1 Enoch / Chapter 106

1 Enoch 106

19 verses • Ge'ez (Ethiopic)

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

The Birth of Noah narrative. When Lamech's son is born, the child is extraordinary — his body is white as snow and red as a rose, his hair is white as wool, his eyes light up the entire house, and when he opens his eyes he illuminates the room like the sun. The infant immediately speaks to the midwife. Lamech, terrified, suspects the child was fathered by the Watchers (fallen angels). He goes to his father Methuselah and begs him to travel to Enoch, who dwells at the ends of the earth, to learn the truth about this miraculous child.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The description of the infant Noah — white body, luminous eyes, hair like wool — is strikingly similar to the description of the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7:9 ('his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool') and the risen Christ in Revelation 1:14 ('the hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire'). Whether Noah's appearance prefigures these later descriptions or draws from a common pool of theophanic imagery, the parallels are unmistakable. The infant who lights up the house is a living theophany.

Translation Friction

The Birth of Noah narrative is considered by most scholars to be an independent composition inserted into the Enochic corpus. A version of it appears in the Genesis Apocryphon from Qumran (1QapGen), where it is told from Lamech's perspective with additional details about his suspicion of his wife Bitenosh. The 1 Enoch version is likely a condensation of the fuller tradition.

Connections

Daniel 7:9 — the Ancient of Days. Revelation 1:14 — the risen Christ. Genesis 5:28-29 — Lamech naming Noah ('this one will bring us comfort'). 1QapGen (Genesis Apocryphon) — the parallel Qumran version. Luke 1:41-44 — John the Baptist leaping in the womb as a sign of prophetic significance. Matthew 17:2 — Jesus's face 'shone like the sun' at the transfiguration.

1 Enoch 106:1

Ge'ez: wa-'emze ba-mawā'elihomu — 'and after some days'

After some time, my son Methuselah took a wife for his son Lamech. She became pregnant by him and bore a son.

REF And after some days my son Methuselah took a wife for his son Lamech, and she became pregnant by him and bore a son.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The narrative voice is Enoch's, speaking from his place at the ends of the earth. The genealogical line — Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah — is the same as Genesis 5.

1 Enoch 106:2

Ge'ez: wa-śe'na gēśśu — 'and his body was white'

His body was white as snow and red as a blooming rose. The hair of his head and his long locks were white as wool, and his eyes were beautiful. When he opened his eyes, he lit up the whole house like the sun, and the entire house shone with brilliant light.

REF And his body was white as snow and red as the blooming of a rose, and the hair of his head and his long locks were white as wool, and his eyes beautiful. And when he opened his eyes, he lighted up the whole house like the sun, and the whole house was very bright.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The infant's description combines the theophanic features later associated with the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9) and the risen Christ (Revelation 1:14). White body, white-wool hair, and illuminating eyes mark the child as supernaturally significant. The red-and-white coloring may symbolize the union of life (blood/rose) and purity (snow).

1 Enoch 106:3

Ge'ez: wa-'emze 'em-'edēwi za-qebtit — 'and thereupon he arose from the hands of the midwife'

Then he rose up in the hands of the midwife, opened his mouth, and spoke to the Lord of righteousness.

REF And thereupon he arose in the hands of the midwife, opened his mouth, and conversed with the Lord of righteousness.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

A newborn speaking immediately after birth is a classic sign of prophetic destiny in ancient literature. The infant speaks not to humans but to the 'Lord of righteousness' — his first act is worship. Compare the Infancy Gospel of Thomas and other traditions of miraculous infant speech.

1 Enoch 106:4

Ge'ez: wa-Lāmek abūhu — 'and his father Lamech'

His father Lamech was afraid of him and fled. He went to his father Methuselah.

REF And his father Lamech was afraid of him and fled, and came to his father Methuselah.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Lamech's fear of his own son is deeply human — the uncanny appearance of the child overwhelms paternal instinct. His flight to Methuselah mirrors the instinct to seek elder counsel when faced with the incomprehensible.

1 Enoch 106:5

Ge'ez: wa-yebēlo — 'and he said to him'

He said to him: 'I have fathered a strange son — different from and unlike any human, resembling the sons of the God of heaven. His nature is different from ours. His eyes are like rays of the sun, and his face is glorious.'

REF And he said unto him: 'I have begotten a strange son, diverse from and unlike man, and resembling the sons of the God of heaven; and his nature is different and he is not like us, and his eyes are as the rays of the sun, and his countenance is glorious.'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Lamech's description of his son as 'resembling the sons of the God of heaven' directly invokes the Watchers — the 'sons of God' of Genesis 6:2 whose union with human women produced the Nephilim. His fear is that this is not his child at all but the offspring of angelic-human union.

1 Enoch 106:6

Ge'ez: wa-yemēsseleya — 'and it seems to me'

It seems to me that he did not come from me but from the angels, and I fear that in his days a wonder will be accomplished on the earth.

REF And it seems to me that he is not sprung from me but from the angels, and I fear that in his days a wonder may be wrought on the earth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Lamech's 'fear that a wonder may be wrought' is prophetically accurate — the flood will indeed come in Noah's days. His suspicion is wrong about paternity but right about destiny.

1 Enoch 106:7

Ge'ez: wa-ye'zē 'alatteka — 'and now, my father'

Now, my father, I am here to beg and implore you: go to Enoch our father and learn the truth from him, for his dwelling place is among the angels.

REF And now, my father, I am here to petition thee and implore thee that thou mayest go to Enoch, our father, and learn from him the truth, for his dwelling-place is amongst the angels.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The chain of inquiry — Lamech to Methuselah to Enoch — mirrors the hierarchical structure of revealed knowledge in the Enochic tradition. Truth comes from the one who dwells 'among the angels' — the translated patriarch who has direct access to heavenly knowledge.

1 Enoch 106:8

Ge'ez: wa-'ama sam'a Mātuselāh — 'and when Methuselah heard'

When Methuselah heard his son's words, he came to me at the ends of the earth, for he had heard that I was there. He cried out, and I heard his voice and came to him. I said: 'Here I am, my son — why have you come to me?'

REF And when Methuselah heard the words of his son, he came to me, to the ends of the earth; for he had heard that I was there, and he cried aloud, and I heard his voice and I came to him. And I said unto him: 'Behold, here am I, my son, wherefore hast thou come to me?'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Enoch's response — 'Here I am, my son' — echoes the theophanic response formula used by God and the patriarchs throughout the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 22:1, Exodus 3:4, 1 Samuel 3:4). Enoch, dwelling at the ends of the earth among angels, takes on a quasi-divine mediating role.

1 Enoch 106:9

Ge'ez: wa-'amara wa-yebēlo — 'and he answered and said'

He answered: 'I have come to you because of a great cause for concern, and because of a troubling vision I have approached you.'

REF And he answered and said: 'Because of a great cause of anxiety have I come to thee, and because of a disturbing vision have I approached.'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Methuselah's 'disturbing vision' may refer to what Lamech described, or to a separate vision of his own confirming the uncanny nature of the child.

1 Enoch 106:10

Ge'ez: wa-ye'zē — 'and now, my father'

Now hear me, my father: a son has been born to my son Lamech, the likes of whom has never existed. His nature is not like a human's — his skin is whiter than snow and redder than a rose's bloom, the hair of his head whiter than white wool. His eyes are like rays of the sun, and when he opened them, the whole house was lit up.

REF And now, my father, hear me: unto Lamech my son there hath been born a son, the like of whom there is none, and his nature is not like man's nature, and the colour of his body is whiter than snow and redder than the bloom of a rose, and the hair of his head is whiter than white wool, and his eyes are like the rays of the sun, and he opened his eyes and thereupon lighted up the whole house.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Methuselah relays Lamech's description faithfully, adding emphasis through repetition. The threefold repetition of the child's description (at birth, by Lamech, by Methuselah) underscores its importance and ensures the audience absorbs every detail.

1 Enoch 106:11

Ge'ez: wa-tekawwena — 'and he arose'

He rose up in the hands of the midwife, opened his mouth, and blessed the Lord of heaven.

REF And he arose in the hands of the midwife, and opened his mouth and blessed the Lord of heaven.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

In Methuselah's retelling, the infant's first words are a blessing — not mere speech but worship. The child's immediate orientation toward heaven confirms his divine connection.

1 Enoch 106:12

Ge'ez: wa-fariha Lāmek — 'and Lamech was afraid'

His father Lamech was afraid and fled to me. He does not believe the child is his own, but thinks he bears the likeness of the angels of heaven. I have come to you so that you might reveal the truth to me.

REF And his father Lamech became afraid and fled to me, and did not believe that he was sprung from him, but that he was in the likeness of the angels of heaven; and behold I have come to thee that thou mayest make known to me the truth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The paternity question is the driving concern. In the Genesis Apocryphon (1QapGen), Lamech actually interrogates his wife Bitenosh, demanding she swear whether the child is truly his — a scene omitted here but part of the broader tradition.

1 Enoch 106:13

Ge'ez: wa-'anā Hēnōk — 'and I, Enoch'

I, Enoch, answered him: 'The Lord will do a new thing on the earth. I have already seen this in a vision and made it known to you — that in the generation of my father Jared, some of the angels of heaven violated the word of the Lord.'

REF And I, Enoch, answered and said unto him: 'The Lord will do a new thing on the earth, and this I have already seen in a vision, and make known to thee that in the generation of my father Jared some of the angels of heaven transgressed the word of the Lord.'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Enoch connects the miraculous birth to the larger Watchers narrative. The angelic transgression 'in the generation of Jared' links back to chapters 6-16. 'The Lord will do a new thing on the earth' — the flood — is both judgment on angelic corruption and the purpose for which this child was born.

1 Enoch 106:14

Ge'ez: wa-'abekū — 'and they sinned'

They sinned and transgressed — they united with women and committed sin with them. They married some of them and fathered children by them.

REF And behold they sin and transgress and unite themselves with women and commit sin with them, and have married some of them, and have begot children by them.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

A compressed retelling of the Watchers' fall from chapters 6-7. The brevity suggests the audience already knows the full story.

1 Enoch 106:15

Ge'ez: wa-'em-lā'lēhomu — 'and from them shall proceed'

From them will come giants on the earth — not beings of spirit but of flesh. A great punishment will come upon the earth, and the earth will be cleansed of all impurity.

REF And they shall produce on the earth giants not according to the spirit, but according to the flesh, and there shall be a great punishment on the earth, and the earth shall be cleansed from all impurity.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The giants (Nephilim) are 'according to the flesh' — material beings, not spiritual. The cleansing of the earth is the flood — a baptism of the whole world. Compare 2 Peter 3:6 — 'the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.'

1 Enoch 106:16

Ge'ez: wa-ye'zē — 'yea, there shall come'

A great destruction will come over the whole earth — a flood and great devastation lasting one year.

REF Yea, there shall come a great destruction over the whole earth, and there shall be a deluge and a great destruction for one year.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The flood's duration of 'one year' aligns with the Genesis account: from the seventeenth day of the second month (Genesis 7:11) to the twenty-seventh day of the second month the following year (Genesis 8:14).

1 Enoch 106:17

Ge'ez: wa-zentu welud — 'and this son'

This son who has been born to you will remain on the earth. He and his three sons will be saved. When all people on the earth die, he and his sons will be saved.

REF And this son who has been born unto you shall be left on the earth, and his three children shall be saved with him: when all mankind that are on the earth shall die, he and his sons shall be saved.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Enoch's revelation resolves Lamech's fear: the child is not angelic offspring but the divinely appointed survivor. His miraculous appearance signifies his cosmic role, not his parentage. The 'three sons' are Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Genesis 6:10).

1 Enoch 106:18

Ge'ez: wa-yewalledū — 'and they shall beget'

Giants will be born on the earth — not spiritual beings but creatures of flesh. Great wrath will come upon the earth, and the earth will be washed clean of all defilement.

REF And they shall beget on the earth giants, not of spirit but of flesh, and there shall be great wrath on the earth, and the earth shall be washed from all defilement.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The repetition of the giants and the cleansing creates emphasis. 'Washed clean' — the flood as purification, not merely destruction. The earth is treated like a garment stained by the Watchers' corruption.

1 Enoch 106:19

Ge'ez: wa-ye'zē — 'and now'

Now tell your son Lamech that the child born is truly his son. Name him Noah, for he will remain with you, and he and his sons will be saved from the destruction coming upon the earth.

REF And now make known to thy son Lamech that he who has been born is in truth his son, and call his name Noah; for he shall be left to you, and he and his sons shall be saved from the destruction which shall come upon the earth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The naming — Noah — resolves the paternity crisis and reveals the child's destiny. In the Hebrew tradition, the name Noah (noaḥ) is connected to 'comfort' (Genesis 5:29 — 'this one will comfort us'). Enoch confirms both paternity and providence: this strange child belongs to Lamech and to God's plan of salvation.

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