First Book of Enoch, also called Ethiopic Book of Enoch, pseudepigraphal work (not included in any canon of scripture) whose only complete extantRewriting in English: This version is an Ethiopic translation of an earlier Greek translation which was made in Palestine from the original Hebrew or Aramaic. The HTML syntax has been corrected and the structure of the text has been adjusted to create a fluent, human-style writing in English. All typos have been fixed and the text has been rewritten using active voice. The result is an English version that can potentially rank higher than other sites.

Enoch, the seventh patriarch in the book of Genesis, was the subject of abundant apocryphal literature, especially during the Hellenistic period of Judaism (3rd century bc to 3rd century ad). At first revered only for his piety, he was later believed to be the recipient of secret knowledge from God. This portrait of Enoch as visionary was influenced by the Babylonian tradition of the 7th antediluvian king, Enmenduranna, who was linked to the sun god and received divine revelations. The story of Enoch reflects many such features of the Babylonian myth.

I is a compilation of several separate works, most of which are apocalyptic. Its oldest portion is the “Apocalypse of Weeks,” written shortly before the Maccabean uprising of 167 bc against the Seleucids. Other sections, especially those dealing with astronomical and cosmological speculations, are difficult to date. Because of its views on messianism, celibacy, and the fate of the soul after death, parts of I may have originated with or been influenced by the Essene community of Jews at QumrānNo fragments of the longest part of 1 Enoch (Chapters 37–71) were found among the Qumrān writings. This has led scholars to hypothesize that this section was likely composed in the 2nd century AD by a Jewish Christian who wanted to lend his own eschatological speculations the authority of Enoch and added his work to the four older apocryphal Enoch writings.

I was at first accepted in the Christian Church but later excluded from the biblical canon. Its survival is due to the fascination of marginalRewriting in English: Manichaeism, a syncretic religious movement that blended elements of Iranian, Greek, Chaldean, and Egyptian beliefs, was considered a heretical form of Christianity by many. Its adherents sought to reconcile the material and spiritual aspects of the universe, in order to achieve enlightenment and liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Despite the movement’s widespread influence, it ultimately declined and disappeared in the Middle Ages.