Page 4 - Book Of Enoch

The Book of Enoch

Introduction

I have based this book on Michael A. Knibb's scholarly translation of the

Ethiopian manuscripts, (The Ethiopic Book of Enoch, Oxford University

Press), which I believe to be the best translation currently available.

I first heard about the Book of Enoch a few years ago, while I was

researching into ‘End of Days’ prophesies. When I finally managed to get

hold of a copy, I discovered that it was a very strange and unusual book.

The first time I read it I was skeptical and somewhat puzzled; I wondered

who would have written an odd book like this.

I knew that Enoch, (Hanokh in Hebrew), was very favourably mentioned in

Genesis, and I discovered that Enoch’s book describes the Exodus and

Moses very favourably (although not by name).

So my first theory was that it might have been written around the same time

as the Torah, perhaps around 1400 BC. However, after several readings I

could find no plausible theories. The prophecy of the animals is extremely

precisely written and obviously refers to events well after Moses (see my

notes on that chapter). Additionally; who would have dared to produce a

book with people such as Moses described in terms of farm animals?

Michael Knibb, whose translation I have used to produce this book, studied

all available manuscripts and sources, and it is clear that this book was well

known and studied in many countries well before the time of Jesus. The

earliest known surviving fragments and quotations in various languages

show that this is the same book, and that the Ethiopians have preserved it

well.

In the end I was convinced that the book is really Enoch’s true account of

otherwise forgotten events that occurred in early times; events that we have

no other surviving records of.

Enoch left us a book that describes people of an advanced culture; blond-

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