The Book of Enoch (Translated by R. H. Charles)

“The Book of Enoch” is one of the most notable extant apocryphal works of the Bible. Estimated to have been written around 300 BC, this ancient Jewish religious work is ascribed by tradition to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. Consisting of five distinct sections, the book begins with the fall of the Watchers, angels who fathered the Nephilim, the offspring of “sons of god” and the “daughters of men.” The book follows Enoch as he travels through Heaven and expands more thoroughly, than the Book of Genesis, on the early kingdom of Israel and the events leading up to the great flood of Noah. Many themes common to other Biblical apocalyptic stories can be found here: despair by the godly for their world, a world where goodness did not matter and where evil triumphed and prospered. With evil everywhere around, the Apocalyptists saw no hope for the world as it was, it must be destroyed if the good were ever to triumph. This edition follows the translation of R. H. Charles.