Book of the Pseudepigrapha; also known as the Ethiopic Book of Enoch after being preserved in the Ethiopic language following the loss of the Hebrew or Aramaic original and a later Greek translation. The book is a composite work representing diverse traditions from various times. It contains five sections: 1) A vision of the Day of Judgment and an account of the Nephilim (Gen. 6:4) and Enoch's journey through the universe and what he learned of the mysteries of Creation (ch. 1-36). 2) Revelation of the Messiah and further mysteries of the universe (37-71). 3) An exposition of the course of the heavenly bodies, the seasons, and the solar Calendar (72-82). 4) A history of Israel from the Flood to the time of Judah Maccabee (83-90). 5) A further exposition of history, divided into seven ages that have passed and three that are to come.
The hero is the biblical son of Jared and father of Methuselah, who "walked with God and then was no more, for God took him" (Gen. 5:24), interpreted to mean that he visited the heavens in his lifetime, making him a legendary hero in apocalyptic literature.
The book is replete with historical allusions and esoteric and eschatological elements and was instrumental in the development of Christian gnosticism. With Ii Enoch it constitutes the longest and probably the most important book of the Pseudepigrapha. See also Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha and Enoch.
