Apocrypha
2 Enoch (Secrets of Enoch)
Slavonic
68 chapters · read and listen
Reading note
Known as Slavonic Enoch: the ascent through the seven heavens, what Enoch sees in each one and the account of creation he brings back to his sons.
Chapters
Dossier
Enoch's ascent through the heavens one by one, carried by two angels — until he is set before the face of God, anointed and transformed, then sent back to earth for thirty days to tell his sons what he saw.
Where this text comes from
Known as Slavonic Enoch, because it survives only in Old Church Slavonic, in two recensions of different length. Its date is among the most disputed here: proposals range from the 1st century AD — before the destruction of the Temple, since the book speaks of the cult as a living thing — to the Slavonic Middle Ages.
Why it is not in the Bible
Outside every canon. The absence of any Greek or Hebrew manuscript and its exclusively Slavonic transmission kept it at the margins, even among the churches that accept 1 Enoch.
What you will find
- The description of the seven heavens, one at a time, with what each contains — the most orderly in ancient Jewish literature.
- In the second heaven Enoch sees the imprisoned angels, and they ask him to intercede for them: he refuses, saying it is not his place.
- Melchizedek is born already grown from his dead mother's body, with the mark of priesthood on his chest — the strangest origin given to any biblical figure.
- God explains creation to Enoch in the first person, describing what he did before anything existed.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between 1 Enoch and 2 Enoch?
- They are different books. 1 Enoch is the Ethiopic one, about the fallen angels and judgement. 2 Enoch is the Slavonic one, about the journey through the seven heavens and the instructions Enoch leaves his sons. There is no direct textual relationship between them.
- Is 2 Enoch accepted by any church?
- No. Unlike 1 Enoch, which is canonical in Ethiopia, 2 Enoch is outside every canon.