The Following Commentary Does Not Express the Views of The Plain Truth but is published to help keep our readers informed about various topics in the news or concerning Biblical history and viewpoints.
Was the Book of Enoch originally in the Bible?
The Following Commentary Does Not Express the Views of The Plain Truth but is published to help keep our readers informed about various topics in the news or concerning Biblical history and viewpoints.
“Was the Book of Enoch originally in the Bible?”
I have no idea what this man tried to prove other than he had nothing to say about Enoch except you should believe what he said–which was nothing–proof or no proof. There is more Strong Meat in Enoch, not pablum, than most other Books in the Bible and it deals with subjects that most preachers are afraid to address.
The Book of Enoch is not in the Bible and is NOT inspired scripture. I believe the presenter (not affiliated with The Plain Truth) tried to make clear that some books mentioned in the Bible ARE NOT SCRIPTURE. Despite what many Christians believe, there is not one single version of the Bible. Yes there should be, but there isn’t. We offer the best version and translation of the Bible in the correct order (yes The KJV’s books ARE NOT in the correct order or the correct names! There is no such thing as 2 Samuel- There is only Samuel) Biblical canon has changed repeatedly over the centuries with books being added or removed from the official scriptures and that process still continues today. The Bibles read by Catholics, Orthodox Christians and members of different denominations of Protestantism may contain very different books. There are more academically inclined Bibles that contain references and extra resources and “more complete” Bibles that contain books that were previously removed from the canon. Which “extra” books are included in these Bibles varies wildly.
The development of the “official” biblical canon was a lengthy process that began shortly before the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. Emperor Constantine commissioned 50 copies of the Bible for the Church at Constantinople, but this was not considered to be an official canon for Christianity. It was not until 367 A.D., that the first version of the Christian canon was officially developed. It was Athanasius, the Bishop of Alexandria, who listed the books of the New Testament and instructed them to be kanonizomena or canonized. The canon of the New Testament, however, was not ratified until the 5th century.
Biblical canon was again questioned following the Protestant Reformation. The Church of England and English Calvinism both adopted slightly altered canons in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and the Synod of Jerusalem make minor tweaks to the list of Old Testament books accepted by Orthodox Christians
In 1684 it was decided to remove the following 14 books from some versions of the Protestant KJV Bible:
1 Ezra
2 Ezra
Tobit
Judith
The rest of Esther
The Wisdom of Solomon
Ecclesiasticus (also known as Sirach)
Baruch with the Epistle Jeremiah
The Songs of the 3 Holy Children
The History of Susana
Bel and the Dragon
The Prayer for Manasseh
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
While the Catholic faith continued to keep the books in a separate section of their Bible, looking across different versions of the Bible today you will find some contain all of these books, while some contain a select few. The Catholics even changed the actual wording of the Bible! For example, the Catholic Ten Commandments are not the same as the Protestant (search that!) (http://www.teachingtheword.org/apps/articles/web/articleid/64839/columnid/5444/default.asp) The took out the “graven image” commandment because they like graven images….
Other books mentioned in the Bible are:
The Book of Jasher is mentioned in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18 and also referenced in 2 Timothy 3:8.[1] From the context in the Book of Samuel, it is implied that it was a collection of poetry. Several books have claimed to be this lost text, some of which are discounted as pseudepigrapha. Certain members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints secured the copyright to a particular English translation of one of these and republished it in 1887 in Salt Lake City.[2]
The Book of the Wars of the Lord[3] is mentioned in Numbers 21:14. It is speculatively associated with one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness.[citation needed] The Book of the Wars of the Lord is also cited in the Book of Jasher (trans. Moses Samuel c. 1840, ed. J. H. Parry 1887) Chapter 90:48 as being a collaborative record written by Moses, Joshua and the children of Israel.
The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel and Chronicles of the Kings of Judah are mentioned in the Books of Kings (1 Kings 14:19,29). They are said to tell of events during the reigns of Kings Jeroboam of Israel and Rehoboam of Judah, respectively. The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel is again mentioned in 1 Kings 16:20 regarding King Zimri, and many other times throughout 1 and 2 Kings.
The Book of Shemaiah the Prophet and Story of the Prophet Iddo (also called Visions of Iddo the Seer or The Annals of the Prophet Iddo) are mentioned in the 2nd Book of Chronicles. (2 Chronicles 9:29, 2 Chronicles 12:15, 2 Chronicles 13:22). This book has been completely lost to history, save for its title.
The Manner of the Kingdom.[4]
Referenced at 1 Samuel 10:25.
The Acts of Solomon.[5]
Referenced at 1 Kings 11:41.
The Annals of King David.[6]
Referenced at 1 Chronicles 27:24.
The Book of Samuel the Seer. Also called Samuel the Seer or The Acts of Samuel the Seer, which could be the same as 1 & 2 Samuel.[7]
Referenced at 1 Chronicles 29:29.
The Book of Nathan the Prophet. Also called Nathan the Prophet or The Acts of Nathan the Prophet or History of Nathan the Prophet.[7]
Referenced at 1 Chronicles 29:29, and also 2 Chronicles 9:29.
The Book of Gad the Seer.[8]
Referenced at 1 Chronicles 29:29.
The Prophecy of Ahijah,[9] might be a reference to 1 Kings 14:2–18.
Referenced at 2 Chronicles 9:29.
The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.[10]
Referenced in 2 Chronicles 16:11, 2 Chronicles 27:7 and 2 Chronicles 32:32. Might be the same as 1 & 2 Kings.
The Book of Jehu,[11] could be a reference to 1 Kings 16:1–7.
Referenced at 2 Chronicles 20:34.
The Story of the Book of Kings.[12]
Referenced at 2 Chronicles 24:27.
The Acts of Uziah. Also called The Book by the prophet Isaiah. Perhaps the same as the Book of Isaiah.[7]
Referenced at 2 Chronicles 26:22.
The Vision of Isaiah.[13]
Referenced at 2 Chronicles 32:32.
The Acts of the Kings of Israel. Also called The Acts and Prayers of Manasseh.[14] May be identical to The Book of the Kings of Israel, above.
Referenced at 2 Chronicles 33:18.
The Sayings of the Seers.[15]
Referenced at 2 Chronicles 33:19.
The Laments for Josiah. Also called Lamentations. This event is recorded in the existing Book of Lamentations.
Referenced at 2 Chronicles 35:25.
The Chronicles of King Ahasuerus.[16]
Referenced at Esther 2:23, Esther 6:1, Esther 10:2, and Nehemiah 12:23.
The Plain Truth believes that readers should check out everything for themselves before they make informed decisions. If Bible scripture mentions the Book of Jasher, we should assume that God considered some things in the book to be true – even if not hIS WORD!.. For example, we cite many sources other than the Bible to prove biblical facts….
Thanks
Bob Barney