1 Enoch

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Chapter 107

1 And I saw written on them that generation upon generation shall transgress, until a generation of righteousness arises, and transgression is destroyed and sin passes away from the earth, and all manner of good comes upon it. 2 And now, my son, go and make known to your son Lamech that this son, which has been born, is truly his son, and that this is no lie.⁠ 3 And when Methuselah had heard the words of his father Enoch—for he had shown him everything in secret—he returned and showed them to him and named that son Noah; for he will comfort the earth after all the destruction.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 107:2 and Matthew 1:21

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

Summary

Matthew shows Joseph receiving a message that the child he will name Jesus belongs to his family and will save people from sin. This may allude to 1 Enoch 107 where Lamech is told his son Noah is truly his and will bring relief to the world.

Passages

1 Enoch 107:2

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

1 And I saw written on them that generation upon generation shall transgress, until a generation of righteousness arises, and transgression is destroyed and sin passes away from the earth, and all manner of good comes upon it. 2 And now, my son, go and make known to your son Lamech that this son, which has been born, is truly his son, and that this is no lie. 3 And when Methuselah had heard the words of his father Enoch—for he had shown him everything in secret—he returned and showed them to him and named that son Noah; for he will comfort the earth after all the destruction.

300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Matthew 1:21

New Testament

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph, her husband to be, was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her privately. 20 When he had contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: 23 “Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will name him Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.” 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep he did what the angel of the Lord told him. He took his wife, 25 but did not have marital relations with her until she gave birth to a son, whom he named Jesus.

70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

References

"... However, unlike in Matthew’s Gospel, in 1 Enoch, the ultimate presence of righteousness and an end to postdiluvial evil is still a future event ... The stories of Joseph and Lamech share several similarities and have some important differences. Each man is upset because of the birth or conception of a child he has reasons to think is not his own. Each receives an angelic message to put his mind at ease. The content of the message indicates that the child will play a significant role for the people of the earth, a role reflected in the name each is instructed to give the child. Each child is named according to the angelic messenger’s instructions. In the case of Lamech, the child is truly his, and truly the product of human sexual interaction. In the case of Joseph, however, the child is from the Holy Spirit, and not the product of any sexual interaction. Lamech’s child, Noah, will be righteous and will bring cleansing to the earth. The cleansing, however, will be temporary and more evil will prevail on the earth. Jesus, is superior to Noah in the sense that his name indicates that “he will save people from their sins,” that in him, “God is with us,” and that his presence means that eschatological righteousness is made a present reality ..."

Amy Elizabeth Richter, “The Enochic Watchers’ Template and the Gospel of Matthew” (diss., Marquette University, 2010), 160–162.

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

1 Enoch108 chapters

Compare 1 Enoch 107:2 and Matthew 1:21

Summary

Passages

1 Enoch 107:2

Matthew 1:21

References

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