Bible Timeline · Traditional count about 3382 to 3017 BC

Enoch Walked With God

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, walked with God for 300 years and then was taken by God without dying, at age 365. He was Noah's great grandfather. Jude quotes a prophecy of Enoch found in the ancient Book of 1 Enoch.

Read it in the Bible: Genesis 5:18-24 Hebrews 11:5-6 Jude 1:14-15 Luke 3:37

Enoch was a man in the family line of Seth who walked so closely with God that God took him away without dying. Genesis 5 says he lived 365 years before God took him. By the traditional count from the genealogies, he was born about 3382 BC and taken about 3017 BC. He was the father of Methuselah and the great grandfather of Noah. Only two people in the Bible leave this world without dying, Enoch and Elijah, which makes him a very exclusive club of two.

What Does the Bible Say About Enoch?

Genesis 5 is a list of men who lived, had children and died. Enoch is the one name that breaks the pattern.

Enoch walked with God, and then he was no more, because God had taken him away. Genesis 5:24

Genesis 5:22 adds that Enoch walked with God for 300 years after Methuselah was born. That is not one great weekend at camp. That is three centuries of steady faithfulness, while raising a family, in a world that was sliding toward the flood.

Did Enoch Die?

The Bible says no. The book of Hebrews explains what "God had taken him away" means.

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God. For anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Hebrews 11:5 to 6

So Enoch is in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11, and his whole story is summed up as faith that pleased God. Later, Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind in 2 Kings 2. Enoch and Elijah are the only two people the Bible describes leaving the earth without death.

Where Does Enoch Fit in the Family Line?

Jude calls Enoch "the seventh from Adam," counting Adam as the first. The line goes Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared and then Enoch. His son was Methuselah, the oldest man in the Bible. Methuselah's son was Lamech, and Lamech's son was Noah.

By the traditional count, Adam lived until about 3074 BC. So Enoch's life overlapped Adam's by about 300 years, and he could have heard about Eden from the man who was there. Enoch was taken about 69 years before Noah was born, so he never met his famous great grandson. Enoch also appears in Luke 3:37 as an ancestor of Jesus.

What Is the Book of Enoch?

There is an ancient Jewish writing called 1 Enoch. It claims to record Enoch's visions, and it tells a long version of the story of the sons of God and the Nephilim from Genesis 6. Here is what we know about it:

Dead Sea Scrolls: Pieces of 1 Enoch in Aramaic were found at Qumran, from about 11 different copies. The oldest copies date to roughly 200 BC.
Ethiopia: The only full copies are in Ge'ez, the old church language of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church includes 1 Enoch in its Bible to this day. A traveler named James Bruce brought copies to Europe in 1773.
When it was written: Most scholars think 1 Enoch is a collection of several books written between about 300 BC and the time of Jesus.

Because the book was written thousands of years after Enoch lived by the traditional count, most Jews and Christians did not accept it as written by Enoch himself. The Archaeology page on this site has Field Notes on Enoch that go deeper into the scrolls.

Does Jude Quote the Book of Enoch?

Yes. This is one of the most interesting facts in the New Testament. Jude quotes a prophecy that matches 1 Enoch 1:9 almost word for word.

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them: “Behold, the Lord is coming with myriads of His holy ones to execute judgment on everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of every ungodly act of wickedness and every harsh word spoken against Him by ungodly sinners.” Jude 1:14 to 15

So why isn't 1 Enoch in most Bibles? Here are the two sides, fairly:

For it: Jude quotes it as prophecy. Some early Christian writers, like Tertullian around AD 200, treated it as Scripture, and the Letter of Barnabas quotes it too. The Ethiopian church has always kept it.
Against it: Quoting a true line from a book does not make the whole book Scripture. Paul quotes Greek poets in Acts 17:28 and Titus 1:12, and no one thinks those poems belong in the Bible. Jewish leaders did not include 1 Enoch in the Hebrew Bible, and later church fathers like Augustine set it aside.

The traditional view of most churches is that Jude was led by the Spirit to quote a true prophecy that had been passed down, without making the whole book of 1 Enoch part of the Bible.

Why Enoch Matters for You Today

Enoch's whole life gets just a few verses, and the main thing said about him is simple. He walked with God. Walking is not flashy. It is one step at a time, day after day, in the same direction as someone else. Enoch did that for 300 years in a world that was getting darker.

Enoch's story also points to Jesus. The "and then he died" drumbeat of Genesis 5 is broken by one man who did not see death. It is a small preview of what Jesus came to do for everyone who trusts Him. Death does not get the last word. And Hebrews says the door is open to anyone who believes that God exists and rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

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Questions People Ask

Did Enoch go to heaven without dying?

Yes, according to the Bible. Genesis 5:24 says God took him, and Hebrews 11:5 says he was taken up so that he did not see death. Elijah is the only other person the Bible describes leaving the earth without dying.

How old was Enoch when God took him?

Genesis 5:23 says Enoch lived 365 years in all. He walked with God for 300 of those years, after his son Methuselah was born.

Why is the Book of Enoch not in the Bible?

Most scholars date 1 Enoch to between about 300 BC and the time of Jesus, long after Enoch lived, and it was not included in the Hebrew Bible. Jude quotes one prophecy from it, but quoting a true line does not make a whole book Scripture. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is the main church that includes it.

Was Enoch related to Noah?

Yes. Enoch was Noah's great grandfather. Enoch's son was Methuselah, Methuselah's son was Lamech, and Lamech's son was Noah.

Sources

Dead Sea Scrolls Spotlight the Book of Enoch, Biblical Archaeology Society

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