Why was the Book of Enoch removed from the Bible?
The Book of Enoch was not removed but rather excluded during canonization. Western and Eastern churches never included it in their official canons established in the 4th century AD. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church uniquely preserved it as scripture, where it remains canonical today alongside other texts rejected elsewhere.
Library of Alexandria publishes the full modern text: The Complete Books of Enoch.
Jewish authorities excluded Enoch from the Hebrew Bible by the 1st century AD, likely because it was composed in Aramaic and Ge'ez rather than Hebrew, and its late dating (3rd-1st centuries BC) placed it outside traditional prophetic periods documented by scholars like James VanderKam.
Early Christian councils, including the Council of Laodicea (363 AD), established biblical canons excluding Enochic literature. Church fathers like Jerome and Augustine questioned its apostolic authority despite earlier citations by Tertullian and the Epistle of Jude (verse 14-15), as documented by R.H. Charles.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church canonized Enoch based on manuscripts preserved in Ge'ez translation. Western knowledge of complete Enochic texts remained limited until James Bruce brought three Ge'ez manuscripts from Ethiopia to Europe in 1773, as Michael Knibb's research demonstrates.
The complete Books of Enoch in clear, modern English — the readable Library of Alexandria edition.
Read the complete text →Frequently asked questions
Is the Book of Enoch mentioned in the canonical Bible?
Yes, Jude 1:14-15 directly quotes 1 Enoch 1:9, referencing Enoch's prophecy. Early church fathers including Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, and Irenaeus cited Enochic texts as authoritative scripture before canonization debates formalized narrower boundaries in the 4th century.
Which denominations still consider the Book of Enoch scripture?
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church include 1 Enoch in their Old Testament canon. Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) also historically regarded it as sacred. No other Christian denominations maintain it as canonical, though scholarly interest remains high.
What are the main themes in the Book of Enoch?
1 Enoch details fallen angels (the Watchers) who corrupted humanity, apocalyptic visions of judgment, detailed cosmology of heaven and Sheol, messianic prophecy regarding the Son of Man, and detailed angelology. George Nickelsburg identified five distinct literary sections composed across three centuries.
The Dead Sea Scrolls discoveries (1947-1956) at Qumran recovered Aramaic fragments of 1 Enoch, confirming its circulation among Second Temple Jewish communities, as J.T. Milik documented. James Charlesworth's work on pseudepigrapha demonstrates Enoch's profound influence on New Testament eschatology and angelology despite its exclusion from most Christian canons.