SPCK first published R. H. Charles’s translation of the Book of Enoch in 1917 and it has remained in print ever since. R. H. Charles is recognized as one of the leading figures in Enoch scholarship and his masterly translation remains the standard edition of the text in English. The Book of Enoch has recently reached a far wider audience due to Dan Brown’s phenomenally successful novel, The Da Vinci Code, which has various allusions to this important book. This reissue of the classic translation has been reformatted so that the text is both clearer and larger.

The Book of Enoch is an invaluable resource for all those who are interested in learning about Christian origins. It sheds light on the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke and the reader can gain a clearer understanding of many concepts found in the New Testament, such as demonology, future judgment, the Messiah and the Messianic Kingdom, the title ‘son of man’ and the resurrection.

‘The greatest importance of Enoch is that it was not only a pre-Christian book, but also a post-Christian book, a text from their Jewish background kept and used by the earliest churches. When we use Enoch as a ‘context’ for the New Testament, many early Christian ideas come into a much clearer focus, and many of the gaps in the New Testament can be bridged.’

From The Lost Prophet: The Book of Enoch and its Influence on Christianity by Margaret Barker