Did Jesus quote, or reference, the Pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch?

[Slaol121]

I came across an article which claims that Jesus quoted, or at least referenced, the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch in the New Testament.

I realize that the BOE was not included in the Biblical canon in all but the Ethiopic Orthodox Churches, but its influence on the NT writers cannot be denied - namely the references from Jude and 2 Peter. I had never heard the claim that Jesus referenced this book, though. If He did, then should we hold this 2nd century BC book in higher regards than we currently do?

What do you think?

I can't post a link as of yet, but here is the article website:
johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/meridian/2001/enoch_cal.html

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (Mat 5:5)
The elect shall possess light, joy and peace, and they shall inherit the earth. (Enoch 5:7 {6:9})

the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the son (John 5:22)
the principal part of the judgment was assigned to him, the Son of man. (Enoch 69:27 {68:39})

shall inherit everlasting life (Mat. 19:29)
those who will inherit eternal life (Enoch 40:9 {40:9})

"Wo unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. (Luke 6:24)
Woe to you who are rich, for in your riches have you trusted; but from your riches you shall be removed. (Enoch 94:8 {93:7}).

Ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Mat. 19:28)
I will place each of them on a throne of glory (Enoch 108:12 {105:26})

Woe unto that man through whom the Son of man is betrayed! It had been good for that man if he had not been born. (Mat. 26:24)
Where will the habitation of sinners be . . . who have rejected the Lord of spirits. It would have been better for them, had they never been born. (Enoch 38:2 {38:2})

between us and you there is a great gulf fixed. (Luke 16:26)
by a chasm . . . [are] their souls are separated (Enoch 22: 9,11{22:10,12})

In my Father's house are many mansions (John 14:2)
In that day shall the Elect One sit upon a throne of glory, and shall choose their conditions and countless habitations. (Enoch 45:3 {45:3})

that ye may be called the children of light (John 12:36)
the good from the generation of light (Enoch 108:11 {105: 25})

the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:14)
all the thirsty drank, and were filled with wisdom, having their habitation with the righteous, the elect, and the holy. (Enoch 48:1 {48:1})

 

[TR23]

I suspect it probably was canonical at some point, but I wonder then why it was not a part of the septuagint (The bible the apostles were most likely using).

It's hard to imagine that the greek church would remove enoch from the canon yet retain all the other books that the jews later decided were not canonical after the era of christ.

 

[LastSeven]

I am convinced that we should all be including Enoch in our studies. I haven't finished reading it through yet, but I'm working on it.

 

[ebia]

To assess the claim one needs to do more than just pull some similar sounding texts from each, but to assess whether there are other sources (including oral 'catch phrases' floating around at the time lost to us) that Jesus may be drawing upon.

 

[LastSeven]

Jesus instructs the Sadducees about the scriptures of Enoch.

Matthew 22:23-32

Marriage at the Resurrection

23 That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 24 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him.25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26 The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27 Finally, the woman died. 28 Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”

29 Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 31 But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’[a]? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

Jesus here reminds the Sadducees of two parts of scripture. The part in blue is found in Exodus 3:6, in our old testament. But the part in red is not found in our Bible, but only in the book of Enoch. And notice that he calls it “Scripture”.

Enoch 15:6-7

But you were formerly spiritual, living the eternal life, and immortal for all generations of the world. And therefore I have not appointed wives for you; for as for the spiritual ones of the heaven, in heaven is their dwelling.

 

[TR23]

I also believe Enoch was essential to the christian concept of satan.

The problem of satan in the bible is that if you just look at the OT as it currently exists, then you can come away with the conclusion that satan is just an agent of god, an angel sent to test mankind (as some jews believe).
It is not until you look at the new testament that you really get a more full understanding of satan as a malevolent and anti-god force, not merely a prosecuting attorney.

So where did this idea come from? Probably the book of enoch, where it outlines in detail you can't get anywhere else the rebellion of the fallen angels and their opposition to god.
It also goes into descriptions of christ in his heavenly position which are very similar to what we see in revelations, along with talking about concepts such as the judgement at the end of days.

The early church appears to have considered it authoritative, so I'm wondering now why the church, after being taken over by rome, decided it should no longer be canon, or even preserved as useful aprocrypha.



But considering that the early church fathers only quote from the first part of enoch (divided into five sections or books), we have to consider the possibility that not all of the sections collected under the title of enoch today may have been considered canonical.
For all we know, only the "book of watchers" part of enoch is the one that was considered canonical to early christianity. And that one book would appear to contain all that is needed to form our concept of satan, christ in heaven, and the end of days.
Although I haven't read the rest of enoch yet, if I were to come across things in it which contradict the new testament I would be drawn to the conclusion that maybe only the book of watchers is what the early church considered authoritative.

 

[LastSeven]

Are all five sections of the book available in English translations? I thought I read somewhere that the other parts were lost.