XolokReads reviewed The book of Enoch the prophet by Lon Milo Duquette
Less strange than one might expect, but it is strange.
4 stars
It's strange to write a review of a religious text. I have no intentions of offending anyone. My ratings merely reflect how much I personally enjoyed the book. They aren't a value judgment or gauge of accuracy. Written between 300 BCE and 200 BCE (estimate), the influence of the Book of Enoch on the Abrahamic religions is pretty evident. The text is only recognized as canon by the Ethiopian church and the Jewish community in Ethiopia. Enoch is known as Idris in the Muslim tradition and he is the second or third prophet within that faith. I haven't found anything regarding Muslim scholars' opinion about the text specifically, but the references to Idris in the Qur'an and commentaries line up with the Book of Enoch. Enoch is presented as an intellectually curious person and also very focused on righting wrongs. The descriptions of judgment in the Book of Enoch recall …
It's strange to write a review of a religious text. I have no intentions of offending anyone. My ratings merely reflect how much I personally enjoyed the book. They aren't a value judgment or gauge of accuracy. Written between 300 BCE and 200 BCE (estimate), the influence of the Book of Enoch on the Abrahamic religions is pretty evident. The text is only recognized as canon by the Ethiopian church and the Jewish community in Ethiopia. Enoch is known as Idris in the Muslim tradition and he is the second or third prophet within that faith. I haven't found anything regarding Muslim scholars' opinion about the text specifically, but the references to Idris in the Qur'an and commentaries line up with the Book of Enoch. Enoch is presented as an intellectually curious person and also very focused on righting wrongs. The descriptions of judgment in the Book of Enoch recall (to me at least) descriptions of judgment found in the Qur'an. It's not all condemnation though. There's also quite a bit of astronomy thrown in for some reason - perhaps to identify Enoch as a learned person. He does ask many questions to the point that the angels escorting Enoch ask him why he is so inquisitive at different points. The Book of Enoch seems separated out in chunks and it is probable that different pieces were written at different times. The story of The Watchers - angels who came to earth and gave rise to half human-half angel giants steals the show for most people, but it is not even that long of a passage. I've basically given you the entire story of it in the sentence above. The Watchers and the tour of fantastical places provides some cool fantasy novel content, but it's maybe not the most helpful from a religious standpoint. I wish this particular edition went on to the other two books of Enoch, but it was a good translation of the 1st. It's a little grandiose and overwrought, but what else could one expect from the story of many abducted by angels and shown the cosmos?