Introduction to the Similitudes of Enoch



The Similitudes of Enoch is the second part of a larger composite work known as 1 Enoch. Since it is a composite of five books, it is sometimes referred to as the Enochic Pentateuch. These five books are (1) The Book of Watchers, chapters 1-36; (2) The Similitudes, or Parables, of Enoch, chapters 37-71; (3) the Astronomical Book, or Book of Astronomical Writings, chapters 72-82; (4) the Book of Dreams/Visions, or Dream Visions, chapters 83-90; and (5) the Epistle of Enoch, chapters 91-105. Most scholars believe that this second work of the Similitudes of Enoch are a later addition to the previous Enochic writings and that an appropriate conclusion was added to weave the work into the entire corpus.

The Similitudes of Enoch are comprised of 72 chapters and these chapters can be divided as follows:

The dominant theme throughout the work is that of eschatological judgment. The central parable has caught the attention of many scholars because of the "Son of Man" material found there. Yet, it is in parable three where the message reaches a peak in terms of eschatological judgment. It is here that the author reveals that the angels who guard the flood waters are about to release them upon the earth. Those who are "sinners" and who have denied "the name of the Lord of the Spirits" will meet their doom. Each parable is progressively longer, yet each maintain the refrain that a cataclysmic judgment is coming upon the entire world and that the purpose of the judgment is to cause righteousness to finally triumph over the injustices of the wicked and their wickedness.1


Notes

1Larry R. Helyer, Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002): 384.
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