Troublesome Topic: PROBLEMS WITH THE ENOCHIC INTERPRETATION OF THE NEPHILIM

QUESTIONABLE DEVELOPMENT

I don’t think the problems with the Book of Enoch came during the time of oral tradition of Enoch’s sayings, rather they came during the Hellenistic period when some Jews, honestly many Jews, were influenced by Greek culture. What we call the Book of Enoch reveals many examples of influence from Babylonian mythology (especially the part about Enoch as a visionary) and Greek mythology, including the belief in Greek gods. That is one of the reasons it was rejected and not included in the cannon of Scripture.

Since I Enoch was a compilation of the work of several authors, and since it shows the influence of many pagan myths, it seems doubtful that Enoch actually said all those things. Since he predated Babylonian and Greek eras by several centuries, and since the book we call I Enoch does not agree with the rest of the Bible, we can be sure that the parts that resemble pagan mythology were inserted by others and were not the words of Enoch himself.

I envision it happening like this. Starting in the third century BC, someone wanted to promote his view of things (which was a mixture of Jewish Scriptures and pagan mythology) and yet he knew that whatever he wrote would be rejected by most other Jew unless he somehow infused it with greater authority. The traditions of the words of Enoch offered him a great opportunity to do just that. No one would argue against the piety of Enoch and his sayings were only oral tradition at that time. So this individual used his active imagination to write whatever he wanted to write as if it were the words of Enoch.

Later, others added to what this person had written and inserted other things which were also a mixture of Jewish thought, Babylonian thought and Greek thought. There ended up being several writings, some of which were joined together, some remained separate. That is why there are now three books of Enoch, and even the one we call 1 Enoch has several parts that are independent of each other.

Some of these writers may have included some of the oral tradition by Enoch’s sayings and added to it. But we cannot know for sure which parts are authentically from Enoch, therefore I consider most of it questionable and unreliable.

DISAGREEMENT

Its several parts were not originally intended to be unified, which lends itself to many disagreements. However, today it is considered as a unity. When credence is given to the Book of Enoch, it is given to all of it, even though the parts disagree.

I have not gone looking for examples of disagreement, but there was one that reached out and grabbed me.

In the part of the Book of Enoch called the Book of Jubilee, 7:11, we read: “And the spirits of the giants . . . which do wrong and are corrupt, and attack and fight and break on the earth, and cause sorrow; and they eat no food and do not thirst, and are not observed.”

But in the Book of Parables, 7:2-5 says: and they were devouring] the labour of all the sons of men and [men] were unable [to supply them. ^But the giants] conspired to slay men, and [to devour them. And they began to sin and to …] against all birds and beasts of the earth, [and reptiles which creep upon the earth and (creatures) in the waters], and in the heaven, and the fish of the sea, and to devour the flesh [of one another, and they were drinking blood. ^

So which one is right? One says the Nephilim consumed the flesh of people, all kinds of animals, and each other, another says they ate no food and drank no water.

PROBLEMS OF LOGIC

If the Nephilim were over 4000 feet tall, how could giants that size have sex with human women? And how could those women give birth to giant babies? To say that the babies could have been normal size for humans seems illogical, especially when we are talking about giants that are over 700 times the size of the women.

If Nephilim are alive today and causing trouble, what happened to their great size? Some say that the Nephilim are still alive today, while others say it is their demons that are around today and still causing havoc.

It sounds like the story about the giants arriving at Mt Hermon was made up at a later date without realizing that the mountain we call Mount Hermon did not exist before the flood because the flood changed everything. The Book of Enoch also mentions Mt Sinai, which did not exist in its present form before the flood.

If the Creator God wanted to destroy the Nephilim, why did He have to destroy the entire world, including plants, landscape and animals, in the process? It seems like He could have gotten rid of them in a number of ways that were not as drastic. The same question can be raised about the way God eliminated all mankind except Noah and his family. He could have done so without destroying plants and animals. However, I think that God wanted to remove all the evidence of ancient man’s advanced technology so that those who came later would not want to be like them. Some would say the same thing applies to the Nephilim because they believe it was the Nephilim that did all that amazing construction work. But here’s the difference. If ancient man was advanced, we can choose to go down the same path and become like them, arrogant godless and ruthless. But if the Nephilim built all that amazing stuff, we cannot choose to become like them for we do not have the kind of powers they had, therefore, God’s destruction of the Nephilim alone without touching the rest of creation would have been enough.

If the Nephilim are the cause of sin in our world, what was the cause of sin before the Nephilim, such as the sins of Cain (Gen 4:1-16) and of Lamech (Gen 4:19-24)? Some answer by speculating that Lucifer seduced Eve and had sex with her, and from that union came Cain. That is blatantly against the text of Genesis 4:1. This is not clearly stated in the Book of Enoch, but the idea has been around for a very long time. Thus it seems to me that people are including that in the conversation in order to fill the gap left by the Book of Enoch.

WAS THE BOOK OF ENOCH ACCEPTED BY EARLY CHRISTIANS?

I Enoch was at first accepted in the Christian Church but later excluded from the biblical canon. Its survival is due to the fascination of marginal and heretical Christian groups, such as the Manichaeans, with its syncretic blending of Iranian, Greek, Chaldean, and Egyptian elements.

So, yes, it was accepted by many in the Christian community at first, but not by all.

WHY WAS THE BOOK OF ENOCH NOT INCLUDED IN THE CANON?

Upon careful consideration by the church leaders, it became clear that the Book of Enoch did not match the rest of Scripture and contained far too much mythology borrowed from the Greeks and the Babylonians. Its written form is also very unreliable with many parts that were obviously added. In reality, the Book of Enoch contradicts almost all of the major themes of the Bible. Those who made determinations about the canon of Scripture could not possibly have accepted it in the canon without muddying the waters beyond recognition.