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1 Enoch

About this book

The Birth of Noah

Chapter 106

1 After some days my son Methuselah found a wife for his son Lamech, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. 2 His body was white like snow and red like a blooming rose. The hair on his head and his long curls were white like wool, and his eyes were beautiful. When he opened his eyes, he lit the whole house like the sun, and the house shone brightly.⁠ 3 Then he rose up in the hands of the midwife, opened his mouth, and spoke with the Lord of righteousness. 4 His father Lamech was afraid of him and ran away, coming to his father Methuselah. 5 He said to him: “I have fathered a strange son, different from any human, resembling the sons of the God of heaven. His nature is different, and he is not like us. His eyes are like rays of the sun, and his face is glorious.⁠ 6 It seems to me that he was not born from me but from the angels, and I fear that in his days something extraordinary may happen on the earth. 7 Now, my father, I am asking you to go to Enoch, our father, and learn the truth from him, for he lives among the angels.” 8 When Methuselah heard his son’s words, he came to me at the ends of the earth,⁠ for he had heard I was there. He cried out, and I heard his voice and came to him. And I said to him: “Here I am, my son. Why have you come to me?” 9 He said: “I have come to you because of great anxiety, and because a troubling vision has driven me here. 10 Now, my father, listen to me. To Lamech my son a child has been born, unmatched by any other, and his nature is not like that of humans. The color of his body is whiter than snow and redder than the bloom of a rose. The hair of his head is whiter than wool, and his eyes are like the rays of the sun. When he opened them, he lit the whole house. 11 He rose in the hands of the midwife, opened his mouth, and blessed the Lord of heaven. 12 His father Lamech became afraid and fled to me, convinced that this child was not his, but one in the likeness of the angels of heaven. And now I have come to you so that you may tell me the truth.” 13 I, Enoch, answered and said to him: “The Lord will bring something new upon the earth, and I have already seen it in a vision. I tell you that in the generation of my father Jared, some of the angels of heaven broke the word of the Lord. 14 They sinned and broke the command, joining themselves to women and committing sin with them. They married some of them and had children by them. 15 A great destruction will come upon the whole earth. There will be a flood and a great devastation for one year. 16 This son who has been born to you will remain on the earth, and his three children will be saved with him. When all other people on the earth die, he and his sons will survive. 17 They will bring forth on the earth giants born not from the spirit but from the flesh. A great punishment will come upon the earth, and the earth will be cleansed from all impurity. 18 Now tell your son Lamech that the child who has been born is truly his son, and name him Noah. He will remain with you, and he and his sons will be saved from the destruction that will come upon the earth because of all the sin and all the wrongdoing that will reach its full measure in his days. 19 And after that, even more wrongdoing will arise than what first appeared on the earth.⁠ For I know the mysteries of the holy ones, for the Lord has shown them to me and informed me, and I have read them on the heavenly tablets.”

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 106:2 and Daniel 7:10

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

1 Enoch 106 echoes the imagery of Daniel 7 by describing the newborn Noah with features associated with heavenly beings, such as glowing eyes. In Daniel, similar language is used for the throne of the Ancient of Days, where fire signifies judgment.

Passages

1 Enoch 106:2

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 After some days my son Methuselah found a wife for his son Lamech, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. 2 His body was white like snow and red like a blooming rose. The hair on his head and his long curls were white like wool, and his eyes were beautiful. When he opened his eyes, he lit the whole house like the sun, and the house shone brightly. 3 Then he rose up in the hands of the midwife, opened his mouth, and spoke with the Lord of righteousness. 4 His father Lamech was afraid of him and ran away, coming to his father Methuselah. 5 He said to him: “I have fathered a strange son, different from any human, resembling the sons of the God of heaven. His nature is different, and he is not like us. His eyes are like rays of the sun, and his face is glorious. 6 It seems to me that he was not born from me but from the angels, and I fear that in his days something extraordinary may happen on the earth. 7 Now, my father, I am asking you to go to Enoch, our father, and learn the truth from him, for he lives among the angels.” 8 When Methuselah heard his son’s words, he came to me at the ends of the earth, for he had heard I was there. He cried out, and I heard his voice and came to him. And I said to him: “Here I am, my son. Why have you come to me?”
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Daniel 7:10

Hebrew Bible
8 “As I was contemplating the horns, another horn—a small one—came up between them, and three of the former horns were torn out by the roots to make room for it. This horn had eyes resembling human eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant things. 9 “While I was watching, thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His attire was white like snow; the hair of his head was like lamb’s wool. His throne was ablaze with fire, and its wheels were all aflame. 10 A river of fire was streaming forth and proceeding from his presence. Many thousands were ministering to him; many tens of thousands stood ready to serve him. The court convened, and the books were opened.
200–101 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Daniel

References

"... miraculous Noachic birth stories are attested in other Second Temple literature, such as Genesis Apocryphon, 1 Enoch 106, and 1Q19, and can therefore be used to set a precedent for the presentation of a Noachic figure in 4Q534–536. On the other hand, the details of the birth narrative in 4Q534–536 do not match other stories of Noah’s birth. In 4Q534–4Q536, for example, the infant is described as having red hair, a lentil on his face, and small birthmarks on his thigh. He is born in “the fifth hour” of the night, comes out “whole” at a weight of “350 shekels,” and “sleeps until half his days are done.” In contrast, 1 Enoch 106:2–3 states ... In 1 Enoch, Noah is described as angelic because the author is attempting to contrast Noah with the Watchers, and also to foreshadow the salvific mission that Noah has been chosen to undertake. Lamech unsurprisingly suspects Noah of being the offspring of a Watcher because of his angelic appearance. He goes to Methuselah, who in turn travels to the “ends of the earth” to ask Enoch about the truth of Lamech’s son Noah (106:8–18). Enoch, however, explains to Methuselah that Noah is in fact Lamech’s child, and he will “be righteous and blameless. And call his name Noah for he will be your remnant from whom you will find rest” (1 Enoch 106:18). Thus, in its present context, the imagery used to describe Noah’s birth signifies his righteous perfection as well as his salvific mission to be carried out six hundred years later. It was on account of the Fallen Angels that the world will be destroyed, but it will also be saved on account of an angel-like man, Noah ..."
Jeremy Penner, “Is 4Q534–536 Really About Noah?” in Noah and His Book(s), ed. Michael E. Stone, Aryeh Amihay, and Vered Hillel, EJL 28 (Atlanta: SBL, 2010), 97–112.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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1 Enoch 106:2 and Daniel 7:10

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