The Book of Enoch

The Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish apocalyptic religious text (300 - 200 BC), ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. Enoch explains the origins of demons and giants, why some angels fell from heaven, why the Great Flood was morally necessary, and it gives a prophetic exposition of the thousand-year reign of the Messiah.


Various Aramaic fragments have been found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. There are also Koine Greek and Latin fragments which prove that The Book of Enoch was known to early Jews and Christians. Enoch 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 Enoch is cited in the New Testament in the Epistle of Jude (1:14–15). Several copies of the earlier sections of Enoch were preserved among the Dead Sea Scrolls.


It is not part of the biblical canon used by Jews, with the exception of Ethiopian Jews. Most Christian denominations and traditions may accept the Books of Enoch as having some historical or theological interest. Only the Ethiopian/Eritrean Orthodox Church number the book among their Old Testament scriptures.


Enoch is wholly extant only in the Ethiopian Ge'ez language.


This ebook version has updated some of the language of the original English translation and is illustrated.