Enoch

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"Enoch", lithograph by William Blake , 1807

Enoch or Enoch (perhaps Arabic إدريس Idrīs ) is a biblical figure who was taken from the earth before her death ( Rapture Gen 5: 18–24  EU ). Due to the unclear circumstances of his disappearance he called many different, including symbolic , mystical and esoteric interpretations forth.

This Enoch should not be confused with Enoch , the son of Cain , after whom a city was named ( Gen 4.17  EU ).

etymology

The origin of the personal name חֲנוֹךְ ḥǎnôkh , German 'Henoch' (in Gen 25.4  EU חֲנֹךְ ḥǎnokh ) is insecure. Hans Rechenmacher derives the name from the Canaanite ḫanāku "follower" and assumes that it is the short form of a genitive combination consisting of a basic word and a qualifier. The defining word and at the same time theophoric element had failed, the basic word "follower" was still left. The name therefore means "follower (of God)". In terms of content, theעֶבֶד 'ævæd , German ' servant ' compare formed names (e.g.עַבְדִּיאֵל 'avdî'el , German ' servant of God ' ). Martin Noth, on the other hand, starts from the root ḤNK , compares ḥunukun in Arabic and translates the name as “clever, learned”. Finally, a derivation of the name from the root חנך ḥnk “ initiate ” comes into consideration, so that the name could be translated as “initiator / founder”.

The Septuagint gives the name as Ενωχ Enōch , the Vulgate as Enoch and the Samaritan Pentateuch as ' Īnok .

Old testament

In the Old Testament there is only a short paragraph about Enoch in Gen 5: 18–24  EU . According to this, Enoch is the eldest son of Jered and thus a descendant of Set . His father was 162 years old when he fathered him. He himself fathered Methuselah at the age of 65 . Then he is said to have lived another 300 years and had many more sons and daughters. Then it says in verse 24: “Enoch went his way with God, then he was no more; for God had received him ”( standard translation ). His reached age of 365 years, which is low compared to his parents and children, can be seen symbolically: the number corresponds to the number of days in a solar year .

A comparable story can be found in the Bible in 2 Kings 2.11  EU f with the rapture of Elijah .

The Deuterocanonical Book of Wisdom (4, 7–17) obviously alludes to Enoch: “But the righteous, even when his end comes early, enters God's rest. [...] He was pleased and loved by God; since he lived among sinners, he was raptured. "

New Testament

In the New Testament , Heb 11.5  EU emphasizes that Enoch was raptured "on the basis of faith" and did not have to die and that before the rapture he received the testimony that "he pleased God." This shows the influence of Pauline theology, with their justification for the believer by faith, not by work righteousness.

In Jud 1.14  EU , a sentence from Enoch is quoted according to popular belief, which can also be found in the apocryphal Ethiopian Book of Enoch (1.9). Enoch, "the seventh after Adam", prophesied of future false teachers and that God would come with many thousands of saints to judge the ungodliness of men. This passage proves that writings were received in the early Christian communities that were not canonized by the later church.

Enoch is also mentioned in Lk 3.37  EU in one of the family trees of Jesus Christ.

Extra-biblical

The apocryphal books of Enoch

There are three different apocryphal books under the name Enoch , which are referred to as 1st, 2nd, 3rd Enoch or sometimes also after the languages ​​in which they were mainly transmitted.

According to biblical tradition, Enoch was raptured into heaven by God. In the Enoch books one imagined what Enoch might have seen during his journeys into heaven. The first book of Enoch contains five different part-books, possibly produced by different scribes. Various Aramaic and two Hebrew fragments of the 1st Enoch were found in Qumran and can therefore be safely dated to the period between 130 BC. And 68 AD

For the first time there is a description of a " hell " in which people are tortured (Chapter 21), which is unknown in the Torah. The descriptions of the different heavens and hells, including their angels (especially the fallen), also influenced the ideas of the early Church Fathers of the 2nd to 4th centuries. Historians therefore attribute an important role to the books in the development of the Christian dogma of the doctrine of hell and certain aspects of the Apocalypse .

Apocryphal writings

According to the pseudo-Titus letter , Enoch is commissioned to write down a story of the first humans. With this statement the existence of the Enoch books can be established.

In Paul's Apocalypse , Enoch is referred to as the scribe of righteousness .

After Isaiah's ascension , Enoch and others are in heaven without their fleshly bodies and dressed in new garments; Accordingly, they will only get thrones and crowns after the arrival of the Messiah .

According to Peter's revelation , a false Christ will come. Enoch and Elijah will appear and expose him.

Delicious pearl

The biblical story of Enoch is told in more detail in the 7th and 8th chapters of the Book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price , a sacred book of the Mormons . This narrative is believed to be authentic by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Accordingly, God called Enoch as a prophet to preach repentance to the people. He was called a seer. The account also contains a sermon from Enoch, which he himself describes as the plan of salvation, on repentance, baptism, and Jesus Christ. He is said to have seen God in a vision and spoken to him. He was the leader of the people of God called Zion. He and the people or city of Zion were taken to heaven.

literature

Web links

Commons : Enoch  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Jump up ↑ The Pearl of Great Price - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Moses Chapters 6 and 7