Philo Judaeus (d. 45–50 CE) allegorizes Enoch so as to represent the person who is ecstatically transported (echoing the Septuagint) from perishable (physical) to imperishable (spiritual and intellectual) aspects of existence, and from mortality to (spiritual) immortality. Like the Greek version of
Ben Sira, Philo describes Enoch as a sign of repentance for having changed from the "worse life to the better." Enoch is not found among the sinful multitude but in solitude. Philo contrasts Enoch's piety with that of Abraham, which is exercised within society rather than in isolation.
The portrayals of Enoch in contemporary writings displaying apocalyptic interests are considerably more laudatory of him and expansive of the underlying biblical text. Here Enoch is depicted as a medium for the revelation of heavenly secrets to humanity: secrets of cosmology, sacred history, and eschatology. The principal sources for these traditions are 1 and 2 Enoch, Jubilees, Pseudo-Eupolemus, and previously unknown writings among the Dead Sea Scrolls. They span a period from the third century BCE to the first century CE.
Enoch's "life" and the secrets revealed to him are summarized in Jubilees 4:16–26 and detailed in the Books of Enoch.
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