Some maintain that Jude quotes from the apocryphal book of Enoch. Often, this is put forward as a statement of fact in order to move forward to the much “larger” discussions regarding the meaning of extra-Biblical quotes, their place in Scripture, and the question of their inspiration.
The book of Enoch is part of what’s known as the Apocrypha which is a collection of ancient writings providing commentary on Biblical events – some even credited as being authored by Bible characters. There is also a subset called the “Biblical apocrypha” — apocryphal writings still included in some denomination’s Bibles today, even if under a “special” designation.
These works, including the book of Enoch, are generally considered to be uninspired. So did Jude quote from the book of Enoch in his New Testament letter?
apocrypha
How Scripture answers "Did Jude quote from the book of Enoch?"
Jude did not quote the book of Enoch1, but rather attributes the quote to Enoch, a specific individual we know that lived before Noah2. What Jude does do is amplify Enoch, the man. We know he was righteous all his days2,3, but now we know he was also a prophet of God (or spokesman for God, or speaking God’s literal words). As many other New Testament/inspired writers do, Jude applies and defines a prophet’s prophecy in the context of the New Testament gospel message. A divine and inspired interpretation of a prophetic saying. In other words, no guesswork is required by us!
The fact that this prophesy isn’t recorded elsewhere in Scripture isn’t relevant (or without precedent – John 7:38). But rather, just as a true prophet would speak, these words are completely consistent with other statements about God’s judgment on false teachers.
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“Look, he comes with the myriads of his holy ones,
to execute judgment on all,
and to destroy all the wicked,
and to convict all humanity
for all the wicked deeds that they have done,
and the proud and hard words that wicked sinners
spoke against him.”
-1 Enoch 1:9
I have a hard time believing that Jude 1:14-15 was simply a reference to the person Enoch and not the book.
Thanks for your comment and perspective. As far as scripture goes, Jude’s only claim is that Enoch “prophesied saying” (e.g. spoke/preached). For example, he doesn’t say something like, “As Enoch wrote…” and of course does not reference any book of Enoch. Our objective is to make conclusions as far as is allowed by scripture. Beyond that, we just don’t know.