The Book of Enoch

Rating:
Summary: Should this be part of the canon?
Review: 1.If this book is as old as Brown says, or is even just older than Jesus...
2.And the text is translated fairly accurately...
then I believe that this text is the real deal. There are many reasons to believe this. First of all, it is referred to in the book of Jude 14,15. This leads me to believe that the text was probably important all the way to around 65-70 A.D.
According to Brown, the only complete original text is written in Ethiopian script, and dates to being older than Job (the oldest text of the bible).
Keeping all this in mind, when you actually grasp what's in the text, you may be quite shocked.
ENOCH 48:2 and in that hour the Son of Man was named...
ENOCH 48:4 ...And he shall be the light of the Gentiles...
ENOCH 50:3 ...through His name they shall be saved...

and check out this verse that ties to Rev 12:1-6...
ENOCH 62:4 Then pain shall come on them as on a woman in travail, and she has pain in bringing forth
When her child enters the mouth of the womb,
And she has pain in bringing forth.(62:5) And one portion of them shall look on the other, And they shall be terrified, And they shall be downcast of countenance, And pain shall seize them, when they see that the Son of Man Sitting of the throne of his glory.

Wow! And that aint the half of it! This book looks to me like it is the brige between Genesis and Revelation. I didn't even get into all of the fallen angel business in this review. Buy this book. It's either the real thing, or its not. Take it as you will.

Rating:
Summary: Just the Facts Maam...
Review: I am an Atheist and really appreciate the fact that Ron Brown stuck to the facts. You will find no opinions or "what I think that means" in the context of these pages. Having the concordance is absolutely fantastic for doing research. Written without bias as it appeared in the ancient scripture is a must for the serious researcher. I give this one two thumbs up.

Rating:
Summary: A+
Review: I can go on and on how the book of Enoch should be in the Bible. However, each person should read the book for themselfs and come to their own conclusion. If you want to read the book that Jude quotes out of, this is the book to buy. Well put together, large print, clear notes, etc. Mr Brown has done a great job putting this book together.

Rating:
Summary: Nice Religious Supplement
Review: I enjoyed this book as a supplement to the Bible and other mainstream religious texts. However, as with so many books, the validity of its sources are suspect. With this being its only flaw, "The Book of Enoch" would be a nice addition to one's library.

Rating:
Summary: This a an outstanding book
Review: The Book of Enoch will open your eyes to some questions you've been asking. I really don't understand how this great book wasn't Canonized with the other 66 books of the King James Bible. There are a lot of Uncanonized Holy Books out there, and The Book of Enoch is amongst my favorite. I love the Holy Bible but I know God's words go far beyond the 66 books choosen by man. Increase your Wisdom and Knowledge, buy this book and hopefully God will lead you to the other Uncanonized books.

Rating:
Summary: The Books of Enoch are Great but not this translation
Review: The great thing about this book its his numerous references to the Protestant Bible. It would be great if there were some on the apocryphal and pseudepigraphical works but its enought for a Baptiste to juste mentionne the name of Enoch. Indeed, even the translation is an old one of Charles who try to cut the fact that Enoch is the Son of Man. Every scholars admit it know (because they dont have the choice!). Dont buy it if you want a good translation, but if you want good quotation buy it, but you will notice that the author have wrongs presuppositions!

Rating:
Summary: Ancient Writings from an Ancient Man
Review: This is an odd book.

I believe Encoh's account to be authentic, accurate, and ancient. I don't believe, though, that it was divinely-inspired. This is an ancient work full of curiosities, historical references, and cross references with accepted scripture.

Accounts of angels having relationships with earthly women, of Noah being a remarkable great-grand baby, of the portals for the four winds, and other supernatural phenomena are all described in detail by one of two humans ever to be translated. "Enoch walked with God and was no more." says the book of Genesis.

This ancient text will leave you pondering events the scriptures allude to. Well worth the reading along with "Josephus", "Acts of Pilate", and other ancient manuscripts.

Rating:
Summary: A Fresh Look at Enoch through the Ethiopic texts
Review: Whatever theological disagreements one might have with the compiler and editor of this volume, and Dr. Yefru's critical analysis therein, there is no denying that Rev. Ronald K. Brown has presented the reading public with something wonderful and very readable. It is a breath of fresh air. This volume is a noble addition to the right library, to any person who is interested in the history of the Book of Enoch. "Believers" and church study groups will find it useful and informative, as will critics, skeptics, scholars and humanists. Certainly there is nothing to fear here, unless one is afraid of a good story.

Written, refined and compiled over a period spanning at least 800 years (approx. 250 BCE-650 CE, from Qumran through the Hellenistic and Roman periods), the Book of Enoch, or Henok, is one of the finest non-canonical writings produced in the apocalyptic tradition, and is referenced numerous times in canonical books. It certainly influenced the OT and NT. Ironically, Enoch was once (and in some places, still is) part of the canon. The reader will at once see that Rev. Brown has compiled and edited a version of the Book of Enoch from purely Ethiopic sources, though he does not cite which manuscripts he referenced and studied for this compilation of a truly "African" edition of Enoch. Whatever the reasons Rev. Brown speaks only broadly of his studies of Ethipoic texts (and the questionable, dated, 1906 translation by R.H. Charles), this book is compiled from the only known complete works of Enoch dating from antiquity.

The most complete texts of Enoch have been preserved through the Ethiopic Christian Church in a language known as Ge'ez. Ethiopic (Ge'ez) is an African writing system designed as a meaningful and graphic representation of a wide array of knowledge, including, languages. It is a knowledge system that is organized to represent philosophical features like ideography, numerology, syllography, astronomy, and grammatology. Furthermore, Ethiopic is not only a cultural agency: It is a foundation to a great literary tradition in Ethiopia. This rich literary tradition, too often overlooked in the past by many Western scholars, is evident in this book, though it is still arguable whether Ethiopic was the original language of Enoch. In fact, no one is certain what the original language of Enoch was; some feel it was both Aramaic and Hebrew. Others think it was Ethiopic because it is akin to the ancient Egyptian (Mirzraim) Hamitic language family. In this case it hardly matters because Rev. Brown has chosen some of the finest renditions of the Ethiopic for readers, and this IS a Book of Enoch based on that literary tradition. In fact, the finest translations of the Book of Enoch I have read have all been structured on the Ethiopic sources (e.g., Kebran 9/II, Princeton Ethiopic 3, Abbadianus 55, EMML 2080, 4437, 4750, the Chester Beatty papyrus, et al). Admittedly, Rev. Brown's compilation has a somewhat compressed Astronomical book (the Book of Heavenly Luminaries, probably the oldest preserved Enochian book), and though taken from Ethiopic texts, the Book of the Similitudes appear here though they were decidedly a later, Christian addition from the common era. 1 Enoch is, after all, a composite that represents numerous periods and writers. One may wonder how the Book of Enoch was shaped, polished and edited over time, how later Christian insertions became a part of the story. There is no Book of Similitudes (Book of Parables) in the Qumran corpus, but rather fragments of the Book of Giants, or men of renown and power.

I do beg to differ with Rev. Brown's assertion that the Book of Enoch is an "inspired" work that only further bolsters claims of biblical prophecy, as well as Dr. Yefru's contention that the Book of Enoch dates from 4000 BCE. The foundations of Enoch may very well have existed in several places around the Mediterranean and Northeast Africa before 300 BCE; in fact, it is quite likely. The genesis material that became the Book of Enoch almost certainly predated the written word, circulating as oral tradition, traveling from East to West. At some point, the elements of Enoch coalesced, but no one knows when. The current body of evidence cannot support the contention for a 4000 BCE inception.

To his credit, Rev. Brown has included, for those married to the KJV of the Bible, an exhaustive concordance. His remarks in the preface aside, Rev. Brown has compiled/edited a very neutral, unbiased Book of Enoch accessible to any reader, and it is, in my opinion, a fine contribution to the investigation and reconstruction of ancient African historiography. This little gem of a book should not be ignored.