The new phenomenon on the Web today is artificial intelligence chat applications, which are ‘trained’, in a technical sense, to analyse human textual content and simulate conversations with real people. They have improved greatly in recent weeks. I tried asking questions to a free online version, called OpenAI, about the Book of Enoch. Here is how it went.
Q: What did Jesus Christ teach about the Book of Enoch?
OpenAI: There is no record in the Bible of Jesus Christ specifically mentioning the Book of Enoch. However, it is believed by some scholars that Jesus and his disciples may have been familiar with the Book of Enoch, as it was a popular text among Jewish communities during the Second Temple period.
The Book of Enoch is a collection of Jewish apocalyptic writings that dates back to the second century BCE. It contains stories about the fallen angels, the Nephilim, and the end of the world. While the Book of Enoch is not considered part of the biblical canon, it was widely read and respected by early Christians.
Some early Christian writers, such as Tertullian and Origen, believed that the Book of Enoch was divinely inspired and should be considered scripture. However, the majority of Christian theologians rejected the Book of Enoch as non-canonical.
Overall, while there is no direct evidence of Jesus Christ teaching about the Book of Enoch, it is possible that he and his followers were familiar with its contents and may have drawn on its themes and ideas in their teachings.
[Edit: The AI cannot make judgments but relies on what people have written and how it has been ‘trained’ using such material. It cannot ‘see’ how Jesus is twice in the gospels recorded alluding to the Book of Enoch and calling it scripture: once when teaching about the angels not marrying and once when teaching about his disciples having the Holy Spirit well up from them like water from a fountain.
I move on to easier questions for the artificial intelligence chat app.]
Q: How did Jude know about the Book of Enoch?
OpenAI: The epistle of Jude in the New Testament contains a reference to the Book of Enoch, which has led scholars to believe that Jude was familiar with this text. The reference is found in Jude 1:14-15, which says:
"Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him."
This passage is similar to a section in the Book of Enoch known as the "Book of the Watchers," which describes the judgment of the fallen angels and the coming of the Lord with his angels.
There are a few possible explanations for how Jude knew about the Book of Enoch. One possibility is that he was directly inspired by the Holy Spirit to include this reference in his letter. Another possibility is that Jude was drawing on a common tradition or belief among Jewish communities of his time that was also reflected in the Book of Enoch.
It is also possible that Jude knew of the Book of Enoch through personal knowledge or access to the text itself, or through other sources that were familiar with the book. However, the exact details of how Jude knew about the Book of Enoch are not known for certain.
Q: Which chapter of the Book of Enoch was Jude quoting?
OpenAI: The reference to Enoch in the Epistle of Jude is found in verses 14-15, which says:
"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him."
This passage is similar to a section in the Book of Enoch known as the "Book of the Watchers," which describes the judgment of the fallen angels and the coming of the Lord with his angels. Specifically, the passage in Jude appears to be based on Enoch 1:9, which says:
"And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones to execute judgement upon all, and to destroy all the ungodly: and to convict all flesh of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."
While the exact wording is not the same, the similarity between these passages suggests that Jude may have been drawing on the Book of Enoch, or a tradition related to it, to make his point.
Q: Given that these verses in Jude and the Book of Enoch were translated by different people from sources found many centuries apart, this looks like a very good match.
OpenAI: Yes, you are correct. The similarities between the passage in Jude and the Book of Enoch suggest that they are related, even though they were translated by different people from sources found many centuries apart. Scholars believe that the author of Jude was likely drawing on a tradition or belief that was common to both texts, and that the Book of Enoch may have influenced Jude's writing.
It is worth noting that the Book of Enoch was not originally written in Greek, the language in which the New Testament was written, but in Aramaic and Hebrew. The Book of Enoch that is available today is based on several different manuscripts, some of which were discovered in the 18th and 19th centuries. These manuscripts vary in content and style, but they all share a common set of themes and ideas.
Despite these differences, the similarities between the passage in Jude and the Book of Enoch suggest that they are related in some way, and that the Book of Enoch may have been an important source for early Christians who were interested in apocalyptic literature and the prophetic traditions of Judaism.
