ויתהלך חנוך את־האלהים ואיננו כי־לקח אתו אלהים
And Enoch walked around with Elohim and was not there because Elohim took him.
Gen 5:24
In P1: The Controversy, it became apparent that the ancient Jews who were looking at the same text we are were coming to different conclusions about its meaning. That Enoch was made exempt from the law of death was neither an obvious nor necessary conclusion. We saw some reasons why in P2: Death. And thus far, we have had no reason, textually, to say Enoch didn’t die, whereas there is already reason to say he did. Now we turn to the final piece of the puzzle and its relation to the Epistle of Hebrews.
For Elohim Took Him
What does it mean for the text to say Elohim took him
? The verb translated take
is לקח. The Septuagint renders it translate
or transfer.
Because both the Hebrew and Greek can communicate different things, its use in Gen 5:24 has spawned a variety of viewpoints. Some of them, however, are more likely than others.
One relatively uncommon use of לקח in the scriptures is to speak of someone’s life being taken—in other words, a reference to death. One example is the classic lament that Job cries upon hearing about the death and destruction of just about everyone and everything he loved:
And he said,
Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.Job 1:21, NASB
Not only is the verb to take
used in the sense of ending life, but it is also used in terms of God. The Satan carried out these catastrophes, but he only acted where the hand of God was stretched out to touch (1:11). Like a commander telling one of his troops to go ahead and kill, God gave the Satan the okay to slay those dear to Job. But unlike a soldier who can kill on his own power, the Satan never could harm Job’s family unless God made it possible (1:12). These events were purposed by the will of God to reverse Job’s fortunes and test him. It can rightfully be said, therefore, that it was God who took
or killed them.
There are, of course, some uses of the verb where this meaning is direct and explicit:
Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.Jonah 4:3, NASB
Another instance of God taking someone comes from Ezekiel. God told Ezekiel that he would take
Ezekiel’s wife—meaning kill her:
Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the desire of your eyes with a blow; but you shall not mourn, and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not come. . . . So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded.
Ezekiel 24:16, 18, NASB
God took
Ezekiel’s wife (killed her) to serve as a symbolic message that he would strike a deathblow against Israel:
Speak to the house of Israel,
Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the delight of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword.Ezekiel 24:21, NASB
This passage in Ezekiel is the one that the Rabbis turned to when they were confronted by those who thought God taking Enoch meant Enoch didn’t die. The Rabbis said if you’re going to decide what happened to Enoch based on the word take,
then you should be aware that most of those who are taken by God in scripture are killed, not otherwise. Even though various haggadic, halakic, and mystic commentary throughout the ages speak about Moses ascending to heaven without dying (to receive Torah) or various Jewish authorities (like Rabbi Akiba), there is no mention of Enoch doing so. That silence is deafening. All my modern Jewish commentaries on Genesis say Enoch died. That Elohim took him
means Enoch died seems to be the normative Jewish interpretation since the first or second century A.D.
While this interpretation makes sense and would seem to clarify the meaning of the particle of negation from merely departing
to actually dying,
it is difficult to comprehend why the scribes who gave us Gen 5 would deviate from their structured pattern of saying and he died
to communicate the same thing anyway. Why not simply continue the pattern by writing and he died
? It might be argued that since Enoch is viewed as having become one of the wicked, he is therefore described in terms that pit his end against the others. The weakness of that argument is that all the others were, supposedly, quite wicked also, which is the reason for God sending the deluge to wipe them out. Why should Enoch be an example of the wrath of God against the wicked if he actually walked around with Elohim,
something that, apparently, couldn’t be said of the others (besides Noah)?
For over a millennium and a half of Christian interpretation, the normative understanding has been that God took Enoch alive to heaven like Jesus—body and all. This understanding has only one basis: the story of Elijah’s ascension. It may be summarized thusly. Elijah knows that his time on earth has come to an end and so he attempts to lose Elisha by going on an extended journey and asking Elisha to remain behind at different points. Elisha, however, knows that Elijah’s end is near and refuses to leave his master’s side. Because this portent appears to be known to all who have the Spirit resting upon them, various children of the prophets
come to Elisha along the way and tell him what he already knows, Elijah is going to be taken.
Then the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him,
Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?And he said,Yes, I know; be still.2 Kings 2:3, NASB
And the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him,
Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?And he answered,Yes, I know; be still.2 Kings 2:5, NASB
Even the children of the prophets end up following Elijah. At the end of his journey, Elijah crosses the Jordan by splitting its waters, and finally admits to Elisha what everyone already knew, he is going to be taken.
Now it came about when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha,
Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.And Elisha said,Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.And he said,You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.2 Kings 2:9-10, NASB
After this, while Elijah and Elisha are walking along and talking, Elijah ascends alive to heaven upon a whirlwind and among chariots and horses of fire. Because it is believed that לקח, to take, is used to describe Elijah’s living ascension, it is reasoned that Elohim took him
means Enoch ascended without dying as well. This, however, is an extremely weak interpretation that should be questioned for a number of serious reasons.
First, the verb to take,
which also appears in Gen 5:24 to say Elohim took Enoch, is probably not describing Elijah’s living ascension at all. In every place where the event itself is being described, not simply foretold, the verb לקח, to take, is nowhere used. This is the first description of the actual event:
And it came about when the LORD was about to take up Elijah by a whirlwind to heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2 Kings 2:1, NASB
Although it is not apparent looking at the English translation, the Hebrew word rendered here as to take up
is actually a completely different word than that used by Elijah, the children of the prophets, or the one used to speak of Enoch (לקח). It is actually עלה, which means to go up or to ascend. In this particular verse, it is an infinitive construct of the Hiphil form, which means bringing up, leading up, going up, or causing to ascend, not to take.
When the dramatic moment finally arrives, the text says:
Then it came about as they were going along and talking, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.
2 Kings 2:11, NASB
Here also, in the actual description of the event, it is not לקח, to take, that is used to describe what happens to Elijah, but עלה, to bring up, lead up, go up, or ascend. After this incredible event unfolds, the children of the prophets speak to Elisha:
And they said to him,
Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men, please let them go and search for your master; perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.And he said,You shall not send.2 Kings 2:16, NASB
Again, the translation has failed to convey the Hebrew. In this final description of the event, it is neither לקח, to take, nor עלה, to ascend, which are used, but נשׂא, which means to lift, raise, or carry. This change reflects the bewilderment of the sons of the prophets who had viewed Elijah’s ascension from afar. Thinking Elijah was merely lifted or carried to another place, they seek permission to go looking for him.
As we can see, the narrative does not use לקח, to take, to describe what happened to Elijah, but עלה, to ascend, so we can be certain that to ascend
and not to take
is the appropriate way to describe what happened. More support for this interpretation comes from an occurrence quite similar to Elijah’s ascension as recorded in the scroll of Judges. A messenger of YHWH comes to Manoah and his woman to tell them of the coming of Samson and to instruct them on how to rear and raise the child. After offering sacrifices to God, the messenger of YHWH ascends alive amidst flames of the fire to heaven.
For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground.
Judges 13:20, NASB
In both the story of Elijah’s and the messenger’s living ascension to heaven, ushered by fire, the verb עלה, to ascend, is used to describe the event, not לקח, to take. And so it seems certain that this is the way we are to understanding such occurrences—not as an instance of taking.
Furthermore, every appearance of the verb to take
in 2 Kings 2 in reference to Elijah’s earthly departure occurs prior to the event and only appears in conversations foretelling it. The exact circumstances of this future event were probably unknown. It is more likely that when Elijah and the prophets speak of Elijah being taken,
they are using it in the sense of Elijah dying (see examples above). If to take
was an appropriate and adequate description of the event of Elijah’s ascension to heaven without dying, then it makes no sense for the scribe to suddenly use a completely different word to describe that event when the scribe had previously used to take
to mean the same thing. The change in use signals a change in meaning.
If, therefore, there is little to no reason to say to take
refers to Elijah ascending to heaven and/or not dying, what reason is there to think Elohim took him
means Enoch ascended to heaven and/or didn’t die? Even if we were to momentarily allow to take
to be used in this way in the Elijah narrative, despite the fact that we have many reasons not to, discounting the verse in question (Gen 5:24), to take
is used nowhere else in the entire Hebrew Bible to describe someone not dying or someone ascending to the heavens. The only reason one could allow such an interpretation of to take
in the Elijah narrative is because the narrative gives us reason outside of that verb to interpret it that way. Had the entire account of Elijah’s ascension and escape from death been missing from the text and all we had was mention of Elijah being taken,
we would have had no reason whatsoever to think Elijah ascended to heaven and/or didn’t experience death. A consistent interpretation demands that we look at Enoch according to the same criteria. Unless there is some reason to believe Enoch didn’t die and/or ascended to heaven apart from the phrase Elohim took him,
there is absolutely no reason to think this is what the phrase means.
This is why the Epistle to the Hebrews is so vital to Christian interpretation. Many believe it says Enoch didn’t die. If not for a dependence on this particular understanding of Hebrews, most Christians would never have even contemplated the idea. I will therefore end these posts with a look at Hebrews to see what, in fact, it may actually be saying.
So if Elohim took him
can’t simply mean death and if we have no reason to think it means Enoch didn’t die and/or ascended somewhere, what DOES it mean? While all the meanings of to take
we have looked at are either relatively rare or unique and improbable, there is one meaning that is quite common and much more likely to be the proper interpretation: redemption.
This analysis is continued in P4: Out Of Sheol.