Enoch

dedicated; disciplined

the son of Cain, Gen. iv, 17, in honour of whom the first city noticed in Scripture was called Enoch, by his father Cain, who was the builder. It was situated on the east of the province of Eden. 2. ENOCH, the son of Jared, and father of Methuselah. He was born A. M. 622, and being contemporary with Adam, he had every opportunity of learning from him the story of the creation, the circumstance of the fall, the terms of the promise, and other important truths. An ancient author affirms, that he was the father of astronomy; and Eusebius hence infers, that he is the same with the Atlas of the Grecian mythology. Enoch’s fame rests upon a better basis than his skill in science. The encomium of Enoch is, that he “walked with God.” While mankind were living in open rebellion against Heaven, and provoking the divine vengeance daily by their ungodly deeds, he obtained the exalted testimony, “that he pleased God.” This he did, not only by the exemplary tenor of his life, and by the attention which he paid to the outward duties of religion, but by the soundness of his faith, and the purity of his heart and life: see Heb. xi, 5, 6. The intent of the Apostle, in the discourse containing this passage, is, to show that there has been but one way of obtaining the divine favour ever since the fall, and that is, by faith, or a firm persuasion and confidence in the atonement to be made for human transgressions by the obedience, sufferings, death, and resurrection of the promised Messiah. The cloud of witnesses which the Apostle has produced of Old Testament worthies, all bore, in their respective generations, their testimony to this great doctrine, in opposition to the atheism or theism, and gross idolatry, which prevailed around them. All the patriarchs are celebrated for their faith in this great truth, and for preserving this principle of religion in the midst of a corrupt generation. Enoch, therefore, is said, by another evangelical writer, to have spoken of the coming of Christ to judgment unto the antediluvian sinners. See Jude 14, 15. This prophecy is a clear, and it is also an awful, description of the day of judgment, when the Messiah shall sit upon his throne of justice, to determine the final condition of mankind, according to their works; and it indicates that the different offices of Messiah both to save and to judge, or as Prophet, Priest, and King, were known to the holy patriarchs. On what the Apostle founded this prediction has been matter of much speculation and inquiry. Some, indeed, have produced a treatise, called “The Book of Enoch,” which, as they pretend, contains the cited passage; but its authority is not proved, and internal evidence sufficiently marks its spurious origin. It is, therefore, reasonable to suppose that the prophecy cited by St. Jude was either traditionally handed down, or had been specially communicated to that Apostle. In the departure of Enoch from this world of sin and sorrow, the Almighty altered the ordinary course of things, and gave him a dismissal as glorious to himself, as it was instructive to mankind. To convince them how acceptable holiness is to him, and to show that he had prepared for those that love him a heavenly inheritance, he caused Enoch to be taken from the earth without passing through death. See ELIJAH.