Introduction – The Forgotten Text
There is a book that, although absent from the official Bible, mirrors some of its most powerful images and even anticipates passages from the New Testament. It is the Book of Enoch, attributed to the antediluvian patriarch who "walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him" (Genesis 5:24). An ancient, visionary, mysterious text—and above all, excluded from the biblical canon. But why?
1. A Tradition Older Than the Bible?
The Book of Enoch, or 1 Enoch, dates back to the 3rd century BCE, yet it is the product of an even older tradition. It consists of multiple sections written in different periods but united by a coherent vision of the cosmos, sin, judgment, and redemption.
Its antiquity is confirmed by crucial archaeological finds: among the Dead Sea Scrolls, preserved for centuries in the caves near the Dead Sea, at least 11 fragments of 1 Enoch in Aramaic have been found, dated between 250 BCE and 50 BCE. The Qumran community—likely the Essenes—treated Enoch with the same reverence as the canonical biblical texts.
2. The "Unsettling" Content of Enoch
The Book of Enoch contains powerful themes: the rebellion of the angels, the birth of giants, the corruption of the earth, and divine intervention.
"And the angels, the children of heaven, saw the daughters of men and were attracted to them... and descended upon Mount Hermon" (1 Enoch 6)
These angels, called Watchers, taught forbidden arts to humans: magic, metallurgy, astrology. Their offspring, the Nephilim, brought destruction and violence, prompting God's judgment. This theme is reflected in Genesis 6:1–4 but only fully developed in Enoch.
Enoch also experiences celestial visions: he sees God's throne, the dwellings of the righteous, and places of punishment. He describes the Son of Man, a glorified, messianic figure:
"And I saw one who had a head of days... and with him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of a man..." (1 Enoch 46:1)
This echoes Matthew 25:31:
"The Son of Man will come in his glory and sit on his glorious throne..."
3. Why Was It Excluded from the Canon?
There are several reasons for its exclusion:
Excessive mythology: angels, demons, magic, and complex cosmology were problematic for official Jewish theology.
Solar calendar: conflicted with the Temple’s lunar calendar.
Anti-priestly tone: Enoch receives divine knowledge without any priestly mediation.
Messianic ambiguity: the glorified "Son of Man" conflicted with post-exilic Jewish theology.
The Council of Jamnia (ca. 90 CE) helped define the Jewish canon, excluding texts like Enoch, Tobit, Judith, and others.
4. Yet It Was Sacred to Many
Despite its exclusion, Enoch endured:
It is quoted in the Epistle of Jude (1:14–15) in the New Testament:
"Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied: 'Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His holy ones...'
It was read and respected by Church Fathers: Tertullian, Irenaeus, Origen.
It is included in the canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the only Christian tradition to consider it inspired.
5. A Vision of a Living Cosmos
Enoch is not only about prophecy and judgment—it is also about cosmology. It describes the heavenly portals, the movements of the stars, the seasons, and the winds. Its vision of the universe is poetic, mysterious, and surprisingly ordered.
"I saw the gates of heaven from which the winds go forth, the portals of the sun, and the paths of the stars..." (1 Enoch 33–36)
6. Qumran: Proof of Its Ancient Authority
The Dead Sea Scrolls show that at the time of Jesus, a rigid biblical canon did not yet exist, and many now-apocryphal texts were used in liturgy. Manuscript 4Q201 is the most complete among those of Enoch found.
This suggests that the Book of Enoch was considered sacred—at least by some parts of early Judaism—before the rabbinic reforms after the Second Temple’s destruction.
The Hidden Book
The Book of Enoch is the great absentee, the lost gospel of the stars. Excluded from the canons, yet surviving in the margins of sacred history, it continues to raise questions.
Perhaps it was too powerful, too rich in uncomfortable truths. Or perhaps, it was simply ahead of its time.
"And Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him." (Genesis 5:24)
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