Enoch

Enoch is a biblical patriarch in the Book of Genesis, described as the son of Jared, the father of Methuselah, and an ancestor of Noah.

Enoch is a biblical patriarch in the Book of Genesis, described as the son of Jared, the father of Methuselah, and an ancestor of Noah. He is known for the statement that he “walked with God” and was taken by God without experiencing death, a detail that led to extensive Jewish and Christian interpretation.

Biblical account

In Genesis, Enoch is a descendant of Adam in the line of Seth, appearing as a pre-Flood patriarch and ancestor of Noah. The text identifies him as the son of Jared and the father of Methuselah. It gives few biographical details beyond his parentage, age, and the claim that God took him: Genesis says Enoch lived 365 years and then God “took him away,” which later readers often understood as meaning he did not die in the ordinary sense.

Later religious traditions

Second Temple and later Jewish literature expanded Enoch into a major heavenly and visionary figure. Texts associated with his name portray him as a scribe, seer, and interpreter of divine judgment. Enoch became an important figure in later Jewish and Christian traditions, including apocalyptic literature associated with his name.

Canonical significance

Enoch is briefly mentioned in the New Testament as an example of faith. Hebrews 11:5 treats Enoch as a model of faith, and Jude 14–15 refers to a tradition that he prophesied against the ungodly, linking him to later interpretive traditions.

Cultural and theological legacy

Enoch’s unusual departure from earthly life made him a major subject in Jewish and Christian thought. His name is also attached to pseudepigraphal works commonly referred to as Enochic literature. Some Christian traditions venerate Enoch as a saint.