Enoch 89
Common Questions About Enoch 89
How does the Animal Apocalypse depict Noah, the ark, and the flood in chapter 89?
One of the four heavenly beings secretly instructs the white bull, who was born a bull but became a man (Noah), to build a great vessel; he and three bulls (his sons) dwell inside it as torrents of water pour down and fountains burst open, drowning all the other animals until only the vessel remains floating, eventually settling on dry land as the waters recede and light returns.
How does the rest of this long chapter trace Israel's early history through animal symbolism?
The chapter continues the symbolic history from Noah's sons through Isaac's descendants pictured as sheep, the Egyptian oppression pictured as wolves, Moses (a sheep who becomes a man) confronting the wolves, the parting of the Red Sea and the wolves' drowning, the wilderness wanderings, the building of the tabernacle ('house') and later the tower and first Temple, the period of the judges and kings, and finally the exile, where God hands the sheep over to seventy symbolic shepherds (commonly understood as angelic overseers) who are held accountable for how they treat the flock during Israel's long years under foreign rule.
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Questions to Think About
- This lengthy vision retells centuries of biblical history as one continuous story of God's flock wandering, straying, suffering, and being pursued by a shepherd who never fully abandons them despite real anger at their unfaithfulness. When you look back at the different seasons of your own life, do you tend to see them as disconnected events, or as one continuous story of God's pursuit of you?
- The seventy shepherds are held strictly accountable for any harm they cause the sheep beyond what they were permitted, with a careful record kept of their actions. How does knowing that those placed in positions of authority and care are held accountable by God shape how you view leaders, whether in government, church, or your own workplace?
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