enoch was jewish gibberish before Jesus and was used to control the masses for control and taxes.
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Enoch, the son of Jared, was a pre-Flood patriarch and the seventh in the genealogical line from Adam. He is best known for his exceptional faith and righteousness, with the Bible describing him as a man who "walked with God" and pleased Him.
Unlike other biblical figures, Enoch did not experience physical death; instead, God took him directly to heaven after he lived for 365 years. He is one of only two individuals in the Bible (along with Elijah) recorded as being translated to heaven alive. Enoch is also the father of Methuselah, the longest-living man, and the great-grandfather of Noah.
The Book of Enoch, an ancient Jewish apocalyptic text, attributes various prophecies and heavenly visions to him, though it is considered pseudepigraphal by most Christian traditions. The New Testament book of Jude quotes from this text, and Hebrews cites Enoch as an example of faith that pleased God.
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The Book of Enoch (specifically 1 Enoch) was not written after Jesus. It was composed centuries before the birth of Jesus, primarily between 300 BC and 100 BC.
Scholars agree that the text is a composite work written in stages:
The oldest sections (such as the Book of the Watchers) date to approximately 300–200 BC.
The latest section (the Book of Parables) is estimated to have been written around 100 BC.
Because the book was written during the Second Temple period (before 70 AD), it significantly influenced early Jewish thought and the writers of the New Testament, rather than being a post-Christian composition. While other texts attributed to Enoch exist (such as 2 Enoch from the 1st century AD and 3 Enoch from the 5th century AD), the primary "Book of Enoch" predates the Christian era.
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During the Second Temple period (roughly 516 BC – 70 AD), the administration of the Jewish faith was primarily the responsibility of two major sects: the Sadducees and the Pharisees, who often served together in the Sanhedrin (the supreme religious court).
The Sadducees were the dominant administrative force regarding the Temple itself. Composed largely of aristocratic families and high priests, they controlled the Temple hierarchy, sacrificial rituals, and the official priesthood. Their authority was rooted in the written Torah alone, and they held significant political power until the Temple's destruction in 70 AD.
The Pharisees, in contrast, administered the faith of the common people outside the Temple. They were scholars and teachers who emphasized the Oral Law (traditions and interpretations alongside the written text). They oversaw synagogues, local courts, and daily religious observance, focusing on applying priestly laws to everyday life. Their influence survived the Temple's destruction, forming the basis of modern Rabbinic Judaism.
A third group, the Essenes, existed during this time but did not administer the mainstream faith. They were a separatist sect that withdrew from Jerusalem, rejecting the Temple administration as corrupt and living in isolated communities (such as at Qumran) to maintain their own strict standards of purity.