Enoch was the son of Cain. There are some things in the Bible we will likely never fully understand until we get to eternity. The single, simple, yet puzzling statement in Genesis 5:24 regarding Enoch’s experience with God is undoubtedly one of them.
What does it mean that Enoch “walked with God”? What does it mean that God “took him” away?
Scholars and laypersons alike have pondered the exact meaning of these words for thousands of years, but no one knows for sure. Most believe that “walked with God” means that he lived a godly life in close communion with God.
As a result, Enoch was translated straight to heaven without experiencing death. Besides genealogies, the only other places Enoch is mentioned in the Bible are Hebrews 11:5, where he is commended as a man of faith who pleased God, and Jude 1:14, where he is said to have prophesied regarding the Lord’s return.
Are you interested in growing in your spiritual life? Spend time contemplating what it might have meant for Enoch to “walk with God”—and incorporate some of those traits into your own life.
Beginning a few hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ, several works were written as prophecies of Enoch. Some of these were included in certain versions of the Bible, such as the Ethiopic Bible and the Old Slavonic Bible. It is likely that one of these books, commonly called I Enoch, is the one referred to by Jude (though this does not imply that I Enoch is inspired scripture), and the books of I Peter and Revelation may draw imagery from this book as well.