A) INTRODUCTION.

B) CANONICITY.

 

 

A) INTRODUCTION

 

 

There are three books comprising the work, 1 Enoch; 2 Enoch; 3 Enoch.  These books of Enoch contain unique material on the origins of demons and Nephilim, why some angels fell from Heaven, an explanation of why the Genesis flood was morally necessary, as long as a prophetic exposition of the thousand-year reign of the Messiah.

 

The older sections of 1 Enoch, mainly in the “Book of the Watchers,” this section of the text is estimated to date from about B.C. 300–200, with the latest part, the “Book of Parables,” probably dating to B.C. 100.  Modern scholars believe that these books were originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic, with only the Aramaic versions surviving.  Also, various Aramaic fragments are found in the “Dead Sea Scrolls,” along with “Koine Greek” and “Latin” fragments.  This is proof that the “Books of Enoch” were known by Jews and early Near Eastern Christians.  The “Books of Enoch” only survives in its entirety in the “Ge’ez” (Ethiopic) translation.

 

 

B) CANONICITY

 

 

Today, the Ethiopic Beta Israel community of Haymanot Jews is the only Jewish group that accepts the Book of Enoch as canonical and still preserves it in its liturgical language of “Ge’ez,” where it plays a central role in worship.

 

It is rejected from the canon for such passages as in 1 Enoch 40:1-10, were the supposed angel “Phanuel,” nowhere mentioned elsewhere in the canonical Scriptures, presides over those who repent of sin and are granted eternal life.  Only God has this authority.  And by the fifth century the books of Enoch were mostly excluded from Biblical Christianity.

 

One of the main reasons for the rejection of these books is their treating’s of fallen angels.  In particular their lust for human women.  Which has still caused to this day false interpretations of Genesis, Chapter 6.  These books go on to proclaim that these newly formed from angels and human women became known as “Nephilim,” who were man-eating, cannibalistic, vampiric giants.  Other sections include having the angel “Azazel” teaching humans how to make swords, God’s orders to have the rebelling angels bound and imprisoned, and a long-winded explanation for why the Great Flood was a well thought out plan.

 

Thus, when any writings differ from the canonical Scriptures that can be verified, they are considered to be heretical.