The Book of Enoch / Dead Sea Scrolls

The Books of Enoch were with the Dead Sea Scrolls upon their discovery, as well as others. But these books were omitted from what the church considered Canon. I wonder why.

The Book of Enoch tells of some events that would explain some things written in Scripture yet it was omitted, considered non Canon.

Now this book was supposed to be written 2 to 400 years before the birth of Christ. And they say that it was a 400-year time period when the prophets were quiet and the scribes were not writing. Yet The Book of Enoch was written and rejected.

I wonder how many Scrolls were lost and not rewritten from the three destructions of the cities of Israel?

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robb65 · 56-60, M

Probably because the Christian "OT" follows cannon of the Jewish Tanach which was already considered closed by the time Enoch was written. I suppose the church could have included it with the books of the Apocrypha, but then the Protestants rejected those books by the late 1800's anyway so you'd be back to a bible that didn't include Enoch.

Charity · 61-69

@robb65 the thing is the Dead Sea Scrolls were written before Christ was born, maybe during the time Christ walk the earth, and before the fall of Jerusalem by the hands of the Romans in 70 AD. The books of Enoch were already included into and hidden in the caves with the Dead Sea Scrolls.

When Jerusalem fell there was no such thing as Christianity, the first churches were beginning to emerge with Paul and Peter, the Romans were still considered pagan. There was no Bible or even thoughts of the Bible.

There is one resource that said they didn't know about the Dead Sea Scrolls, or the Book of Enoch, possible.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-wrote-the-dead-sea-scrolls-11781900/

https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/at-2-000-years-old-the-dead-sea-scrolls-help-inform-ancient-language

https://readingacts.com/2016/05/20/when-was-1-enoch-written/

https://www.toughbiblestuff.org/lesson/dating-the-book-of-enoch/

And when the rabbi decided to close the Hebrew Bible and not add any more books that was after 70 AD after Rome had destroyed Jerusalem. And the books of Enoch were already written, hidden in caves. Which makes me ask the question how could the books have been added to by different writers after 70 AD.
https://www.bartehrman.com/canonization-of-the-bible/

robb65 · 56-60, M

@Charity I get what you're saying, but there was a thought process involved in deciding what books are included. It's irrelevant that Enoch was found in a cave with other books and that it couldn't have been tinkered with. There's a reason why the books of Maccabees weren't included even though they are relevant to Jewish history, namely, by the time the Tanach was compiled they only existed in Greek. Similarly, the only complete manuscripts of Enoch that still exist are an Ethiopic translation so that alone would have ruled it out. Beyond that, from what I gather Enoch was originally written in Aramaic so I doubt it would have been included anyway. There are a few places in Daniel and Ezra/ Nehemiah where a random verse or two are in Aramaic but the bible doesn't include any book written entirely in Aramaic.
It's also questionable whether or not a book known to be Pseudographic would have been included with the Writings. (similarly, this is why your N.T. does not include 3rd Corinthians. It exist, but it is known to be a forgery)

I suppose Christianity could have included it with the N.T. although it doesn't really fit there any better than it does in the "O.T." Maybe they could have included a section for books that didn't really fit anywhere else?

Charity · 61-69

@robb65
I had to stop reading when you said the books of Enoch are irrelevant because The Books of Enoch was found in a cave with the Dead Sea Scrolls "" considering your comment that the Jewish Tanach was already closed when the Book of Enoch was already written"" I'm just trying to point it out that the Book of Enoch was written before Christ was born, before they closed the Tanach.

Thanks

robb65 · 56-60, M

@Charity That wasn't what I said. You missed the word "that".

Charity · 61-69

@robb65
to me what you're saying it's irrelevant as to whether the Book of Enoch was tinkered with or not. You didn't say irrelevant to the translators. But as I said I didn't finish reading.

robb65 · 56-60, M

@Charity That wasn't what I said either, and I can tell you didn't read.

Charity · 61-69

@robb65 I repeated you of words as they appeared on my thread.

Goodbye