Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10495 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Synopsis
Enoch's apocryphal work from the second century B C introduced such concepts as fallen angels, resurrection, and last judgment. It exercised a powerful influence on early Christians, particularly the Gnostics. This translation of this work is intended for those interested in apocalyptic literature and the origins of Christianity.

Customer Reviews

Fascinating pre-New Testament writings...
This has been gathering dust on my shelf for a few years now, and I've only just got round to reading it. The five books of 1st Enoch range from the utterly fascinating to sure-fire cures for insomnia.

Written between the old and new testaments, it gives a fascinating insight into what some Jewish groups believed at that time (for example, several editions of Enoch were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.)

Anyone with an interest in the New Testament could learn a lot by reading Enoch. Attitudes of people in the gospels have clearly been coloured by the content and even vocabulary of Enoch. And, of course, it's even quoted in Jude and 2 Peter. Parts of it are so startlingly similar to the book of Revelation that it must surely have provided a visual vocabulary for the writer of that book.

For the background and relevance of Enoch, I *highly* recommend "Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period" by Larry R Helyer. It provides a great survey of a wide range of this and other books, from the 'Testament of Moses' to Josephus, and from the Dead Sea scrolls to Philo - and much more!

A much neglected key to a better understanding.
This impressive translation is a true masterpieceand worthy of the uttermost attention. Any book that had the Church "Fathers" as spooked as this one did demands to be read. Unlike the mostly ridiculous Gnosic gospels also excluded from the Bible, this ancient Jewish text carries a divine authority that demands it be taken seriously. The very fact that the prophecies of Enoch were fulfilled to the letter in the timeframes suggested, should be reason enough for Christans to want to study it. The prophecy concerning the judgement of a wicked generation, seventy generations from Enoch (Christ's contemporary generation according to the gospel of Luke) found a devastating fulfillment in the fiery destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, exactly as Christ predicted would befall his own generation!The majority of Christians may not accept Enoch as scripture but clearly Christ and his disciples did and I'm sure that Christ would agree that the majority are rarely, if ever right. Why not read these texts for yourself and make up your own mind what you believe? Maybe, as more and more Christians explore the Jewish roots of their faith, true Christianity will be restored and the foundations of "Churchianity" will be trampled into the dust where they belong! A truly compelling read and I very much urge you to try it.

History of the angels
A good formerly heretical work, that details the SECOND FALL of the angels, and early human pre-history from a biblical perspective. the work at points includes parralels where differences have arrisen between two available translations.
The book has the journey of enoch through the heavens a truely epic view of heaven not often found in scripture, and also details the workings of cosmology to primitive humans. The main attraction for me was the details of the angelic nature and society something only breifly delt with at best if at all. The only other strong direct references would be in Ezekiel, Daniel and Isaiah. Good for an theologian or personw ishing to expand there spiritual understanding.