The Book of Enoch
Enoch, the seventh patriarch in the book of Genesis, was the subject of abundant apocryphal literature, especially during the Hellenistic period of Judaism (3rd-century bc to 3rd-century ad). At first revered only for his piety, he was later believed to be the recipient of secret knowledge from God.
Enoch is a biblical figure and patriarch prior to Noah's flood and the son of Jared and the father of Methuselah. He was of the Antediluvian period in the Hebrew Bible. The text of the Book of Genesis says Enoch lived 365 years before he was taken by God.
The Book of Enoch was considered as scripture in the Epistle of Barnabas (4:3) and by many of the early Church Fathers, such as Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus, and Tertullian, who wrote c. 200 that the Book of Enoch had been rejected by the Jews because it contained prophecies pertaining to Christ.
The Book of Enoch is an ancient Hebrew apocalyptic religious text, ascribed by tradition to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. Enoch obeyed the Lord and taught the people with power. He taught about Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, and the Holy Ghost. Some people believed in Enoch and wanted to follow the Lord. Enoch had authority from God to baptize.
The book of Enoch contains unique material on the origins of demons and Nephilim, why some angels fell from heaven, an explanation of why the Genesis flood was morally necessary, and prophetic exposition of the thousand-year reign of the Messiah.
Genesis says Enoch lived 365 years before he was taken by God. The text reads that Enoch "walked with God: and he was no more; for God took him" (Gen 5:21–24), which is interpreted as Enoch's entering heaven alive in some Jewish and Christian traditions, and interpreted differently in others.
The Lord promised Enoch that He would never again flood the earth. The Lord also promised that He would “call upon the children of Noah,” which means that He would invite them to accept the gospel. The Lord also taught Enoch that those who build their lives upon the Savior would never fall.
Enoch taught, helped convert, and baptized many people, who became so righteous that they lived in a “City of Holiness, even Zion” (Moses 7:19). This holy city was “taken up into heaven” and will return at the time of the Millennium. When it returns it will join with the earthly Zion, which is the New Jerusalem.
The 3rd Book of Enoch, the Hebrew Enoch, or 3 Enoch, is a Rabbinic text originally written in Hebrew usually dated to the fifth century CE. Some experts believe it was written by Rabbi Ishmael (second century CE), familiar with both 1 Enoch and 2 Enoch.
Enoch was at first accepted in the Christian Church but later excluded from the biblical canon. Its survival is due to the fascination of marginal and heretical Christian groups, such as the Manichaeans, with its syncretic blending of Iranian, Greek, Chaldean, and Egyptian elements.
I Enoch is a compilation of several separate works, most of which are apocalyptic. Its oldest portion is the “Apocalypse of Weeks,” written shortly before the Maccabean uprising of 167 BC against the Seleucids. Other sections, especially those dealing with astronomical and cosmological speculations, are difficult to date. Because of its views on messianism, celibacy, and the fate of the soul after death, parts of I Enoch may have originated with or been influenced by the Essene community of Jews at Qumrān. No fragments of the longest portion of the work(chapters 37–71), however, were found among the Qumrān writings. This has led scholars to theorize that this section was perhaps written in the 2nd century AD by a Jewish Christian who wished to imbue his own eschatological speculations with the authority of Enoch, and added his work to four older apocryphal Enoch writings.
Enoch's faith enabled him to please God. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Enoch wanted others to know God, to walk with Him, and miss the coming judgment. Sacred Scripture teaches that Enoch and Elijah were assumed into heaven while still alive and not experiencing physical death.
The older sections I Enoch (mainly in the Book of the Watchers) of the text are estimated to date from about 300–200 BC, and the latest part (Book of Parables) is probably to 100 BC. Various Aramaic fragments found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as Koine Greek and Latin fragments, are proof that the Book of Enoch was known by Jews and early Near Eastern Christians. This book was also quoted by some 1st and 2nd-century authors as in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. Authors of the New Testament were also familiar with some content of the story. A short section of 1 Enoch (1:9) is cited in the New Testament Epistle of Jude, Jude 1:14–15, and is attributed there to "Enoch the Seventh from Adam" (1 Enoch 60:8). However, this section of 1 Enoch is a midrash on Deuteronomy 33:2. Several copies of the earlier sections of 1 Enoch were preserved among the Dead Sea Scrolls.
It is not part of the biblical canon used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews). While the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church consider the Book of Enoch as canonical, other Christian groups regard it as non-canonical or non-inspired, but may accept it as having some historical or theological interest.
It is today wholly extant only in the Ethiopian Ge'ez language. For this and other reasons, the traditional Ethiopian belief is that the original language of the work was Ge'ez, whereas modern scholars argue that it was first written in either Aramaic or Hebrew, the languages first used for Jewish texts; Ephraim Isaac suggests that the Book of Enoch, like the Book of Daniel, was composed partially in Aramaic and partially in Hebrew. No Hebrew version is known to have survived.
https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/enoch-in-the-bible/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/First-Book-of-Enoch
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch#cite_note-Barker_Enoch-2
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1YTUH_enUS974US974&sxsrf=ALiCzsaewWTPIDNK6m2psuPon3bi8hjdSw:1667105492204&q=What+was+special+about+Enoch+in+the+Bible%3F&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjJxKn1k4f7AhW1FVkFHRDeAwwQzmd6BAg2EAU
https://www.compellingtruth.org/Enoch-in-the-Bible.html
