Genesis 5:24
Enoch walked with God, and then he was no more, because God had taken him away.
Enoch
The name "Enoch" is derived from the Hebrew root "חֲנוֹךְ" (Chanokh), meaning "dedicated" or "initiated." Enoch is a significant figure in the genealogies of Genesis, representing a line of faithfulness amidst a world increasingly turning away from God. His life stands as a testament to dedication and a deep, personal relationship with the Creator. In the broader scriptural context, Enoch is one of the few individuals who did not experience death, highlighting his unique walk with God.

walked with God
The phrase "walked with God" is translated from the Hebrew "הָלַךְ אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים" (halak et-ha-Elohim). This expression signifies an intimate, ongoing relationship with God, characterized by obedience, faith, and communion. Walking with God implies a life lived in harmony with His will, reflecting a deep spiritual journey. In the historical context of Genesis, this phrase sets Enoch apart from his contemporaries, emphasizing a life of righteousness and devotion in a time of moral decline.

and then he was no more
The phrase "and then he was no more" suggests a sudden and mysterious departure from the earthly realm. The Hebrew "וְאֵינֶנּוּ" (ve-einennu) indicates an absence or disappearance, which in Enoch's case, is not due to death but a divine act. This phrase invites reflection on the transient nature of human life and the hope of eternal communion with God. Enoch's disappearance serves as a precursor to the Christian hope of eternal life and the ultimate victory over death.

because God took him away
The phrase "because God took him away" is derived from the Hebrew "כִּי לָקַח אֹתוֹ אֱלֹהִים" (ki laqach oto Elohim). The verb "לָקַח" (laqach) means "to take" or "to receive," indicating a divine intervention. This act of God taking Enoch is a profound demonstration of divine favor and approval. It underscores the belief in God's sovereign power over life and death and His ability to transcend natural laws. In the broader biblical narrative, this event foreshadows the hope of believers being taken into God's presence, as seen in the New Testament teachings on the rapture and eternal life.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Enoch
A descendant of Adam through Seth, Enoch is noted for his close relationship with God. He is the father of Methuselah and is unique in that he did not experience death as others did.

2. God
The Creator and Sustainer of all, who is in a personal relationship with Enoch, ultimately taking him away from the earth.

3. The Event of Enoch's Departure
Unlike others in the genealogy of Genesis 5, Enoch's life does not end with the phrase "and then he died." Instead, he is taken by God, indicating a special divine action.
Teaching Points
Walking with God
Enoch's life exemplifies what it means to walk with God. This involves a daily, intimate relationship characterized by faith, obedience, and communion with the Lord.

The Reward of Faithfulness
Enoch's translation to heaven without experiencing death serves as a powerful reminder of the rewards of living a life pleasing to God. It encourages believers to pursue holiness and faithfulness.

The Mystery of God's Ways
Enoch's departure is a reminder that God's ways are beyond human understanding. It challenges believers to trust in God's sovereign plans, even when they are not fully revealed.

Living with an Eternal Perspective
Enoch's life encourages believers to live with an eternal perspective, focusing on their relationship with God and the promise of eternal life.
Bible Study Questions
1. What does it mean to "walk with God" in the context of your daily life, and how can you cultivate this relationship?

2. How does Enoch's life challenge you to live a life of faith and obedience? What specific areas in your life need alignment with God's will?

3. In what ways does the account of Enoch encourage you to trust in God's plans, even when they are not fully understood?

4. How can the example of Enoch inspire you to live with an eternal perspective, prioritizing your relationship with God over worldly concerns?

5. How do the New Testament references to Enoch in Hebrews and Jude enhance your understanding of his character and his walk with God? How can these insights be applied to your own spiritual journey?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Hebrews 11:5
This verse in the New Testament highlights Enoch's faith, stating that he was taken up so that he did not see death, and he was commended as one who pleased God.

Jude 1:14-15
Enoch is mentioned as a prophet who spoke of the Lord's coming judgment, indicating his role as a righteous man who walked closely with God.

Genesis 6:9
Noah, like Enoch, is described as walking with God, suggesting a pattern of righteousness and divine favor.
A Great Example and a Great RewardR.A. Redford Genesis 5:24
A Singular Saint is a Precious SaintJ. Spencer.Genesis 5:24
EnochW. Griffiths.Genesis 5:24
EnochSpurgeon, Charles HaddonGenesis 5:24
EnochJ. Burns, D. D.Genesis 5:24
EnochJ. Jowett, M. A.Genesis 5:24
Enoch, One of the World's Great TeachersHomilistGenesis 5:24
Enoch, the Model WalkerR. Newton, D. D.Genesis 5:24
Enoch: Accounting for Men's Disappearance from the EarthJ. Parker, D. D.Genesis 5:24
Enoch; Or, the Earthly Walk and Heavenly HomeA. J. Morris.Genesis 5:24
Enoch's Character and TranslationT. Boston, D. D.Genesis 5:24
Enoch's Holiness and its RewardM. M. Kalisch, Ph. D.Genesis 5:24
Enoch's LifeJ. W. Atkinson.Genesis 5:24
Enoch's TranslationG. Gilfillan.Genesis 5:24
Enoch's Walk and TranslationJ. G. Angley, M. A.Genesis 5:24
Enoch's Walk with GodSpurgeon, Charles HaddonGenesis 5:24
Enoch's Walk with GodThe Evangelical PreacherGenesis 5:24
Enoch's Walking with GodC. Ness.Genesis 5:24
Gathering Flowers to Compose Him in the Hour of DeathOld Testament AnecdotesGenesis 5:24
High GroundBenson Bailey.Genesis 5:24
Known by His WalkGenesis 5:24
My MinistryOld Testament AnecdotesGenesis 5:24
Of Walking with GodT. Boston, D. D.Genesis 5:24
Preparation for Death NecessaryH. G. Salter.Genesis 5:24
The Biography of EnochD. Rowlands, B. A.Genesis 5:24
The Character and Translation of EnochJ. A. James.Genesis 5:24
The Heavenly WalkJ. S. Exell, M. A.Genesis 5:24
The Life and Translation of EnochG. Gilfillan.Genesis 5:24
The Memorial of EnochJ. Clunie, LL. D.Genesis 5:24
The Piety and Translation of EnochEssex RemembrancerGenesis 5:24
Walking with GodSketches of SermonsGenesis 5:24
Walking with GodT. B. Baker.Genesis 5:24
Walking with GodH. McNeile, D. D.Genesis 5:24
Walking with GodN. Emmons, D. D.Genesis 5:24
Walking with GodW. Hay Aitken, M. A.Genesis 5:24
Walking with GodJ.F. Montgomery Genesis 5:24
Distinguished MenJ. S. Exell, M. A.Genesis 5:1-32
God's Way of Writing HistoryH. Bonar, D. D.Genesis 5:1-32
LessonsG. Hughes, B. D.Genesis 5:1-32
Lessons from the Longevity of the AntediluviansChristian AgeGenesis 5:1-32
Long Life and Death of the PatriarchsBishop Babington.Genesis 5:1-32
NobodyismJ. Parker, D. D.Genesis 5:1-32
Ten Biographies in One ChapterH. Bonar, D. D.Genesis 5:1-32
The Apostate and the Godly SeedsR. S. Candlish, D. D.Genesis 5:1-32
The Divine Image in Man HiddenGenesis 5:1-32
The GenealogyA. Fuller.Genesis 5:1-32
The Original Vitality of MenC. Geikie, D. D.Genesis 5:1-32
ThoughtsHomilistGenesis 5:1-32
People
Adam, Cainan, Enoch, Enos, Enosh, Ham, Japheth, Jared, Kenan, Lamech, Mahalaleel, Methuselah, Noah, Seth, Shem
Places
Tigris-Euphrates Region
Topics
Enoch, God's, Habitually, Walked, Walketh
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Genesis 5:24

     4020   life, of faith
     5769   behaviour
     6023   sin, universality
     8164   spirituality
     8265   godliness
     8462   priority, of God
     9021   death, natural
     9136   immortality, OT

Genesis 5:3-32

     1655   hundreds and thousands
     4016   life, human

Genesis 5:22-24

     5197   walking
     8253   faithfulness, examples

Genesis 5:22-29

     5106   Noah

Library
With, Before, After
'Enoch walked with God,'--GENESIS v. 22. 'Walk before Me.'--GENESIS xvii. 1. 'Ye shall walk after the Lord your God.'--DEUTERONOMY xiii. 4. You will have anticipated, I suppose, my purpose in doing what I very seldom do--cutting little snippets out of different verses and putting them together. You see that these three fragments, in their resemblances and in their differences, are equally significant and instructive. They concur in regarding life as a walk--a metaphor which expresses continuity,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

After the Scripture.
"In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God created He him."--Gen. v. 1. In the preceding pages we have shown that the translation, "in Our image," actually means, "after Our image." To make anything in an image is no language; it is unthinkable, logically untrue. We now proceed to show how it should be translated, and give our reason for it. We begin with citing some passages from the Old Testament in which occurs the preposition "B" which, in Gen. i. 27, stands before image, where
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Neo-Kohlbruggians.
"And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth."--Gen. v. 3. Many are the efforts made to alter the meaning of the word, "Let Us make man in Our image and after Our likeness," (Gen. i. 26) by a different translation; especially by making it to read "in" instead of "after" our likeness. This new reading is Dr. Böhl's main support. With this translation his system stands or falls. According to him, man is not the bearer
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Walking with God. Gen 5:24
Walking with GOD. Gen 5:24 O! for a closer walk with God, A calm and heav'nly frame; A light to shine upon the road That leads me to the Lamb! Where is the blessedness I knew When first I saw the LORD? Where is the soul-refreshing view Of JESUS, and his word? What peaceful hours I once enjoyed! How sweet their memory still! But they have left an aching void, The world can never fill. Return, O holy Dove, return, Sweet messenger of rest; I hate the sins that made thee mourn, And drove thee from
John Newton—Olney Hymns

The Epistle of Saint Jude.
V. 1, 2. Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, but a brother of James, to those that are called to be holy in God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. This Epistle is ascribed to the holy Apostle, St. Jude, brother of the two Apostles, James the Less and Simon, by the sister of the mother of Christ, who is called Mary (wife) of James or Cleopas, as we read in Mark vi. But this Epistle cannot be looked upon as being that of one who was truly an Apostle,
Martin Luther—The Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude Preached and Explained

Consolations against the Fear of Death.
If in the time of thy sickness thou findest thyself fearful to die, meditate-- 1. That it argueth a dastardly mind to fear that which is not; for in the church of Christ there is no death (Isa. xxv. 7, 8), and whosoever liveth and believeth in Christ, shall never die (John xi. 26). Let them fear death who live without Christ. Christians die not; but when they please God, they are like Enoch translated unto God (Gen. v. 24;) their pains are but Elijah's fiery chariot to carry them up to heaven (2
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

"But it is Good for Me to Draw Near to God: I have Put My Trust in the Lord God, that I May Declare all Thy
Psal. lxxiii. 28.--"But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works." After man's first transgression, he was shut out from the tree of life, and cast out of the garden, by which was signified his seclusion and sequestration from the presence of God, and communion with him: and this was in a manner the extermination of all mankind in one, when Adam was driven out of paradise. Now, this had been an eternal separation for any thing that
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Influences that Gave Rise to the Priestly Laws and Histories
[Sidenote: Influences in the exile that produced written ceremonial laws] The Babylonian exile gave a great opportunity and incentive to the further development of written law. While the temple stood, the ceremonial rites and customs received constant illustration, and were transmitted directly from father to son in the priestly families. Hence, there was little need of writing them down. But when most of the priests were carried captive to Babylonia, as in 597 B.C., and ten years later the temple
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

The Promise to the Patriarchs.
A great epoch is, in Genesis, ushered in with the history of the time of the Patriarchs. Luther says: "This is the third period in which Holy Scripture begins the history of the Church with a new family." In a befitting manner, the representation is opened in Gen. xii. 1-3 by an account of the first revelation of God, given to Abraham at Haran, in which the way is opened up for all that follows, and in which the dispensations of God are brought before us in a rapid survey. Abraham is to forsake
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Appendix xii. The Baptism of Proselytes
ONLY those who have made study of it can have any idea how large, and sometimes bewildering, is the literature on the subject of Jewish Proselytes and their Baptism. Our present remarks will be confined to the Baptism of Proselytes. 1. Generally, as regards proselytes (Gerim) we have to distinguish between the Ger ha-Shaar (proselyte of the gate) and Ger Toshabh (sojourner,' settled among Israel), and again the Ger hatstsedeq (proselyte of righteousness) and Ger habberith (proselyte of the covenant).
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Genesis
The Old Testament opens very impressively. In measured and dignified language it introduces the story of Israel's origin and settlement upon the land of Canaan (Gen.--Josh.) by the story of creation, i.-ii. 4a, and thus suggests, at the very beginning, the far-reaching purpose and the world-wide significance of the people and religion of Israel. The narrative has not travelled far till it becomes apparent that its dominant interests are to be religious and moral; for, after a pictorial sketch of
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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