I’ve long had a fascination with the early chapters of Genesis, and the early earth history that they contain. Almost everything I’ve ever read centered around these chapters is centered upon the text themselves.

However, early Judaism has several traditions concerning those early centuries that are not found in the book of Genesis. Although these documents date much later than early Genesis, they point back to those times and contain some very interesting information. One such document is 1 Enoch.

This document plays an important role in early Judaism, and several scrolls containing this document were discovered at Qumran. Most of the document is dated to the last three or four centuries before Christ. Because of the distance from the time of Genesis, and the life of Enoch, their authorship is suspect enough to deny them entrance into the canon of the Old Testament.

However, the traditions and stories that they contain shed a lot of light on ancient Jewish thought on Genesis and the lives that formed the first few centuries of human history after creation.

The story of Enoch is particularly intriguing, since he never died. He lived for 365 years and then was taken by God. In the Genesis genealogy, Enoch was the seventh generation descended from Adam, and the great-grandfather of Noah. One of the things I find interesting about 1 Enoch is the story of Noah’s birth. This is a miraculous event, and sparks some prophetic foretellings of God’s coming judgment through a global flood.

1 Enoch also gives some insight into Jewish thought concerning the “sons of God” and the “daughters of men” mentioned in Genesis 6. This seems to be where some of the traditions surrounding the Watchers has risen from. The Watchers are interpreted to be angels in rebellion against God, whose offspring with humanity results in giants.

I find this mindset interesting. I disagree with the basic premise that the book of 1 Enoch sets forth here, and I feel that the “sons of God” were the godly descendants of Seth. I see several problems with this referring to angels. However, this has been the tradition in Judaism for centuries, and is worth reading, if for no other reason than to see how they view the relevant Genesis passages.

Overall, I found this translation to be interesting and informative. This is probably the most comprehensive translation available in the English language, and takes into consideration all the available data on the book of 1 Enoch. It has recently been revised in order to be released with a new commentary in the Hermeneia series, from Fortress Press. My review of the commentary is available here.

A word of caution is in order.
Though I found this to be interesting, and will likely refer back to it on occasion, especially as I study for my masters degree on the theology of Genesis, it is not the Word of God. Though ancient Judaism and perhaps the early Ethiopic church viewed it as authoritative, the early church councils found reason not to include it into the official canon of the Old Testament. Do not read this in the same way that you read the Bible. This is interesting material that can come alongside the Bible in various aspects, but it does not carry the weight and authority of inspired Scripture. If you decide to read this, keep that in mind.

As well researched and documented as this is, it provides a revealing insight into intertestemental Jewish theology. Paired with the commentary, this is a handy asset to have on hand as you study biblical history.

Question: What are your thoughts concerning apocryphal literature? Have you ever read any of these documents? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

I received this book free from Fortress Press as part of their blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.