Did Jesus really quote the book of Enoch?

Naw, and the Book of Psalms proves it. I'll show you.

© Jane Isley

A common argument I see for validating 1 Enoch is from Matthew 5:5 when Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”

Then in 1 Enoch 5:7, it reads, “But for the chosen, there will be light, joy, and peace, and they shall inherit the earth.”

I’ll admit, this could be quite the convincing “evidence.”

Except for this.

Psalms 37:11 “ But the meek shall inherit the land, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”

The Psalms were written before the Books of Enoch, it took about 1000 years but they were all still written before Jesus was born. Blue Letter Bible goes even further in giving an estimate for each section of Psalms and the probable timeline it was written in, with Psalms 37 being written during Babylonian Captivity. 539 B.C.

Some of my favorite personal qualms I consider when evaluating the authority of the Books of Enoch are:

1. We know they were written during the Intertestamental period and after.

   
   

2. Numerous scriptural contradictions. (Some sources to check out: 1, 2, 3, and 4,)

   
   

3. This one I know may get some kickback on but…….Jesus and the apostles never validated any of the subject matter the Books of Enoch talk about. I say that because Enoch paints a very different, odd, and bizarre narrative.

   
   

4. The books of Enoch are titled as such because they all are attributed to Enoch.

   
   

5. This is called pseudepigrapha. It was not uncommon to do this to noteworthy or interesting people in the Bible. Enoch was quite noteworthy, he walked with God and God took him. (I don’t however think God took him to heaven, I know. Not a popular belief.) Genesis 5:22–24 and Hebrews 11:5

   
   

So who quoted who first?

— Psalms came first.

— Jesus quoted Psalms.

— Enoch quoted Psalms.

That is undeniable, and historically and scholarly proven.

What about the book of Jude quoting Enoch.

Jude 14 is often also used to bolster the claim that the Bible validates Enoch as inspired scripture.

“Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones”

Let us look at a part of this verse a little closer.

Biblehub.com

First, Jude specifically said the name of Enoch, not the Book of Enoch, he never said he was quoting a phrase from an authoritative source. Using an outside source (no matter the source) does not make it an authoritative work or statement.

Jesus quoted Caesar, but that didn’t make Caesars words authoritative.

Second, Jude was fighting back against people who had renounced Christianity (the apostates), people who were using 1 Enoch. Jude was making a rather sassy and clever point by using the religious material that was familiar to them. That judgment would come to the ungodly and all false teachers. By using this to make his point, he was able to engage the Apostates directly and more effectively.

I recommend reading the article “Why Does the New Testament Cite Extrabiblical Sources?” It is very informative on the topic of Jude and extra Biblical sources and talks about Paul doing the same thing as well.

The issue now.

Instead of this being about the Apostates and the point he was getting across to them, it has turned into him “validating” 1 Enoch as being somehow authoritative scripture. Again, Jude never stated it was authoritative, all the Books of Enoch invalidated themselves as authoritative all on their own, and if people want to go that far then they might as well go after Jesus and Paul too.

No one denies that books exist, and no one denies that there is some truth contained in them, but that does not make them authoritative or inspired. The Books of Enoch were written by people who wanted to believe certain things because they didn’t like what they were hearing.

“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of Jehovah your God which I command you.” Deuteronomy 4:2

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them that are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which ye learned: and turn away from them.” Romans 16:17

Believe what you will, but ask yourself, why is there a need to put faith in these books that are proven to be unbiblical, inaccurate, and uninspired?

© Jane Isley

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