Why Study the Books of Enoch?
By Pinchas Shir
I am often asked why students of Scripture should study the non-canonical books of Enoch, so allow me to share some of my reasons. There are three different books attributed to the biblical figure of Enoch (חֲנוֹךְ; Chanokh). First Enoch (ספר העירין; Sefer Hairyn) was written between the third century BCE and the first century CE. Second Enoch (ספר הסודות; Sefer Hasodot) is dated to roughly the same general era, but perhaps a little later, around the first century CE. Third Enoch (ספר היכלות; Sepher Heykhalot) is a much later sixth-century CE composition of a slightly different genre.
There are several reasons to study these non-canonical books. First, they preserve oral traditions about the corruption of the world by the Watchers, the angelic beings who rebelled against God. In the first century, many Jews—including Jewish followers of Jesus— believed that the Enochic texts provided the narrative background to Genesis 6, in which the “sons of God” left heaven to reproduce with the daughters of humanity (see Jude 5-6 and 2 Peter 2:4-9). Second, the books of Enoch depict early Jewish beliefs about angels, demons, resurrection, heaven, the Messiah, sin, judgment, and salvation. These are all deep spiritual ideas that predate the first century and would have been known to the first readers of the New Testament, but not all of them are spelled out in the Hebrew Bible. Third, the Enochic texts portray the thoughts and struggles of those who “walked with God” through times of persecution thousands of years ago. Sometimes, they explain the language, the contexts, and the thinking behind various New Testament passages.
For example, Revelation is written to followers of Yeshua who were undergoing intense persecution. Just like the books of Enoch, Revelation is full of heavenly visions. In Revelation 1:4, John writes, “to the seven assemblies that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne.” Who are these seven spirits? First Enoch explains that these are seven archangels in charge of God’s domain. Both John and Enoch call angels “spirits” (πνεύματα, pnūmata). Enoch notes that these seven angels capture and imprison the angels who rebelled according to Genesis 6.
In 3 Enoch, we are told that these angels are seven princes who oversee the seven heavens. The notion of multiple “heavens” also appears in the writings of Paul. The apostle tells a story about a man who was caught up to the “third heaven.” Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:2, “I know a man in Christ who, fourteen years ago, whether in the body, or out of the body, I do not know, God knows - such a man was caught up to the third heaven.” Most people think there is only one heaven, but the Hebrew Bible hints at a multi-layered heavenly reality, calling it shemei ha-shamayim (שְׁמֵי הַשָּׁמָיִם): “heaven of heavens” (Deut 10:14, 1 Kings 8:27, Psalm 148:4). 1 Enoch also describes multiple heavens. If you peek into 2 Enoch, you will find that it is filled with detailed descriptions of the seven heavens. In 3 Enoch, you can even learn the names of each of these heavens. Since Jesus’s followers are familiar with these Enochic traditions, reading the books of Enoch can help to fill in the background of New Testament.
