Ever since the beginning of human existence on this earth, mankind has been divided into two separate genealogies or bloodlines. One bloodline which steamed from Cain, who killed his brother Abel, is regarded as cursed and wicked. While the other bloodline descending from Seth is acknowledged as righteous, from which the promised Messiah would ultimately descend from. Though there were two different people groups who lived during the period before the Great Flood, two individuals (one from each bloodline) would share the same name. And this name, which both the righteous and evil bloodlines shared, is none other than Enoch. The first Enoch mentioned in the Scriptures is the eldest son of Cain, and the second Enoch recorded is known as the seventh from Adam, who was also one of the ten righteous antediluvian patriarchs. In this work we will look into the significance of each of these two Biblical characters, and at the same time examine their differences. So now, let us take a journey back to the beginning of human civilization and get ourselves a little more acquainted with the two Enochs in the Bible.
After Cain murdered his brother Abel, the Bible informs us that, “…Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden” (Genesis 4:16). Now it is interesting to note that even before Cain and Abel were ever born, both Adam and Eve had been driven out of Eden through their disobedience. So the fact that the Bible makes an emphasis on Cain moving ever farther away from Eden, then this must mean that the more we sin the further we drift away from Paradise and away from the presence of God. It is also crucial to comprehend the fact that God cursed Cain and severely punished him due to his sin. So when the Bible says that Cain dwelt in the land of Nod, this could not only infer that Nod was indeed a physical location found somewhere on the planet, but this could also imply that spiritually speaking no matter where Cain dwelt on the earth he was living in the land of Nod, due to the curse that God had placed upon him. Thus the land of Nod where Cain dwelt was in the confines of his own inescapable guilty conscience.
Now when Cain was driven away from the presence of the LORD, he became a builder. For it is written, “…Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch” (Genesis 4:17). From this Biblical passage it is revealed that the name of the first city in the history of human civilization was called Enoch, named after Cain’s eldest son Enoch. This Enoch is not to be confused with the Enoch who walked with God and was then translated that he should not see death. However, though the Enoch of the wicked bloodline did not share in the blessings of long life as did the Enoch of the holy bloodline, the fact that a city was built which bore the name Enoch in a way granted Enoch the son of Cain immortality. As we see in other ancient literature such as the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, the quest of everlasting life has always been a struggle for the human race. Though he strives for immortality, Gilgamesh is not granted it. Yet in the end Gilgamesh achieves a form of immortality through the city which he built, whose foundations would remain his lasting legacy long after he had died. So too could Cain have named the city he built after his son, in the attempt of making both his city and his son’s memory be eternal.
The name Enoch in the original Hebrew is pronounced Hanoch and means, “dedicated.” It also shares a linguistic relationship to the Hebrew word “Hanukkah”, the name of the Jewish holiday which commemorates the re-dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem (I Maccabees 4:52-59). In Arabic the name Enoch is known as Idris, and has the meanings of “studious”, “smart”, and “to learn or understand.” These titles are very appropriate when applied to the righteous Enoch, for one of the many legends that have come down to us concerning prophet Enoch is that he was the first among men who learned writing. Being the first prophet after Adam it is believed that Enoch wrote a book of prophecy which is known as the Book of Enoch. Many Bible scholars today doubt that it was Enoch himself who wrote this book, and thus they attribute authorship of the book of Enoch to ancient Jewish scribes. While the Greek Orthodox Church does not believe the book of Enoch to be inspired, it is included within the Canon of Scriptures held to be inspired by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Returning to Enoch the son of Cain, there seems to be no other record of him in the Bible apart from the city which his father built and named after him. Similarly, not much of the life of righteous Enoch is recorded in the Bible either. However, even though prophet Enoch is only given a brief mention in the Scriptures, he is widely spoken of in religious circles. Many believe Enoch to be one of the Two Witnesses mentioned in the book of Revelation who preach during the Great Tribulation in the era of the Antichrist. Along with the prophet Elijah, Enoch is the only other person in history who has not died, and thus their martyrdom at the hands of the Antichrist will fulfill the Scriptures which state that all must die (Hebrews 9:27). Though the wicked bloodline of Cain was destroyed by the Flood in the days of Noah, the disobedient spirit of Cain has survived even to this day. For when Christ returns he will separate the sheep from the goats (the good from the bad). The sheep will abide with the Lord forever in Paradise, while the goats will suffer for all of eternity in hell. So when it all comes down to it there are truly only two types of people in this world: the righteous Enochs and the wicked Enochs.
References:
Burns, R.I. The Book of Enoch: Messianic Prophecy Edition. (San Francisco, CA: SagesWorks Press, 2017).
Brown, R.K. The Book of Enoch. (Nashville, Tennessee: James C. Winston Publishing Company, Inc., 1997).
Cambridge University Press. The Apocrypha, Authorized King James Version. (Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1992).
Holy Bible: Ethiopic Version. (Saderingrad Productions, 2007).
Kush, I.K. Enoch the Ethiopian. (Buffalo, New York: Eworld Inc., 2000).
Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).