Who Wrote the Book of Enoch, and When?

Who wrote the Book of Enoch? The book itself speaks in the voice of Enoch, the seventh generation from Adam in Genesis 5. Many readers, including the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, have received it as Enoch's own words.

Most modern scholars, however, think 1 Enoch was written by several anonymous Jewish authors over about three or four centuries, roughly from the 3rd century BC to the 1st century AD. This post explains both views, the evidence each relies on, and what the Dead Sea Scrolls add.

What Does the Book Say About Its Own Author?

The book opens: "The words of the blessing of Enoch," in R. H. Charles's translation (1 Enoch 1:1). Throughout, Enoch speaks in the first person. He describes visions, journeys with angels, and messages he is told to write down.

In 1 Enoch 12:4, an angelic voice addresses him: "Enoch, thou scribe of righteousness." Later chapters picture Enoch passing his writings on to his son Methuselah. The book presents itself as Enoch's testimony, written and handed down.

What Is Pseudepigraphy?

Pseudepigraphy (from Greek words meaning "falsely ascribed") is the practice of writing a work under the name of a famous figure from the past. Scholars use the term for many ancient Jewish and Christian writings, such as books attributed to Enoch, Abraham, Moses, or Ezra.

The word can sound like an accusation, but scholars do not always use it that way. Some think ancient authors wrote in a revered figure's name to show they were continuing that figure's teaching. Others think the practice was meant to give a message more authority. Scholars still debate how ancient readers understood it.

What Is the Traditional View of Authorship?

The traditional view holds that the patriarch Enoch himself received these revelations and that they were preserved and passed down.

Holders of this view point to several kinds of evidence. The book consistently presents itself as Enoch's writing. Jude 14 says, "Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these," and then gives words that closely match 1 Enoch 1:9. The early Christian writer Tertullian, about AD 200, argued that the book could have been preserved through Noah. The Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo churches, which include 1 Enoch in their Bible, have long read it as Enoch's prophecy. Rabbinic Jewish, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant Bibles do not include it.

The main difficulty for this view is the manuscript record. No copy is known from before about the 3rd century BC, and the earliest copies are in Aramaic, a language from a much later period than Genesis places Enoch. Those who hold the traditional view respond that a text can be ancient in origin even when its surviving copies are much later.

What Is the Scholarly View of Multiple Authors?

Most academic scholars view 1 Enoch as a collection of five separate works, written by different authors at different times and later gathered together.

This view rests on several observations. The five sections differ in style, subject, and outlook. Some sections appear to refer to known historical events. Most notably, the Animal Apocalypse in chapters 85-90 retells Israel's history in symbols, and many scholars read its later scenes as pointing to the Maccabean revolt of the 160s BC. The manuscript evidence from Qumran also shows the sections circulating in different combinations.

The difficulty for this view is that much of its dating depends on inference. Reading symbols as references to specific events involves interpretation, and some details remain debated. Scholars also disagree about how early some traditions behind the book may be.

When Was Each Section Written?

Here are the common scholarly estimates for each section, using Charles's chapter numbers. All are approximate, and some are debated.

•             The Book of the Watchers (chapters 1-36): about the 3rd century BC.

•             The Astronomical Book (chapters 72-82): the 3rd century BC or earlier. Some scholars think it may be the oldest section.

•             The Dream Visions (chapters 83-90): about 165-160 BC, based on the reading of the Animal Apocalypse described above.

•             The Epistle of Enoch (chapters 91-108): the 2nd century BC.

•             The Parables, or Similitudes (chapters 37-71): late 1st century BC to 1st century AD.

What Do the Dead Sea Scrolls Show?

The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient Jewish manuscripts found between 1947 and 1956 in caves near Qumran, by the Dead Sea. Cave 4 held fragments of several Aramaic copies of Enochic writings. They are catalogued as 4Q201-202 and 4Q204-212.

J. T. Milik published these fragments in 1976 in The Books of Enoch: Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4. Based on handwriting, the oldest copies, 4Q201 and 4Q208, were made about 200-150 BC, and 4Q208 may be somewhat earlier. Since a copy must come after the original, these dates set a latest possible date for the sections they contain.

The Qumran copies show that the Book of the Watchers, the Astronomical Book, the Dream Visions, and the Epistle of Enoch were known in Aramaic by the 2nd century BC. The Astronomical Book at Qumran is longer than the Ge'ez version that survives today. Cave 4 also held copies of the Book of Giants, a related Enochic writing that is discussed in its own post.

Why Are the Parables Missing from Qumran?

The Parables are the one major section of 1 Enoch not found among the Qumran fragments. Scholars have read this absence in different ways.

Milik argued that the Parables were a much later Christian work, possibly from the 3rd century AD. Most specialists today date them earlier, to the late 1st century BC or the 1st century AD, and view them as Jewish. They point to the section's ideas and possible historical references.

Others note that an absence is not proof. Only a small portion of the Qumran library survived, so a book could have existed without leaving fragments there. The question of the Parables' date matters to many readers because of their use of the title "Son of Man."

What Remains Debated?

Several questions are still open. Scholars discuss whether the Book of Watchers draws on even older traditions, how and when the five sections were combined, and whether the Ge'ez text was translated from Greek, Aramaic, or both. Those who hold the traditional view continue to read the book as Enoch's prophecy preserved over time. These positions rest on different starting points, and readers can weigh the evidence for each.

Questions to Keep Studying

1.           Who first gathered the five sections of 1 Enoch into one collection?

2.          How did the Ge'ez translators obtain the text they translated?

3.          How did ancient Jewish readers outside Qumran regard the writings attributed to Enoch?

4.          What other ancient works were written in the name of earlier figures, and how were they received?

Authorship and dating are some of the most discussed questions about 1 Enoch. The book's own voice, the traditional reading, and the manuscript evidence each deserve a careful hearing. Readers who know all three are well prepared to study the text itself.

Who wrote a text and when are two of the five background questions in Chapter 6 of BIBL 101, Rightly Dividing the Word, which teaches readers to report each scholarly position fairly and then ask how much of their reading actually depends on the answer.

At Enoch Ascension Christian University, we don't teach what to think. We awaken truth and walk in love. Explore our programs at enochascension.com.

Sources and Further Reading

•             Genesis 5:18-24; Jude 14-15 (King James Version).

•             1 Enoch 1:1, 1:9, 12:4, in R. H. Charles, The Book of Enoch or 1 Enoch (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1912).

•             J. T. Milik, The Books of Enoch: Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976).

•             George W. E. Nickelsburg, 1 Enoch 1: A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch, Chapters 1-36; 81-108, Hermeneia (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001).

•             James C. VanderKam, Enoch: A Man for All Generations (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1995).

•             Tertullian, On the Apparel of Women 1.3.