Dead Sea Scrolls and their publication by J. T. Milik from 1951 to 1976. The distribution of material in the eleven fragments confirmed Charles’ theory that 1 Enoch is a collection of originally distinct documents. In addition, the paleographical evidence of the earliest fragments suggested that two of these documents, the Astronomical Book (1 En. 72–82) and the Book of the Watchers (1 En. 1–36), date from the third century BCE, making them our oldest known apocalypses and among our most ancient nonbiblical examples of Jewish literature.” Annette Yoshiko Reed, Fallen Angels and the History of Judaism and Christianity: The Reception of Enochic Literature (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 3.

[25] See The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism, ed. John J. Collins and Daniel C. Harlow (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010) for this breakdown of the text and information in some of the subsequent summaries of 1 Enoch.

[26] “The components of 1 Enoch were composed in Aramaic and then translated into Greek, and from Greek into ancient Ethiopic (Ge’ez). The entire collection is extant only in manuscripts of the Ethiopic Bible, of which this text is a part. Approximately fifty such manuscripts from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries are available in the [W]est. Roughly twenty-five percent of 1 Enoch has survived in two Greek manuscripts from the fourth and fifth/sixth centuries (chaps 1:1—32:6; 97:6—107:3) and two and perhaps three fragments of other parts. Eleven manuscripts from Qumran contain substantial as well as tiny fragments of the Aramaic of parts of chapters 1–36, 72–82, 85–90, and 91–107. A fragment of a sixth/seventh century Coptic manuscript (93:3–8), an extract in a ninth-century Latin manuscript (106:1–18), and a twelfth-century Syriac excerpt (6:1–6) have also survived.” Nickelsburg and VanderKam, 1 Enoch, 13.

[27] Reasons for the popularity and eventual canonization of 1 Enoch in the Ethiopian Orthodox church are matters of scholarly debate. For a good discussion of the history and issues, see Nickelsburg, 1 Enoch 1, 104–8. “In short,

1 Enoch took root in Ethiopia because: (a) it was brought there by missionaries who came from an environment that had long cherished the book; (b) its worldview spoke to the Ethiopians’ worldview, and the environment it imaginatively portrayed resonated with their environment; and (c) Ethiopian Christianity [did not focus on the same theological debates] that led to the book’s rejection in Mediterranean Christianity.”

[28] “The Book of the Watchers provides our earliest extant evidence for the exegesis and expansion of [Genesis 6:1–4]. . . . The apocalypse describes the descent of angelic Watchers from heaven, their impure relations with human women, and the bloodthirsty violence of their progeny. Throughout these chapters, the biblically based theme of sexual mingling is interwoven with an extrabiblical tradition that levels a far more dire accusation against Asael and other Watchers: according to the Book of the Watchers, their revelation of secret knowledge caused ‘all manner of wickedness’ to be adopted by humankind, thereby accounting for the antediluvian proliferation of sin.” Reed, Fallen Angels, 6.

[29] Quotations of 1 Enoch are taken from Miryam T. Brand, “1 Enoch,” in Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture, ed. Louis H. Feldman, James L. Kugel, and Lawrence H. Schiffman (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2013), 1339–1452.

[30] “The major and unique component in these chapters, however, is a series of heavenly tableaux that portray the judgment and the events leading up to it. Presiding over the judgment is a heavenly figure known variously as Righteous One, Elect One, Anointed One, and Son of Man. This vice-regent of God, whose description is a composite of features drawn from Daniel 7 and from biblical texts about the Davidic king and the Servant of the Lord, was a prototype for NT speculation about the Son of Man, although the precise relationship between the Gospel texts and the Parables is uncertain.” Nickelsburg, 1 Enoch 1, 7.

[31] “It is also worth noting that the [Astrological Book], from its inception, may have had both a theological and eschatological element. First, it presents itself as the holy angel Uriel’s disclosure to Enoch of information not accessible to any others. In other words, what Enoch sees, hears, and relates to his children has the stamp of divine authenticity. It should also be recalled that the opening verse, 72:1, claims that Uriel showed Enoch all their regulations exactly as they are, for each year of the world and for ever, until the new creation shall be made which shall last for ever.’ The revealed laws will be operative until the new creation. The writer therefore knows of a theory by which time is divided into eras. Moreover, all of the laws are revealed by an angel, and indeed, nature is governed and run by angels on behalf of God (cf. 80:1).” VanderKam, Enoch: A Man, 25.

[32] “It is extremely important for our author to validate the fact that there are precisely 364 days in the year and that this has been the case from creation and will last until the new creation (cf. 1 En. 72:1). And why should this be thought so crucial? . . . In [1 Enoch] 74–75 the author informs us that the number of days for the moon to fulfill its yearly cycle ‘falls behind’ that of the sun. Thus the lunar calendar has 360 days, as compared to the solar calendar of 364. . . . It appears that our author is in dispute with an unnamed group or custom that follows a lunar calendar. According to our author and the community he represents, this is an error of grave proportions. For pious Jews, who are committed to the entire keeping of the pentateuchal legislation, performing ritual worship on the prescribed days is absolutely essential. But if the proper calendar is not observed, then the ritual is performed on the wrong day and it is presumably ineffectual at best and sacrilegious at worst.” Larry R. Helyer, Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period: A Guide for New Testament Students (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2002), 79–80.

[33] “With respect to form and content, the generic and peculiar features of this text are evident from a comparison with the visions in Daniel 2, 7, 8, and 10–12. In common with the Danielic texts, 1 Enoch 85–90 is a pseudonymous dream vision (cf. Dan 2:1; 7:1–2, 7, 13; 8:1–2, 17–18), which recounts a sequence of historical events up to the eschaton (cf. Dan 2:31–45; 7:1–27; 8:3–26; 11:2–12:4), using animals to symbolize human beings or nations (cf. Daniel 7, 8) and viewing these events in the context of related events in heaven (Dan 7:9–10, 13–14; 8:10–12; 10:20–21).” Nickelsburg, 1 Enoch 1, 357.

[34] Compare the times in the Book of Moses where Enoch wept in response to visions (Moses 7:41, 44, 49, 58), as well as the comment in Moses 7:67 that “the Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world.”

[35] “Human history from creation to the emergence of the new heavens and new earth is divided into ten periods, each of which is referred to as a ‘week.’ The scheme itself carries a message: God has carefully measured out human history in advance, and it unfolds in an orderly fashion according to God’s determination. Such schematizations of history are frequent in apocalyptic literature, reminding their audiences that when things seem most out of control, the course of history is never out of God’s control.” deSilva, The Jewish Teachers, 120.

[36] While some scholars in the past have regarded 2 Enoch as a text composed by Christians, most now believe that it was originally a Jewish text. “In spite of its biblical style, there is no point at which it can be shown to depend on the text of the New Testament, barring obvious Christian glosses, whose extraneous character is betrayed by their presence in only one manuscript or at most in manuscripts of one family. There is not a distinctively Christian idea in the book. Alleged use of it in the New Testament (evidence that it is a pre-Christian Jewish work) is in passing phrases of a very general kind; either 2 Enoch and the New Testament are drawing on a common background, or else a later author is vaguely influenced by such expressions.” F. I. Andersen, “2 (Slavonic Apocalypse of) Enoch,” in Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Volume 1: Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments, ed. James H. Charlesworth (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983), 95. “Michael Stone and George Nickelsburg, while acknowledging the complexities and enigmas of 2 Enoch, nonetheless hold that there are no compelling arguments for rejecting a date as early as the first century A.D. Anderson and Stone prefer a Palestinian provenance, whereas Nickelsburg and Collins opt for a Diaspora setting, most likely Egypt. There is no consensus, but a majority holds that the original was in Greek and was later translated into Slavonic. One cannot, however, rule out completely the possibility that there was a Semitic original.” Helyer, Exploring Jewish Literature, 380.

[37] Quotations of 2 Enoch are taken from Andersen, “2 (Slavonic Apocalypse of) Enoch,” 102–221 [longer recension-J].

[38] The latter part of the text also has a discussion on Melchizedek. In this case, Melchizedek is Noah’s miraculously born nephew who would escape the Flood and ascend to heaven to be “the priest to all holy priests” and “the head of the priests of the future” (2 Enoch 71:29). This Melchizedek would return later to find and instruct another Melchizedek who would then become “the first priest and king in the city Salim in the style of this Melkisedek, the originator of the priests” (72:6). This second Melchizedek refers to the Melchizedek associated with Abraham in Genesis.

[39] Andrei Orlov, The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism, 589.

[40] “According to the initial story in the early Enochic tradition, Enoch had a vision in his sleep. He rose up to the skies where he saw a crystal wall, then a crystal palace surrounded by flames and ultimately a fiery palace bathed in an unbearable brilliance, in which he saw God’s Throne. It is generally considered that this vision of the celestial temple actually corresponds to the image of the Temple in Jerusalem. There Enoch contemplated God’s majesty and received instructions on the secret doctrines concerning the past and future. For his righteousness God turned him into an angel under the name of Metatron and appointed him a mediator between himself and man.” Felicia Waldman, “Some Considerations on Enoch/Metatron in the Jewish Mystical Tradition,” in In the Second Degree: Paratextual Literature in Ancient Near Eastern and Ancient Mediterranean Culture and Its Reflections in Medieval Literature, ed. Philip S. Alexander, Armin Lange, and Renate J. Pillinger (Boston: Brill, 2010), 207–8.

[41] “It is impossible to reach a very firm conclusion as to the date of 3 Enoch. The main problem is the literary character of the work: it is not the total product of a single author at a particular point in time, but the deposit of a ‘school tradition’ which incorporates elements from widely different periods. Certain rough chronological limits can, however, be established. . . . [T]hough 3 Enoch contains some very old traditions and stands in direct line with developments which had already begun in the Maccabean era, a date for its final redaction in the fifth or sixth century A.D. cannot be far from the truth.” P. Alexander, “3 (Hebrew Apocalypse of) Enoch,” in Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 228–29.

[42] “[Enoch/Metatron] develops from being a simple angelic scribe appointed to record both the Jews’ evil doings before the flood (thus justifying it), and also their merits, to being a heavenly judge with a prominent place in the scheme of divine judgment; from a recipient and sharer of celestial and earthly secrets (concerning both creation and man) to their embodiment (as they are written on his crown by the Lord himself); from an intercessor before God for various creatures of the lower realms to Israel’s attorney in the celestial court and even a redeemer who takes upon himself Israel’s sins; from a witness of Israel’s deeds to God’s secretary, mediator of knowledge, divine judgement, and God’s presence and authority.” Waldman, “Some Considerations on Enoch/Metatron in the Jewish Mystical Tradition,” 210.

[43] “After having been installed as ruler over the angels, Metatron was given a new distinctive name: ‘the lesser YHWH.’ . . . [The name used] in ch. 12 and 48:7 [is] indicative of Metatron’s character of or representative, vicarius, of the Godhead; it expresses a sublimation of his vice–regency into a second manifestation of the Deity in the name YHWH. The special features that accompany and symbolize Metatron’s elevation into a lesser manifestation of the ‘Divine Name’ are, besides his being enthroned, the conferment upon him of (part of) the Divine Glory, ‘honour, majesty and splendor’ (ch. 48:7), ‘a garment of glory, robe of honour,” but especially a ‘crown of kingship’ (10:1–4) on which the mystical ‘letters,’ representing cosmic and celestial agencies, are engraved—after the pattern of the Crown of the Holy One—and lastly knowledge of all the secrets of Creation, and of ‘Torah,’ otherwise in possession of the Most High alone.” Hugo Odeberg, 3 Enoch or The Hebrew Book of Enoch (New York: Ktav Publishing House, 1973), 82.

[44] The longer version, Recension A, has many figures associated with the heavenly judgment setting that are similar to Recension B, but Recension A does not mention Enoch by name and actually has two angelic beings fulfilling the same roles assigned to Enoch in Recension B. This is a common difference between the two recensions, where Recension B usually makes direct ties to biblical figures while Recension A does so much less, which may be an indication that Recension B came later and tried to strengthen the connections with the Bible and the traditional stories about these figures. See Jared W. Ludlow, Abraham Meets Death: Narrative Humor in the Testament of Abraham (Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002), 137–38, 182–83.

[45] “[Enoch’s] exalted status in Judaism is well-attested, and his features in [Testament of Abraham] are paralleled in Jewish writings—his giant size (3 En. 9:2; 48C:5 [Schafer, Synopse 12 = 893, 73]), his being crowned (3 En. 12:3–5; 13:1; 48C:7 [Schafer, Synopse 15–16 = 896–97, 73]), and his scribal office (Jub. 4:17–24; 1 En. 12:3–4; 15:1; 4Q203; 4Q227; Tg. Ps.–Jn. on Gen 5:25; Jub. 4:23 says that he is now in Eden, ‘writing condemnation and judgment of the world’; cf. 10:17: he will ‘report every deed of each generation in the day of judgment’). Perhaps Enoch the scribe was replaced by two recording angels. The demotion could carry forward an impulse that VanderKam detects in [Testament of Abraham], in which Enoch is only an assistant. VanderKam views this as an implicit criticism of ‘devotees of Enoch who saw him as the son of man, the judge of the last days’ (cf. 1 Enoch 70–71).” Dale C. Allison Jr., Testament of Abraham, ed. Loren T Stuckenbruck et al., Commentaries on Early Jewish Literature (New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2003), 259–60.

[46] The English translations of The Testament of Abraham are from E.P. Sanders, “Testament of Abraham,” in Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 871–902.

[47] The English translations of Jubilees are from O. S. Wintermute, “Jubilees,” in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 2, ed. James H. Charlesworth (New York: Doubleday, 1985), 35–142.

[48] “In his expansion of the biblical text the writer of Jubilees is impressed with Enoch’s being first in various categories, just as Pseudo-Eupolemus found him to be the first astrologer/astronomer. He was the first human to learn how to write. The source of this motif is not supplied, but the older Enochic booklets mention his ability to write, and they would not have existed if he had been unable to use a pen. 1 Enoch 82:1 has Enoch address Methuselah and tell him, among other things, that he has written a book for him. The next verse may identify that book with wisdom, a subject that Jubilees adduces in the same phrase as Enoch’s skill at writing. The [Book of the Watchers] presents Enoch as a scribe of righteousness (12:4, 15:1) who records the petition of the watchers and the divine reply to it (see 14:4, 7). The journey sections of the BW (chaps. 17–19, 20–36) also note his writing (33:3) . . . [as does] and the [Book of Dreams], in which Enoch dates his first dream vision to the time when he was beginning to learn how to write (83:2; see 83:3). In his notice about Enoch as the pioneer author, then, the writer of Jubilees was not drawing on Genesis, which never mentions this about him, but probably on the information contained in the Enochic booklets.” VanderKam, Enoch: A Man, 113.

[49] See also TLevi 14.1, 16.1; TJudah 18.1; TNaphthali 4.1; TBenjamin 9.1

[50] The English translations are from H. C. Kee, “Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs,” in Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, 776–828.

[51] For a concise list of the many parallels between the Book of Moses’s account of Enoch with scattered elements related to Enoch found in other Enochic literature, see Andrew C. Skinner, “Joseph Smith Vindicated Again: Enoch, Moses 7:48, and Apocryphal Sources,” in Revelation, Reason, and Faith: Essays in Honor of Truman G. Madsen, ed. Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and Stephen D. Ricks (Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, Brigham Young University, 2002), 370–71.

[52] For an excellent overview of the modern translation and publication of the Book of Moses (including transcriptions of the original manuscript texts), see Kent P. Jackson, The Book of Moses and the Joseph Smith Translation Manuscripts (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2005).

[53] Church history scholar Richard Bushman has commented on how the Enoch material was a shift from Joseph’s previous augmentation of the biblical narrative. “In redoing the early chapters of Genesis, the stories of Creation, of Adam and Eve, and [of] the Fall were modified, but with less extensive interpolations than in the revelation to Moses. Joseph wove Christian doctrine into the text without altering the basic story. But with the appearance of Enoch in the seventh generation from Adam, the text expanded far beyond the biblical version. In Genesis, Enoch is summed up in 5 verses; in Joseph Smith’s revision, Enoch’s story extends to 110 verses.” Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006), 138.

[54] “Curiously, the closest biblical parallel to the wording of these opening verses is not to be found in the call of any Old Testament prophet but rather in John the Evangelist’s description of events following Jesus’ baptism in which, like Enoch, [John] saw ‘the Spirit descending from heaven’ and it ‘abode on him’ (i.e. Jesus). Two additional parallels with Jesus’ baptism follow: first in the specific mention of a ‘voice from heaven,’ then in the proclamation of divine sonship by the Father. The connection between Enoch’s divine encounter and the baptism of Jesus becomes intelligible when one regards the latter event, as do Margaret Barker and Gaetano Lettieri, as an ‘ascent experience’ consistent with the idea of baptism as a figurative death and resurrection. From this perspective, Enoch’s prophetic commission may be seen as given him in the context of a heavenly ascent.” Jeffery M. Bradshaw and David J. Larsen, In God’s Image and Likeness 2: Enoch, Noah, and the Tower of Babel (Salt Lake City: Interpreter Foundation and Eborn Books, 2014), 35.

[55] Several Enochic texts give Enoch the title of “lad” or “youth.” In the pseudepigraphal books of Enoch, this is explained “as due to the fact that Enoch was taken up to heaven during the era of the flood and elevated to a status over that of the angels. This elevation bothered the angels and they made accusations against the person of Enoch, though the specific nature of these accusations have fallen out of the present form of the text. This leads God to asseverate that Enoch is to be prince and ruler over all the angels. At this point the angels relent, prostrate before Enoch, and acclaim him ‘Lad.’ . . . In any event, the reason our text supplies for this title is deceptively simple and straightforward: ‘And because I was the youngest among them and a “lad” amongst them with respect to days, months, and years, therefore they called me “lad.”’” Gary A. Anderson, “The Exaltation of Adam and the Fall of Satan,” in Literature on Adam and Eve: Collected Essays, ed. Gary A. Anderson, Michael E. Stone, and Johannes Tromp (Boston: Brill, 2000), 107.

[56] Recall the earlier discussion of Enoch and other patriarchs “walking” with God.

[57] Bradshaw and Larsen, In God’s Image, 40–41.

[58] “There are intriguing similarities not only in the name but also in the role of the Mahijah/Mahujah character in Joseph Smith’s book of Moses and the role of a character named Mahujah (MHWY) in the Book of the Giants. . . . In the Book of the Giants, we read the report of a series of dreams that troubled the gibborim. The dreams ‘symbolize the destruction of all but Noah and his sons by the Flood.’ In an impressive correspondence to the questioning of Enoch by Mahijah in the book of Moses, the gibborim send one of their fellows named Mahujah to ‘consult Enoch in order to receive an authoritative interpretation of the visions.’ In the Book of the Giants, we read: ‘[Then] all the [gibborim and the nephilim] . . . called to [Mahujah,] and he came to them. They implored him and sent him to Enoch, the celebrated scribe and they said to him: “Go…and tell him to [explain to you] and interpret the dream.”’” Bradshaw and Larsen, In God’s Image, 45.

[59] “In the book of Moses, Enoch says the book is written ‘according to the pattern given by the finger of God.’ This may allude to the idea that a similar record of their wickedness is kept in heaven as attested in 1 Enoch: “Do not suppose to yourself nor say in your heart, that they do not know nor are your unrighteous deeds seen in heaven, nor are they written down before the Most High. Henceforth know that all your unrighteous deeds are written down day by day, until the end of your judgment.’ As Enoch is linked with the book of remembrance in the book of Moses, so he is described in the Testament of Abraham as the heavenly being who is responsible for recording the deeds of [hu]mankind so that they can be brought into remembrance.” Bradshaw and Larsen, In God’s Image, 47.

[60] While the content of the visions shares little in common, the pseudepigraphal accounts of Enoch describe him receiving several visions of future events and secrets known only by heaven. (See, particularly, Enoch’s dream visions in 1 Enoch 83–90.)

[61] “Of special note is a puzzling phrase in Martinez’[s] translation of the Book of the Giants that immediately follows the description of the battle: ‘ . . . the roar of the wild beasts has come and they bellowed a feral roar.’ Remarkably the [B]ook of Moses account has a similar phrase following the battle description, recording that ‘the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness.’” Bradshaw and Larsen, In God’s Image, 49.

[62] According to Doctrine and Covenants 76:67, the righteous will join “the general assembly and church of Enoch, and of the Firstborn.” The Church of the Firstborn usually refers to those who have had their calling and election made sure. “[Mountains and high places] were the sites of sanctuaries. These places of worship became the locus for receiving divine blessings such as revelation and sacred ordinances.” Richard D. Draper, S. Kent Brown, and Michael D. Rhodes, The Pearl of Great Price: A Verse-by-Verse Commentary (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2005), 120.

[63] “The parallel between Enoch being lifted up in this verse and the Son of Man being ‘lifted up on the cross, after the manner of man’ in Moses 7:55 is noteworthy. In addition, there may be some connection between the idea of being ‘lifted up’ and initiation into the heavenly mysteries. In the Book of Parables 71:3 Enoch recounts: ‘And the angel Michael, one of the archangels, took me by my right hand, and raised me up, and brought me out to all the secrets; and he showed me all the secrets of mercy.’” Bradshaw and Larsen, In God’s Image, 140.

[64] In contrast to God’s tears of compassion in the Book of Moses, Jed L. Woodworth notes that “The God in [1 Enoch] seems to show some remorse, but only after it becomes obvious the floods did not have the desired effect: ‘Afterwards the Ancient of days repented, and said; In vain have I destroyed all the inhabitants of the earth’ (54:1). When wickedness returns, the God in [1 Enoch], like the God of the Biblical narrative, seems to second-guess himself for ever having sent the flood.” Jed L. Woodworth, “Extra-Biblical Enoch Texts in Early American Culture,” in Archive of Restoration Culture: Summer Fellows’ Papers, 1997–1999 (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History, 2000), 193n44.

[65] Rampant wickedness on the earth is one of the central themes of the Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1–36) and a source of consternation for God throughout much of Enochic literature. However, unlike in the Book of Moses, the root of this evil is identified not as the wickedness of men but rather as the actions of the angelic Watchers. “[The Book of the Watchers] is much absorbed with the problem of the origin of evil, . . . [which] is traced back to an angelic rebellion. This is a major burden of [Book of Watchers]. For our author, evil is of such magnitude that it cannot be attributed to a misuse of human freedom alone—there must be a more cosmic and sinister explanation. . . . This is a keynote of the apocalyptic movement. Evil is bigger than humanity and has consequences beyond one’s comprehension. Evil has invaded the earth from the heavenly realms.” Helyer, Exploring Jewish Literature, 84.

[66] For a discussion of the similarities and differences of these texts (which mention the earth crying out) with Moses 7:48, see Skinner, “Joseph Smith Vindicated Again,” 374–80.

[67] Enoch mentions similar promises in 1 Enoch 65:12, where he appears in a vision to Noah. Enoch says, “[God] has confirmed your name among the holy ones, and he will preserve you among those who dwell on the earth, and he has confirmed your righteous descendants to be kings and for great honors. And from your descendants there will flow a fountain of the righteous and the holy, and they will be without number forever.”

[68] Many scholars have examined 1 Enoch’s use of the title “Son of Man,” particularly in relation to how the term is used by Jesus in the New Testament. “The role and person of the Son of Man, who is also referred to as ‘the Chosen One,’ ‘the Righteous One,’ and, once, the ‘Messiah,’ are significantly developed in 1 Enoch in comparison with Daniel. The Son of Man predates creation itself, hidden in God’s presence and revealed only to the chosen until the time of his decisive visitation (see 1 Enoch 48:2–7; 62:7). While he still exercises rule in an eschatological kingdom as in Daniel 7:13–14 (see 1 Enoch 45:4–6; 51:5; 62:14–16), ushering in ‘the house of his congregation’ after the ‘kings and the powerful of this earth’ are dragged off by the angels of punishment and destroyed (1 Enoch 53:5–6), the Son of Man/Chosen One also plays a direct role in the judgment of the nations, a role previously executed by the ancient of days (Dan. 7:9; contrast 1 Enoch 45:2–3; 46:4–8; 51:1–5; 61:8–9; 69:26–29). The Son of Man sits ‘on the throne of his glory’ in judgment (1 Enoch 61:8; 62:5; 69:26–29), and even at one point sits on the throne of glory of the Head of Days (1 Enoch 55:4), testing the works of human beings and executing judgment upon angels. The author of the Parables of Enoch weaves together Danielic imagery with Isaiah’s prophecies of a coming ruler upon whom God’s manifold Spirit would rest (cf. Isa 11:1–2 with 1 Enoch 49:3) and of a servant who would be ‘the light of the nations’ (cf. Isa 42:6; 49:6, with 1 Enoch 48:4), as well as expectations concerning the Davidic king’s righteous character (cf. Isa 11:5 and Jer 23:5–6 with 1 Enoch 38:2; 46:3) and ascendancy over the nations (cf. Ps 2:7–11 with 1 Enoch 46:4–6).” deSilva, The Jewish Teachers, 133–34.

[69] In 2 Enoch 40:1, there is a telling comment from Enoch to his children: “Now therefore, my children, I know everything; some from the lips of the Lord, others my eyes have seen from the beginning even to the end.”

[70] “One reaches this figure by adding Enoch’s age at the time of Methuselah’s birth, sixty-five—evidently Enoch’s age when he was called (see Moses 6:25–26)—to the number of years that Zion existed under Enoch’s leadership, 365 (see Moses 7:68). In contrast, the Bible reckons Enoch’s earthly age to have been 365 years, counting 300 years from the birth of Methuselah (see Genesis 5:21–23).” Draper, Jackson, and Rhodes, The Pearl of Great Price, 155.

[71] This clarifies the somewhat cryptic statement in Hebrews 7:3, which says that the venerable Melchizedek was “without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life.”

[72] For excellent information on the origin, content, and results of Doctrine and Covenants 107, see Stephen C. Harper, Making Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants: A Guided Tour through Modern Revelations (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2008), 395–99.

[73] This was the same time that Enoch’s son Methuselah was born. The blessing that Adam gave to Enoch when he was 65 may also relate to Enoch’s prophetic call when, as mentioned in Moses 6:25–27, the Spirit of God descended upon Enoch.

[74] “The book of Enoch is one of the ancient writings that Latter-day Saints anticipate receiving sometime in the future. This is not to be confused with the pseudepigraphic books of Enoch, which nevertheless have garnered the interest of some Latter-day Saints since at least 1840. In Doctrine and Covenants 107:53–57, reference is made to a meeting of Adam’s righteous posterity [that was] held at Adam-ondi-Ahman three years before Adam’s death. The influence of the Holy Spirit was manifested powerfully in prophecy as Adam blessed his posterity. While these verses give a précis of what happened, many more things were ‘written in the book of Enoch, and are to be testified of in due time’ (D&C 107:57). Speaking of this book in December 1877, Elder Orson Pratt said, ‘When we get that, I think we shall know a great deal about the ante-diluvians of whom at present we know so little’ (JD 19:218).” Lewis R. Church, “Enoch: Book of Enoch,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 2:460.

[75] “History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] [addenda], p. 17 [addenda], The Joseph Smith Papers.

[76] Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses (London: Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 1877), 18:303. Hugh Nibley argued that today we do have such accounts of Enoch and temples (within the apocryphal sources of Enoch). See Hugh Nibley, Enoch the Prophet, ed. Stephen D. Ricks (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1986), 20. Some of these accounts refer to heavenly temples, the Jerusalem temple, or the future temple in a New Jerusalem (for the heavenly temple, see 1 Enoch 14:8–15:4; 87:4; 89:59–90:31; for the Jerusalem temple, see 1 Enoch 89:50, 54, 66–67, 73–74; for the eschatological temple in New Jerusalem, see 1 Enoch 90:28–29, 35–36).

[77] R. H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966), 2:180. For discussions of how Enochic writings affect New Testament texts, see deSilva, The Jewish Teachers, 101–140; Helyer, Exploring Jewish Literature, 77–92, 136–39, 379–88.

[78] For example, see John W. Rogerson, Judith Lieu, The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 106. See also Gabriele Boccaccini, Roots of Rabbinic Judaism: An Intellectual History, from Ezekiel to Daniel (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002), 89–102; Margaret Barker, The Lost Prophet: The Book of Enoch and Its Influence on Christianity (1998; repr., Sheffield: Phoenix Press, 2005), 19.

[79] For a comprehensive examination of how the figure of Enoch/Metatron evolves in Jewish thought over the centuries, see Andrei A. Orlov, The Enoch-Metatron Tradition, Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism, 107 (Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 2005).

[80] For a comprehensive discussion of both the Jewish and Christian reception of Enochic writings, see Reed, Fallen Angels and the History of Judaism and Christianity. George Nickelsburg provides a thorough overview of the influence of 1 Enoch on the Son of Man concept in Christian thought in 1 Enoch 1, 82–108.

[81] R. H. Charles, The Book of Enoch (London: Oxford University Press, 1913), lxxxi–xci.

[82] “In the late second century, Athenagoras and Irenaeus both demonstrate knowledge of 1 Enoch, and particularly the Watchers story, and appear to accord it prophetic authority. In the same period, Clement of Alexandria refers to 1 Enoch in Selections from the Prophets 2.1 and 53.4, seeing it as a source of accurate information. He also mentions the Watchers story in Stromata 5.1.10; here he is dependent on 1 Enoch, but its status is less clear: it may well be distinguished from Moses and the prophets, but remains at least a reliable source.” Nicholas J. Moore, “Is Enoch Also among the Prophets? The Impact of Jude’s Citation of 1 Enoch on the Reception of both Texts in the Early Church,” Journal of Theological Studies 64, no.2 (2013): 498–515.

[83] “Since Enoch in the same book tells us of our Lord, we must not reject anything at all which genuinely pertains to us. Do we not read that every word of Scripture useful for edification is divinely inspired? As you very well know, Enoch was later rejected by the Jews for the same reason that prompted them to reject almost everything which prophesied about Christ. It is not at all surprising that they rejected certain Scriptures which spoke of him, considering that they were destined not to receive him when he spoke to them himself. But we have a witness to Enoch in the epistle of Jude the apostle.” Tertullian, On the Apparel of Women, book 1, chapter 3.

[84] Iranaeus, Against Heresies, Book IV, Chapter 16.2. The Latin word used by Irenaeus for “translated” is translatus and is probably derived from the Greek μετετέθη.

[85] Augustine, City of God, 18.38.

[86] “History, 1838–1856, volume C-1,” p. 1118; emphasis added.