Why Did Jude Quote ENOCH?

Let’s look at the passage in question:

14Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

Jude 1:14-15

(If you’re not familiar with Enoch, see Genesis 5:24).

This particular saying of Enoch was handed down through the generations in Hebrew culture and eventually included in the Book of Enoch (specifically chapter 1, verse 9), which was written in the period between the two Testaments. Jude was “carried along by the Holy Spirit” when he quoted it (2 Peter 1:21), which is why the Judeo-Christian Scriptures are called “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). In other words, Jude’s source for this information was the Holy Spirit and Judaic tradition, not the book of Enoch. The fact that it was recorded in the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch didn’t make it false.

While this particular saying of Enoch is true and it’s recorded in the Book of Enoch, it doesn’t make the entire Book of Enoch Holy Scripture. After all, Paul quoted Cretan seer-poet, Epimenides, in Titus 1:12, but this doesn’t mean we should give authority to all of Epimenides’ writings as God-breathed Scripture.

Some suggest that Christ was partially quoting Enoch in Matthew 22:29-30, which was a prophetic word that may allude to tradition, but is not a quote from a specific text, like the Book of Enoch. For proof, compare the Lord’s words with the relevant passage from the Book of Enoch:

29Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

Matthew 22:29-30

But you from the beginning were made spiritual, possessing a life which is eternal, and not subject to death for ever.

Therefore I made not wives for you, because, being spiritual, your dwelling is in heaven.

1 Enoch 15:6-7

Clearly, the Messiah wasn’t quoting the Book of Enoch. As such, the passage from Jude is the only quote in Scripture from Enoch (which, again, just so happens to be cited in the Book of Enoch).

The many books in the apocrypha (ah-POK-rah-fah) & pseudepigrapha (soo-doh-PIG-rah-fah) are noncanonical writings from the intertestamental period, or “400 silent years” between the Old and New Testaments, and up to 300-400 AD. ‘Apocrypha’ means “hidden away” while ‘pseudepigrapha’ means “false writings,” mostly because the claimed author of the text is not the actual author. Some of what these books say is true, but some is questionable or false.

It’s similar to the gazillion of Christian books available today, depending on the author and their sectarian bias. Don’t get me wrong, there are many worthwhile Christian books out there, but the best ones are those that stick closely to the Scriptures and rightly-divide them (2 Timothy 2:15 & 3:16-17). In light of this, if you read any books from the apocrypha & pseudepigrapha, it’s necessary to “test them all; hold on to what is good,” as 1 Thessalonians 5:21 puts it. In other words, eat the meat and spit out the bones since they’re not Holy Scripture.

Speaking of which, stick with God’s Word in regard to Christian doctrine (belief) and practice, which explains Paul’s rule “Do not go beyond what is written” (1 Corinthians 4:6).

While there are a miniscule number of Ethiopian Jews and Ethiopian Christians who regard the Book of Enoch as Scripture, it’s considered non-canonical (non-inspired) by everyone else. What questions did leaders ask to verify which scrolls should be part of the canon of Scripture, whether Hebrew officials for the Hebraic Scriptures or Christian leaders for the New Testament? Obviously questions like:

Can the cited author be verified? Was the author closely linked to key members of the Judaic or Christian community? Does the doctrinal content correspond to already-acknowledged Scripture? Do the ethical standards comply with established Judeo-Christian morality? Was the text accepted by the Hebraic or Christian community at large up to that point? If not, why not?

The Book of Enoch was written between 300-100 BC (during the aforementioned “400 silent years,” well before the era of Christ & the early Church); it simply didn’t make the cut.

What Does “Do Not Go Beyond What is Written” Mean in 1 Corinthians 4:6?

Berean Spirit — What Is It? How Do You Cultivate It?

SECTARIANISM — What Is It? What’s Wrong With It?

HEBREWS / ISRAELITES / JEWS — Why Did God Choose Them?

What Did Paul Mean by “According to the Scriptures”?

What Are the Sources of Truth (Reality)?

What Is KJV ONLY? What’s Wrong With It?