Pseudepigrapha, Apocrypha and the Books of Enoch

I periodically meet people who are hesitant to read books designated as Pseudepigrapha or Apocrypha. I was even flat-out told "they are forbidden." Admittedly, these are both scary-sounding technical and academic terms, but with really simple meanings. If I am describing you, and Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha make you feel uneasy, then allow me to explain why I think you should not be reticent about reading books like Enoch.

Some readers are more interested in 1 Enoch with its' lore of the Watchers, and others in 2 Enoch because of its descriptions of the structures of the heavenly realm and Melchizedek lore. Yet some wish to glimpse into God's many names and angelic hierarchy and encounter the mysterious Metatron. Each book offers something unique and different and deserves to be appreciated independently. Scholars refer to the three books of Enoch as "Enoch Literature" because, though they have obvious thematic connections, they are distinct literary works and, at times, are quite dissimilar. Unlike a cohesive trilogy or a long saga story written by the same author, each Book of Enoch stands on its own and pursues its own unique storytelling goals. What ties the volumes together is that these are all Jewish spiritual books that stem from related traditions, and Enoch is famously featured in each text as shared lore is utilized by each book.

Pseudepigrapha (Ψευδεπίγραφα) usually means that the book was not written by the author to whom it is attributed. That would describe a whole lot of ancient Jewish books, because in antiquity, people attached names of notable people to books, not merely to tell their story, but to tell it for them as they would have if they could. And they also do this to honor their memory. This custom goes back to the days long before books, when most stories were simply told by tying some remarkable person to them.

Scholars who study ancient manuscripts recognize that many of the ancient books, even those part of the New Testament, were originally anonymous. For example, no one knows for sure who wrote the Book of Hebrews, but Christians are encouraged to read it anyway. Neither of the four gospels tells us plainly who wrote them, either, and the names we know them by today were attached to them later by tradition. There is no indisputable proof that the authors people believe wrote them actually did. People simply trust the long-established tradition. Ancient people treated books and authorship very differently, and we simply have to be aware of that.

The term Apocrypha (Ἀπόκρυφα) refers to books that some people (often religious minorities and smaller groups) consider to be inspirational and beneficial, in a way very similar to the canonical Bible, while others don't. They may even be included along with the Bible texts in some manuscript collections, but they remain "hidden" to others. 1 Baruch appears among the old Greek Septuagint manuscripts and is included in Catholic Bibles, but to other Christian groups it is Apocryphal (hidden). Martin Luther wanted to exclude the book of James from the NT canon, which would have made it Apocrypha for Lutherans if he had actually succeeded. Since 1 Enoch is a part of the Orthodox Christian Bibles in Ethiopia, it can be classified under both of these categories depending on whom you talk to. Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha are merely technical classifications that don't reflect on what is inside those books.

If you are still somewhat hesitant about reading books "outside of the Bible," my suggestion is to try them out and judge for yourself. Sample them with an open mind, but in a way, you approach everything in life. Don't read such books as the Bible. Instead, approach ancient Jewish literature as someone's sermons, if you want, just really old sermons. Read them as you would The Chronicles of Narnia, for example, as deeply spiritual literature that explores the realm of fantasy to convey deeply spiritual big picture messages. Read Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha not for spiritual growth, but to forge for yourself tangible reference points for what ancient audiences enjoyed reading and listening to. If you do that and study the ancient world as you read, your perceptions may slowly start to align more with their world. That is the world from which the Bible came...

If you wish, you can even listen to some sections read to you. These videos were designed to give you a feel for what's inside.