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On the Apparel of Women

Tertullian

Book 1 · Chapter 3

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter III.—Concerning the Genuineness of “The Prophecy of Enoch.”

I am aware that the Scripture of Enoch, which has

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assigned

this

order

(

of

action

)

to

angels

,

is

not

received

by

some

,

because

it

is

not

admitted

into

the

Jewish

canon

either

.

I

suppose

they

did

not

think

that

,

having

been

published

before

the

deluge

,

it

could

have

safely

survived

that

world

-

wide

calamity

,

the

abolisher

of

all

things

.

If

that

is

the

reason

(

for

rejecting

it

)

,

let

them

recall

to

their

memory

that

Noah

,

the

survivor

of

the

deluge

,

was

the

great

-

grandson

of

Enoch

himself

;

and

he

,

of

course

,

had

heard

and

remembered

,

from

domestic

renown

and

hereditary

tradition

,

concerning

his

own

great

-

grandfather’s

“

grace

in

the

sight

of

God

,

”

and

concerning

all

his

preachings

;

since

Enoch

had

given

no

other

charge

to

Methuselah

than

that

he

should

hand

on

the

knowledge

of

them

to

his

posterity

.

Noah

therefore

,

no

doubt

,

might

have

succeeded

in

the

trusteeship

of

(

his

)

preaching

;

or

,

had

the

case

been

otherwise

,

he

would

not

have

been

silent

alike

concerning

the

disposition

(

of

things

)

made

by

God

,

his

Preserver

,

and

concerning

the

particular

glory

of

his

own

house

.

If (Noah) had not had this (conservative power) by so short a route, there would (still) be this (consideration) to warrant our assertion of (the genuineness of) this Scripture: he could equally have renewed it, under the Spirit’s inspiration, after it had been destroyed by the violence of the deluge, as, after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian storming of it, every document of the Jewish literature is generally agreed to have been restored through Ezra.

But since Enoch in the same Scripture has preached likewise concerning the Lord, nothing at all must be rejected by us which pertains to us; and we read that “every Scripture suitable for edification is divinely inspired.” By the Jews it may now seem to have been rejected for that (very) reason, just like all the other (portions) nearly which tell of Christ. Nor, of course, is this fact wonderful, that they did not receive some Scriptures which spake of Him whom even in person, speaking in their presence, they were not to receive. To these considerations is added the fact that Enoch possesses a testimony in the Apostle Jude.

Notes

2
Comp. de Idol., c. iv.
3
See Gen. v. 21, 25, 28, 29.
4
“Nomine;” perhaps ="account.”
5
Comp. Gen. vi. 8.
6
Prædicatis.
7
Tueretur.
8
In spiritu.
9
Instrumentum.
10
See 2 Tim. iii. 16.
11
See Jude 14, 15.