When we turn the page from the end of the Old Testament to the beginning of the New Testament, we often fail to realize that a single page turn hides about a 400-year period. A lot happened during those centuries, including the writing and compiling of literature that reflected on the events and promises found in the Old Testament.
A whole body of literature, often referred to as Second Temple Jewish literature, arose that helped form the larger theological culture of the Jewish people into which Jesus was born. These writings provide an important background for understanding what different Jewish groups believed during the New Testament period.
One of the more significant Jewish writings from this period is what we refer to today as 1 Enoch. It’s actually a compilation of five independent works written between the fourth century BC and the first century AD. The central character is Enoch, who never died; instead, “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” (Gen. 5:24).
Because of his mysterious departure from earth, Enoch became a legendary figure in ancient Jewish tradition. Over time, a rich body of literature grew up around him. The book of 1 Enoch centers on the heavenly visions Enoch experienced when he was taken into heaven. Angelic beings (referred to as “Watchers”) reveal future events within God’s plan for human history and, in particular, his people.
What makes 1 Enoch especially interesting is that the epistle of Jude quotes from it. In a section describing false teachers, Jude writes:
It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.’” (Jude 1:14–15; italicized words are from 1 Enoch)
At first glance, it can be unsettling that Jude quotes from a Jewish text that isn’t in the Old Testament. But a closer look at 1 Enoch and how the biblical authors use nonbiblical writings builds our confidence in Scripture and provides a glimpse into the world of the biblical authors.
What Is 1 Enoch?
The section of 1 Enoch that Jude quotes from is known as the Book of Watchers (1 Enoch 1–36), which focuses on the fall of rebellious angels, their role in promoting evil among humanity, and God’s plan to judge both these rebellious angels and wicked humanity.
The passage Jude draws from opens with the author recounting a vision of God descending from heaven to execute judgment on all the earth (1 Enoch 1:1–9). His coming brings cosmic destruction and the declaration of judgment. Those deemed righteous or elect will enjoy peace, mercy, and blessing (vv. 2–8), while the wicked (angelic and human alike) face destruction as the consequence of their rebellion against God (v. 9). Jude appears to draw on this final verse.
Believe it or not, Jude citing 1 Enoch is not the only example of a biblical author using nonbiblical writings. For example, Jude’s earlier reference to angels abandoning their proper dwelling and being judged (1:6) likely reflects an interpretation of Genesis 6:1–4 found in Jewish writings, including 1 Enoch 6–21. Jude 1:9 also refers to the angel Michael and Satan arguing over possession of Moses’s body, an event not described in Scripture but likely drawn from a document known as the Testament of Moses. So what are we to make of biblical authors using these nonbiblical Jewish texts?
Is 1 Enoch Scripture?
Put simply, 1 Enoch isn’t Scripture, and there are good reasons to think that Jude didn’t believe it was.
First, a biblical author quoting something doesn’t mean he considers it divinely inspired. The apostle Paul does the same thing with pagan Greek poets. In his letter to Titus, he quotes a Cretan poet who said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons” (Titus 1:12). In his famous speech in Athens, he quotes the poet Aratus: “For we are indeed his offspring” (Acts 17:28).
Jude citing 1 Enoch is not the only example of a biblical author using nonbiblical writings.
Paul clearly isn’t saying these poets wrote Scripture. He’s saying that in those particular moments, the poets said something true, and he’s using their own words to make a point. Jude does the same thing. He finds language in 1 Enoch that helpfully describes the coming judgment on the false teachers he’s warning against, so he uses it.
Second, by the time the New Testament was being written, the Old Testament’s basic shape was already well established. No evidence from Jewish sources (such as the rabbis, the Dead Sea Scrolls community, or the historian Josephus) indicates that 1 Enoch was ever considered authoritative Scripture.
When Jesus refers to “the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah” in Matthew 23:35, he’s pointing to the first and last murders recorded across the entire Hebrew Old Testament—a way of referencing the full, recognized canon of Scripture, which did not include 1 Enoch.
Third, even Jude’s phrasing “Enoch . . . prophesied” doesn’t automatically imply canonical authority. The same verb in Greek appears in John 11:51 to describe the unbelieving high priest Caiaphas unwittingly prophesying that Jesus would die for the nation. Thus, “prophesying” doesn’t automatically make the source inspired Scripture. In both cases, prophesying entails a true utterance. The scribes who produced the Dead Sea Scrolls regularly read and drew from the Enoch literature and other writings like it without treating those works as Scripture on the level of the Old Testament.
Why Does Any of This Matter?
Biblical authors were real people writing in real historical contexts, surrounded by a rich world of Jewish thought, tradition, and literature. Jude’s use of 1 Enoch to make a true point doesn’t threaten the Bible’s authority any more than Paul quoting a Greek poet threatens it. All truth is God’s truth.
There are several good reasons to think Jude did not believe that 1 Enoch is Scripture.
The canon of Scripture contains the books that God inspired. Over time, the church recognized these books as authoritative and breathed out by the Holy Spirit. And 1 Enoch didn’t make that list—not because it has nothing interesting to say but because it was never recognized as carrying the same divine authority as Genesis, Isaiah, or the Psalms. What Jude does with it is no different from what a good preacher today might do when quoting C. S. Lewis or a hymn to illustrate a biblical truth. The quote serves the argument; it doesn’t authorize the source.
So rather than being unsettled, we can appreciate the richness of the world in which the New Testament was born—and trust that the biblical authors knew exactly what they were doing.
