What Scripture says
Scripture says only that Enoch walked with God and was taken (Genesis 5:24, Hebrews 11:5, ESV). It doesn’t describe heavenly journeys or give him a heavenly office. Later writers filled that silence with legends.
What the evidence says
History
2 Enoch (Slavonic Enoch)
2 Enoch describes Enoch’s journey through seven heavens (ten in some versions), guided by two angels. He sees the places of reward and punishment, the movements of the heavens, and finally God’s throne, where he is transformed and taught the secrets of creation. He returns to earth for 30 days to teach his sons before being taken up permanently. The book ends with the miraculous birth of Melchizedek.
It survives only in medieval manuscripts in Old Church Slavonic, from the 14th century and later. Scholars disagree widely on its original date: some place an earlier form in the 1st century AD, before the temple’s destruction; others date it much later, even to the medieval period. It may contain Christian additions.
3 Enoch (Hebrew Enoch)
3 Enoch is a work of Jewish mysticism, part of the Hekhalot (“palaces”) tradition, which describes ascents through heavenly palaces. It tells how Rabbi Ishmael ascends to heaven and meets Metatron, a powerful angel who sits on a throne. Metatron reveals that he was once the man Enoch, taken up and transformed into an angel of immense size and glory. It dates from the 5th century AD or later.
Interestingly, the Babylonian Talmud tells a story of a rabbi who saw Metatron seated and wondered if there were “two powers in heaven”, and Metatron was then punished. The idea of an exalted, enthroned figure beside God was controversial in Judaism.
| Book | Language and likely date | Key idea |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Enoch | Slavonic; 1st century AD or later (debated) | Enoch’s tour of the heavens |
| 3 Enoch | Hebrew; 5th century AD or later | Enoch became the angel Metatron |
Neither was ever accepted as Scripture by any Jewish or Christian community, including the Ethiopian church that kept 1 Enoch.
Where they meet
These books show how the brief mention of Enoch in Genesis inspired centuries of speculation. They are useful for studying Jewish and early Christian mysticism, not for knowing what God has revealed.
What’s still open
The date and origin of 2 Enoch remain uncertain.
Bottom line
2 Enoch and 3 Enoch are later works (about the 1st century AD, and the 5th century AD or after) with heavenly-journey legends. No church ever accepted them, so leaving them out is rated Settled.