Translated from an Ethiopic Manuscript in the Bodleian Library
by Richard Laurence – First Published 1883
Edits, corrections and cross references by The Firmament
Introduction
“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord is coming with ten thousands of his saints,”
Jude 1:14-15
“To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
“Behold, he comes with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon them, and destroy the wicked, and reprove all the carnal for everything which the sinful and ungodly have done, and committed against him.”
Enoch 2:1
The twelve Patriarchs, the sons of Jacob, all recount reading the Book of Enoch, their antediluvian fore-father, the great grandfather of Noah, whose book opens with these words:
“The word of the blessing of Enoch, how he blessed the elect and the righteous, who are to exist in the time of tribulation; rejecting all the wicked and ungodly. Enoch, a righteous man, who was with God, answered and spoke, while his eyes were open, and while he saw a holy vision in the heavens. This the angels showed me. From them I heard all things, and understood what I saw; that which will not take place in this generation, but in a generation which is to succeed at a distant period, on account of the elect.”
Enoch 1:1-2
“And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”
Genesis 5:21-24
“For I have seen in a copy of the Book of Enoch…”
Testament of Simeon 5:4
“For the house which the Lord shall choose shall be called Jerusalem, as the Book of Enoch the Righteous maintains… 14:1 And now, my children, I know from the writings of Enoch…
Testament of Levi 10:5
“For in the books of Enoch the Righteous I have read…”
Testament of Judah 18:1
“For I read in the Book of Enoch the Righteous…”
Testament of Dan 5:6
“I say these things, my children, because I have read in the writing of holy Enoch…”
Testament of Naphtali 4:1
“From the words of Enoch the Righteous…”
Testament of Benjamin 9:1
Enoch was the father of prophecy. He foretold what would transact upon the earth from his time, before the flood, until the end. He is known by many different names including Enoch, Thoth the scribe, as well as Hermes Trismegistus, for he was thrice the greatest as a priest, philosopher, and king.
In his Biographia Aniqua, Frances Barrett says of Hermes: “…if God ever appeared in man, He appeared in him, as is evident both from his books and his Pymander; in which works he has communicated the …divine knowledge to all posterity; by which he has demonstrated himself to have been not only as inspired divine, …obtaining his wisdom from God and heavenly things and not from man.”
In the detailed account of The Book of Jasher, the Upright Record, it is said of Enoch, “And the Spirit of God was upon Enoch, and he taught all his men the Wisdom of God and His ways, and the sons of men served the LORD all the days of Enoch, and they came to hear his Wisdom…And Enoch taught them Wisdom, Knowledge, and the ways of the LORD; and he made peace among them, and peace was throughout the earth during the life of Enoch.” Jasher 3:8-11
Enoch said to his son Mathusala, “Wisdom have I given to you, to your children, and your posterity, that they may transmit to their children, for generations forever, this Wisdom in their thoughts; and that those who comprehend it may not slumber, but hear with their ears; that they may learn this Wisdom, and be deemed worthy of eating this wholesome food. Blessed are all the righteous; blessed all who walk in the paths of righteousness; in whom no crime is found, as in sinners, when all their days are numbered.” Enoch 81:3-4
This was the earnest prayer of Enoch, “Now then, O God, LORD and mighty King, I entreat You, and beseech You to grant my prayer, that a posterity may be left to me on earth, and that the whole human race may not perish; That the earth may not be left destitute, and destruction take place forever. O my LORD, let the race perish from off the earth which has offended you, but a righteous and upright race establish for a posterity forever. Hide not Your Face, O LORD, from the prayer of your servant.” Enoch 83:6-8
“The vision which he saw, the second vision of wisdom, which Enoch saw, the son of Jared, the son of Malaleel, the son of Canan, the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam. This is the commencement of the word of wisdom, which I received to declare and tell to those who dwell upon earth. Hear from the beginning, and understand to the end, the holy things which I utter in the presence of the Lord of Spirits. Those who were before us thought it good to speak; And let us not, who come after, obstruct the beginning of wisdom. Until the present period never has there been given before the Lord of Spirits that which I have received, wisdom according to the capacity of my intellect, and according to the pleasure of the Lord of Spirits; that which I have received from Him, a portion of life eternal.”
Enoch 37:1-2