BOOK OF ENOCH
Fragment of the Book of Noah
[Chapter 106]
1 And after some days my son Methuselah took a wife for his son Lamech,
and she became 2 pregnant by him and bore a son. And his body was white as
snow and red as the blooming of a rose, and the hair of his head and his long
locks were white as wool, and his eyes beautiful. And when he opened his eyes,
he lighted up the whole house like the sun, and the whole house 3 was very
bright. And thereupon he arose in the hands of the midwife, opened his mouth,
and conversed with the Lord of righteousness. 4 And his father Lamech was
afraid of him and 5 fled, and came to his father Methuselah. And he said unto
him: ' I have begotten a strange son, diverse from and unlike man, and
resembling the sons of the God of heaven; and his nature is different and he
is not like us, and his eyes are as the rays of the sun, and his 6 countenance
is glorious. And it seems to me that he is not sprung from me but from the
angels, and I fear that in his days a wonder may be 7 wrought on the earth.
And now, my father, I am here to petition thee and implore thee that thou
mayest go to Enoch, our father, and learn from him the truth, for his
dwelling-place is 8 amongst the angels.' And when Methuselah heard the words
of his son, he came to me to the ends of the earth; for he had heard that 1
was there, and he cried aloud, and I heard his voice and I came to him. And 1
said unto him: ' Behold, here am I, my son, wherefore hast 9 thou come to me ?
' And he answered and said: ' Because of a great cause of anxiety have I come
to thee, and because of a disturbing vision 10 have I approached. And now, my
father, hear me: unto Lamech my son there hath been born a son, the like of
whom there is none, and his nature is not like man's nature, and the colour of
his body is whiter than snow and redder than the bloom of a rose, and the hair
of his head is whiter than white wool, and his eyes are like the rays of the
sun, and he opened his eyes and 11 thereupon lighted up the whole house. And
he arose in the hands of the midwife, and opened 12 his mouth and blessed the
Lord of heaven. And his father Lamech became afraid and fled to me, and did
not believe that he was sprung from him, but that he was in the likeness of
the angels of heaven; and behold I have come to thee that thou mayest make
known to me the truth.' And I, Enoch, answered and said unto him: 'The Lord
will do a new thing on the earth, and this I have already seen in a vision,
and make known to thee that in the generation of my father Jared some of the
angels of heaven transgressed the word of the Lord. And behold they commit sin
and transgress the law, and have united themselves with women and commit sin
with them, and have married some of them, and have begot children by them. And
they shall produce on the earth giants not according to the spirit, but
according to the flesh, and there shall be a great punishment on the earth,
and the earth shall be cleansed from all impurity. Yea, there shall come a
great destruction over the whole earth, and there shall be a deluge and 16 a
great destruction for one year. And this son who has been born unto you shall
be left on the earth, and his three children shall be saved with him: when all
mankind that are on the earth 8 shall die [he and his sons shall be saved].
And now make known to thy son Lamech that he who has been born is in truth his
son, and call his name Noah; for he shall be left to you, and he and his sons
shall be saved from the destruction, which shall come upon the earth on
account of all the sin and all the unrighteousness, which shall be consummated
on the earth in his days. And after that there shall be still more
unrighteousness than that which was first consummated on the earth; for I know
the mysteries of the holy ones; for He, the Lord, has showed me and informed
me, and I have read (them) in the heavenly tablets.
[Chapter 107]
1 And I saw written on them that generation upon generation shall
transgress, till a generation of righteousness arises, and transgression is
destroyed and sin passes away from the earth, and all 2 manner of good comes
upon it. And now, my son, go and make known to thy son Lamech that this 3 son,
which has been born, is in truth his son, and that (this) is no lie.' And when
Methuselah had heard the words of his father Enoch-for he had shown to him
everything in secret-he returned and showed (them) to him and called the name
of that son Noah; for he will comfort the earth after all the destruction.
[Chapter 108]
1 Another book which Enoch wrote for his son Methuselah and for those who
will come after him, 2 and keep the law in the last days. Ye who have done
good shall wait for those days till an end is made of those who work evil; and
an end of the might of the transgressors. And wait ye indeed till sin has
passed away, for their names shall be blotted out of the book of life and out
of the holy books, and their seed shall be destroyed for ever, and their
spirits shall be slain, and they shall cry and make lamentation in a place
that is a chaotic wilderness, and in the fire shall they burn; for there is no
earth there. And I saw there something like an invisible cloud; for by reason
of its depth I could not look over, and I saw a flame of fire blazing
brightly, and things like shining 5 mountains circling and sweeping to and
fro. And I asked one of the holy angels who was with me and said unto him: '
What is this shining thing? for it is not a heaven but only the flame of a
blazing 6 fire, and the voice of weeping and crying and lamentation and strong
pain.' And he said unto me: ' This place which thou seest-here are cast the
spirits of sinners and blasphemers, and of those who work wickedness, and of
those who pervert everything that the Lord hath spoken through the mouth 7 of
the prophets-(even) the things that shall be. For some of them are written and
inscribed above in the heaven, in order that the angels may read them and know
that which shall befall the sinners, and the spirits of the humble, and of
those who have afflicted their bodies, and been recompensed 8 by God; and of
those who have been put to shame by wicked men: Who love God and loved neither
gold nor silver nor any of the good things which are in the world, but gave
over their bodies to torture. Who, since they came into being, longed not
after earthly food, but regarded everything as a passing breath, and lived
accordingly, and the Lord tried them much, and their spirits were 10 found
pure so that they should bless His name. And all the blessings destined for
them I have recounted in the books. And he hath assigned them their
recompense, because they have been found to be such as loved heaven more than
their life in the world, and though they were trodden under foot of wicked
men, and experienced abuse and reviling from them and were put to shame, 11
yet they blessed Me. And now I will summon the spirits of the good who belong
to the generation of light, and I will transform those who were born in
darkness, who in the flesh were not recompensed 12 with such honour as their
faithfulness deserved. And I will bring forth in shining light those who 13
have loved My holy name, and I will seat each on the throne of his honour. And
they shall be resplendent for times without number; for righteousness is the
judgement of God; for to the faithful 14 He will give faithfulness in the
habitation of upright paths. And they shall see those who were , 15 born in
darkness led into darkness, while the righteous shall be resplendent. And the
sinners shall cry aloud and see them resplendent, and they indeed will go
where days and seasons are prescribed for them.'
From The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament
by R.H. Charles,
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913
Scanned and Edited by Joshua Williams,
Northwest Nazarene College, 1995