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The Book of Enoch, also referred to as 1 Enoch, is an ancient religious text that treats readers to
some rather creative, dynamic and often bizarre sequences that are not found in the traditional
bible. We find fallen angels interbreeding with mortals, we have vengeful monsters known
as Nephilim devouring the world and we have an angelic civil war that sees the likes of
Archangels engaging in battle with evil forces in an effort to restore order. Not only this,
but the text shows us how Enoch (that very same Enoch found briefly in Genesis who was known for
his righteousness and closeness to God), is taken on a wild journey through the cosmos
by the archangels and how his eyes were opened to some incredible sights from the natural formations
of the earth, the underground prisons of fallen angels, the complex portals of heaven and even
the garden of Eden. Traditionally, the work is attributed to the patriarch Enoch, who according
to the bible was the father of Methuselah (the longest living character in the bible) and the
great-grandfather of Noah, (who was chosen by God to survive the flood and continue his lineage).
Whilst this Enoch miraculously vanishes in the Genesis account,
where he is ‘taken up by the Lord’, the Book of Enoch aims to show us what sort of adventures
Enoch got up to when he was upon the earth and seeks to fill in some of the blanks that
the Genesis account leaves in regards to the origins of the Nephilim, the reasons behind
the fall of certain angels from heaven, the explanation behind why the great deluge was
necessary during Noah’s times and an intertwined prophetic discourse that foreshadows the thousand
year reign of the Messiah. With the Book of Enoch packing so many juicy little tidbits,
some have wondered why the book is not cannon with traditional scripture and whilst there
are several arguments in support of this Book being ‘banned’ from the Bible (mostly because
of its incongruencies) , there are some communities and believers that absorb the
Enochian legend into their own doctrine as well as some communities that had never removed it at all.
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The Book of Enoch has a complex history and its precise dating and authorship
remain subject of scholarly debate. However, there are several key points that can help us
understand its historical context and show us perhaps why it’s more likely that this story,
in spite of its stellar narrative, was probably penned centuries after the flood story was already
popularized and thus, probably wasn’t written by Enoch himself. This style of writing can be
described as ‘composite authorship’, where scholars generally agree that the Book of
Enoch was likely compiled by multiple authors over an extended period of time - somewhere
between the third century BCE and the first century CE. This timeframe places
it within the broader context of Second Temple Judaisim, a period marked by a proliferation of
religious and apocalyptic literature. Basically, everyone was making stuff up during this time,
for it was a period where there was something of an intellectual shift
in favor of Jewish writings. Here, Judaism underwent significant development, including
the emergence of diverse religious sects that were all brimming with new concepts and ideas.
So it’s not impossible that more than one author took a stab at the Book of Enoch and
continued to add their own literary takes and newfound beliefs, which would kind of
explain why the various sections of the book feel so different from the sequences
before or after and why a lot of the book can be described as disjointed or even discontinuous.
But is it possible to trace the origins of the Book of Enoch to where it was originally
discovered? Well, the discovery of the book can be attributed to a series of findings across
different locations and time periods. So whilst we can’t necessarily be sure of who had it first,
there are a few contenders that claim possession of the diversive text and help
us to narrow down our search for where the Book of Enoch originally came from.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahedo Church has a long-standing tradition of preserving the Book
of Enoch, where it has been maintained as part of this community’s biblical canon for centuries.
It’s also the only version of the Book of Enoch that’s preserved in all of its entirety. It was
during the 18th century did Scottish traveler and explorer James Bruce obtain several manuscripts
of the Book of Enoch that were written in an ancient semitic language, this being the classical
language of Ethiopia: Ge’ez. James Bruce’s acquisition of these texts introduced the Book
of Enoch to the Western world and enabled European scholars to begin studying it. With this idea,
there are some communities that believe that the Ethiopian Book of Enoch (written in Ge’ez)
is the original and that because according to some schools of thought that Ge’ez is older
than Aramaic and Hebrew (which is the second language the Book of Enoch is believed to have
originated from), the Ethiopian Book of Enoch must have therefore been the first iteration,
thus it can be concluded from this argument that the Book of Enoch originated from early
Jews in Ethiopia. Indeed, a Jewish community was built in Ethiopia sometime in 6th century
BCE after the destruction of the first temple. Many believe that these people were descendants
of King Solomon and Queen Sheba, though other theories also exist including that these Jews
were the surviving members of the lost tribe of Dan, or that they were descendants of early
Christians who had converted to Judaism. With this Jewish characteristic, some have proposed that it
was from these Ethiopian Jews that the Book of Enoch was written and considering the Book of
Enoch still remains a part of the Ethiopian Orthodox church, this idea has persisted.
On the other hand, this can also be disputed by modern scholarship, where the general consensus
is that the Book of Enoch was originally written in Aramaic or Hebrew, the same language first
used for ancient Jewish texts. There is also an idea that the Book of Enoch may have been written
partially in Aramaic and partially in Hebrew (as discovered amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls in the
caves of Qumran), which may fit in with the idea that the Book of Enoch was composed by different
people, across different time periods and in different places. Of the Aramaic Book of Enoch,
the most significant find that suggests that this was the original language that the book
was composed of comes from the Dead Sea Scrolls. For those who are unaware of the Dead Sea Scrolls,
these are a collection of Jewish texts discovered in the vicinity of the Qumran
caves, near the Dead Sea. These scrolls are associated with an ancient mystical Jewish sect,
often believed to be the Essenes, who lived in the area during the Second Temple period.
During the mid 20th century find of these texts, various Aramaic fragments of the
Book of Enoch were found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls within the caves of Qumran. Later,
Greek and Latin fragments of the text have also been unearthed in other areas. With this,
whilst it is near impossible to determine which language the Enochian legend was first thought
up with, it does at least prove that the Book of Enoch was known by Jews and early Near Eastern
Christians. As to whether these fragments were originals, or whether they were copies from an
earlier semitic language or the Ethiopian Ge’ez still remains up for some debate.
The discoveries of the Book of Enoch in both Ethiopia and the caves of Qumran have
significantly enriched the study of such an ancient text. They have illuminated the
complexities of its transmission, adaptation, and the diverse traditions that have shaped it
over the centuries. The Book of Enoch’s survival in different parts of the world and its subsequent
rediscovery highlight the interconnectedness of cultures and the enduring significance of
religious texts throughout history. Perhaps with this in mind, it isn’t essential to know where the
Book of Enoch was discovered, nor which language started the legend or whether the legend was an
amalgamation of several languages from several people across several different time periods,
but rather what the legend has meant to people throughout history and what it means to people
today. One may only look at the fact that despite being rejected by the more westernized idea of
Christianity, the Book of Enoch still holds a firm place within the Ethiopian Orthodox
church and is officially recognised as part of Ethiopian sacred scriptures.
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Until next time.