Ep.1410: Why Is the Book of Enoch NOT in the Bible?
Examining the book of Enoch in relation to the canon of Scripture
CHAPTERS
Theme Scripture: Genesis 5:22
From what the Bible tells us about Enoch, he was an amazingly holy man who lived long before the Flood. To be described as one who “walked with God” is a true testimony of a life well lived. Further, a few lines of the Book of Enoch are actually quoted in the New Testament. With such credentials, we would have to wonder why the Book of Enoch is not a part of the Bible itself. Why wouldn’t you include the writings of a man who walked with God for 300 years? Could this be an oversight...or a conspiracy? Fortunately, a clear understanding of history and the Bible gives us thorough and conclusive answers to all of these questions.
What do we really know about Enoch? Even though he is rarely mentioned in the Bible, every reference to him shows his faith in and reverence for God. He lived before the Flood and was the seventh generation from Adam. He is referenced in the book of Hebrews as a righteous man, and his prophetic words are quoted in Jude.
With all of these positives in place, we need to review the reasons the Book of Enoch is NOT in the Bible. There are actually three Books of Enoch: 1 Enoch, 2 Enoch and 3 Enoch. We only focus on the first, as the other two books have never been considered for biblical inclusion.
There are at least five key criteria that explain its exclusion:
- 1 Enoch was never part of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), which formed the foundation of the Christian Old Testament.
- It is pseudepigraphal, meaning it was written centuries after Enoch’s life by unknown authors, likely during the Second Temple Period (300–100 BCE), and preserved only in Ge’ez, a classical Ethiopian language.
- Its speculative theology includes fantastical angelology, apocalyptic visions and cosmology inconsistent with biblical truth and scientific understanding.
- Its transmission history is very weak, lacking widespread manuscript preservation compared to canonical texts.
- It was not used consistently across early Christian communities, with only the Ethiopian Orthodox Church recognizing it as scripture.
While 1 Enoch offers historical insight into Second Temple Judaism and reflects themes like judgment and the “Son of Man,” its theological inconsistencies and limited acceptance disqualify it from canon. Our focus should be on God-inspired Scripture, and we need to beware of being misled by writings that mimic biblical style but lack divine authority.
It should be in the Bible, when the angels took Enoch to the heavens God clearly said write what u see so that future generations will have knowledge of it
Thank you for your comment, Elesha. Hopefully you have had a chance to listen to the full podcast episode for more details. Click on the CQ Rewind Show Notes to follow along with a detailed PDF while you listen. Many people are drawn to the Book of Enoch because Enoch himself was such a man of faith. But we could find no scripture or statement in the book of Enoch that matches your statement. (1 Enoch says he received a vision that would take place in the future but nothing about writing it down. The Apostle John was told to “write what you see” in Revelation, but that had nothing to do with Enoch.) In fact, Jesus explicitly teaches that Enoch never went to heaven. Our episode on Enoch walks through every relevant passage — Genesis, Hebrews, Jude and Jesus’ own words in John 3:13—to show clearly and respectfully what the Bible actually says about Enoch’s life and death.
The man Enoch did not write the Book of Enoch. The text known today as 1 Enoch was written thousands of years after Enoch lived, during the Second Temple period, by anonymous authors who attached Enoch’s name to their work. Because of this, the claim that God told Enoch to “write what he saw” can’t be historically or biblically true.
Our episode explains how scholars date the book, why its authorship is pseudepigraphal, and how this alone disqualifies it from being considered inspired Scripture. The Book of Enoch was never part of the Hebrew Bible and lacks the widespread, continuous use that every biblical book required to be recognized as canon.
We lay out the history and biblical evidence in a way that honors Enoch’s faith while showing why the book bearing his name is not part of God’s inspired Word. We also encourage listening to Episode #1413: What Really Happened to Enoch, Moses and Elijah Thank you again for taking the time to comments, and may the Lord bless your studies. – Christians Questions
Great study! I have a very biblical inquisitive mind and I found this quite interesting because it’a topic I have pondered and needed some clarity.Thanks.