Should We Make a Big Deal About Enoch 1:9 in the Dead Sea Scrolls?

 

Supporters of the Book of Enoch often point to 1 Enoch 1:9 being discovered in the Dead Sea Scrolls, claiming this somehow proves the book’s authority—especially because of its similarity to Jude 14–15. But does the evidence really support that?

The truth is, the fragment we have from Qumran (4Q204) is extremely small. Only a few words survive from the Aramaic text, and the rest has to be reconstructed by scholars. This means we cannot make exact comparisons or claim that Jude was quoting it word-for-word. In fact, differences are already noticeable: Jude speaks of the Lord coming to “convict” the ungodly, while Enoch 1:9 (in the forms we have) speaks of “destroying” them—a significant theological distinction.

What the Dead Sea Scrolls actually show is simple: some Jewish communities in the Second Temple period were reading and preserving the Book of Enoch. That tells us the book was influential to certain groups, but it does not make it inspired. Many other non-biblical texts were also discovered at Qumran, such as Jubilees or sectarian rule books, yet Christians do not consider them Scripture.

More importantly, Jude does not say he is quoting “the Book of Enoch.” He says, “Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied…” (Jude 1:14). Jude is affirming the truth of Enoch’s prophecy under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—not validating the rest of Enochic literature, which mixes myths and errors with fragments of truth. Just as Paul could quote a pagan poet without endorsing paganism, Jude can echo a genuine prophecy passed down in some Jewish sources without validating the surrounding fables.

So, should Christians make a big deal out of Enoch 1:9 being found at Qumran? No. At best, it shows that Enoch’s prophecy of final judgment was remembered in Jewish tradition. But only in Jude’s inspired letter do we find the accurate, Spirit-preserved version of that prophecy. The authority of God’s Word in Jude far outweighs any fragment from the Dead Sea Scrolls.