Extra-Biblical Books? Part 4D: Second and Third Enoch

Extra-Biblical Books? Part 4D: Second and Third Enoch
Friday, July 10, 2026 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Categories: Contemporary issues / Scripture discussion / Spiritual warfare / The church / Thought for Today

If there is one book that seems to cause near endless controversy it is the book of first Enoch. But two other Enochs exist as well: second and third Enoch. In this post we will look briefly at second and third Enoch and then turn our attention to the far more important first Enoch in the next post. All told, the three books are roughly half the length of the New Testament.

The only complete manuscript of second Enoch is found in Old Slavonic, a liturgical language used in the nineth century, centered around Thessalonica in Greece, as well as the first Bulgarian empire.

Second Enoch was probably written sometime between 100 BC–100 AD. It tells of Enoch’s rapture and travels through the ten heavenly dimensions. In it, Enoch also learns about Creation. After being in heaven for sixty days, and writing what he saw in 366 scrolls, he comes back to earth for thirty days. He then reveals all that he has learned, and upon completing his revelation is permanently taken back to heaven.

Second Enoch, while perhaps being of some historical interest, from a biblical perspective, has no doctrinal value. The content is sheer speculation.

As for third Enoch, the book claims to be written by Ishmael ben Elisha ha-Kohen or Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha. It probably was written between 0–200 AD, but there is also speculation that it might have been written anonymously as late as sometime between 500–600 AD. It is not biblical in any sense and is far more fanciful than second Enoch.

The author has a vision, is transported up to heaven, and sees Enoch. He finds that Enoch has been translated into one of the highest-ranking angels: Metatron.* At the end of chapter 12, Metatron is even referred to as “the lesser YHWH”. Biblically, such a statement is blasphemous.

Chapter 22 includes the confusing reference to “the arches of the Bozv.” The only reference to “Bozv” is found here, within third Enoch. There is some speculation that the arches relate in some way to God’s Shekinah glory, but no one knows. In any case the height of those arches translates to over 3.8 million miles.

Chapter 48 states that Metatron has 70 names, but 105 names are then given, many of them ending with “yah”. That too is potentially blasphemous since “yah” in Hebrew is one of the names for God, a shortened form of “Yahweh” (a name meaning “servant of Yah” or something similar would certainly be ok). Overall, the book consists mostly of Metatron describing various ranks of angels and the supposed court of heaven.

Although touted as being deliberately excluded from Scripture, no real argument exists for including either second or third Enoch as part of Scripture. Both directly contradict Scripture. Biblically, unlike second Enoch, Enoch does not return to earth. As for third Enoch, its highly unbiblical and blasphemous nature is self-evident.

Neither second nor third Enoch have any biblical value.

*What might we think about Enoch’s supposed new name, Metatron? We tend to think that the names used in the movies for super-heroes and villains is somehow new. One wonders of possible spiritual connections regarding those names and concepts.

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