Why Jasher, Jubilees, and Enoch Are Not Scripture

Weighed against the Canon and Found Wanting

Jasher is cited in Joshua and 2 Samuel. Jude attributes a prophecy to Enoch. Jubilees claims angelic dictation on Sinai. These books fill gaps, answer questions the canon leaves open, and feel biblical. But feeling biblical and being biblical are not the same thing — and Scripture provides its own test.

The Principle

Scripture can reference a text without endorsing it as divinely inspired. Joshua 10:13 cites "the book of Jasher" for the long day. Second Samuel 1:18 records David's lament as catalogued in Jasher. Both citations validate specific data — not the entire book's theology.

This is the same pattern Paul uses when he quotes the Cretan poet Epimenides — "Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies" — and affirms the specific observation: "this witness is true" (Titus 1:12-13). Nobody argues that Epimenides is Scripture because Paul cited him.

The correct posture: cite for data, test against canon, reject where it contradicts.

Test 1: Jasher — Rachel Speaks from the Grave

This is the clearest test case in the entire pseudepigraphal corpus, because the canonical position on the state of the dead is so thoroughly established.

What the canon says

Nine Old Testament passages explicitly describe death as unconsciousness:

Two New Testament statements confirm no one has ascended to heaven:

For the full 11-passage analysis and resolution of every counter-text, see The Population of the Renewed Earth and Land of the Free, Home from the Grave.

What Jasher claims

In chapter 42, Jasher expands the canonical account of Joseph's sale (Genesis 37:25-36) with a legendary scene. While the Ishmaelite traders carry the newly sold Joseph toward Egypt, they pass Rachel's tomb near Ephrath — the place where she died giving birth to Benjamin (Genesis 35:19-20). Joseph runs to his mother's grave, falls on it, and weeps bitterly.

He cries out to her: "O my mother, my mother, thou who didst give me birth, awake now, and rise and see thy son, how he has been sold for a slave, and no one to pity him... Arise and see thy son, weep with me... see the heart of my brethren... comfort my father..."

Rachel responds from the grave: "My son Joseph... I have heard the voice of thy weeping... I know thy troubles... it grieves me for thy sake... Now therefore... hope to the Lord... do not fear, for the Lord is with thee... Rise my son, go down unto Egypt with thy masters..."

The contradiction

Rachel carries on a full conversation — hearing, knowing, grieving, advising, even prophesying. Line by line, she violates every canonical statement about the dead:

Rachel does	Canon says	Ref
Knows Joseph's troubles	"The dead know not any thing"	Eccl 9:5
Thinks, reasons, gives advice	"His thoughts perish"	Ps 146:4
Remembers Joseph, his brothers, Jacob	"No remembrance" in death	Ps 6:5
Displays wisdom and prophesies	"No knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave"	Eccl 9:10
Invokes God's faithfulness	"The grave cannot praise thee"	Isa 38:18

The canonical account of Joseph's sale (Genesis 37:25-36) records no stop at Rachel's grave and no conversation with the dead — because the canonical authors understood that the dead cannot speak. The silence is not an oversight that Jasher fills. It is the doctrine working as designed.

The Jasher scene is emotionally powerful — that's why it persists. But emotional power is not the test of canonicity. Internal consistency with the Torah is. And this scene fails that test completely.

Verdict: FAIL — Jasher contradicts nine explicit canonical passages on the state of the dead.

Test 2: Jasher — Enoch "Ascended Into Heaven"

Jasher chapter 3 describes Enoch's departure from earth. The phrase it uses — repeatedly — is "ascended into heaven":

What Scripture actually says

Scripture describes the same event with deliberately different language — and categorically denies that any man has ascended to heaven:

No mention of heaven. No ascension. God "took" him — and that is all Genesis says.

The word is G3346 metatithemi — to transfer, transpose, transport. Not "ascended." Translated. He was transported. He "was not found" — he vanished from his own time period.

The contradiction

The word choice matters. Scripture deliberately avoids saying Enoch "ascended into heaven." Genesis says God "took" him. Hebrews says he was "translated" — transported, transferred. Jasher uses the exact phrase that John 3:13 categorically denies: ascended into heaven.

Jasher also adds a theological claim beyond the mere location: Enoch was brought to heaven "to make him reign there over the sons of God." This is not found anywhere in the canonical text. It parallels 1 Enoch's framework of Enoch enthroned in heaven — a premise that contradicts both John 3:13 and Hebrews 11:39-40 ("they without us should not be made perfect"). Both Jasher and 1 Enoch build on a premise Scripture denies.

Verdict: FAIL — Jasher says Enoch "ascended into heaven" (5x). Scripture says he was "translated" / "taken." John 3:13 says no man has ascended to heaven.

Test 3: Enoch — Enoch Is the Messiah

This is the most disqualifying claim in the entire pseudepigraphal corpus.

In the Parables of Enoch (1 Enoch 37-71), the text builds toward a climactic revelation. Throughout chapters 46-62, a figure called "the Son of Man," "the Elect One," and "the Anointed One" is described in unmistakably messianic terms — seated on the throne of glory, judging the kings and the mighty, possessing righteousness, chosen before creation. The reader naturally assumes this figure is a prophecy of the coming Messiah.

Then in 1 Enoch 71:14, the angel reveals the identity:

Enoch himself is identified as the messianic Son of Man. The entire Parables section has been building toward this: Enoch is the pre-existent, enthroned, anointed judge of the nations.

The canonical contradiction

The canon is unambiguous about who the Messiah is. He is from the line of David, from the tribe of Judah, from Bethlehem:

And in Daniel 7:13-14, "one like the Son of man" comes with the clouds of heaven and receives dominion from the Ancient of Days — the very title 1 Enoch appropriates for Enoch himself.

Enoch is from the antediluvian line of Seth (Genesis 5:18-24). He is not from Judah. He is not from David. He has no claim to the throne. The canonical Enoch is described in one verse — "Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him" (Genesis 5:24) — and one NT commentary — "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death" (Hebrews 11:5). Nothing in the canon even hints at a messianic role.

A book that identifies the wrong person as the Son of Man is not a peripheral error. It is a competing gospel.

The counterarguments — and why they don't resolve it

Defenders of 1 Enoch raise several objections to this reading. They deserve honest consideration:

"The translation is disputed." The Ethiopic of 71:14 uses walda be'si — an idiom for "human being" — rather than walda sab'e, the phrase used for "the Son of Man" elsewhere in the Parables (46:3, 62:5, 69:29). Some scholars argue 71:14 is saying "you are a son of man" (a human, like Ezekiel is called 93 times) rather than "you are THE Son of Man" (the messianic figure). This is a real linguistic distinction.

But the context works against this defense. The entire Parables section builds toward a climactic revelation of the Son of Man's identity. If 71:14 is merely saying "you are a human being" — something obvious about Enoch — it is the most anticlimactic conclusion possible to 25 chapters of escalating messianic imagery. The narrative weight of the passage demands more than a statement of species.

"Enoch watches the Son of Man in earlier visions — he can't be watching himself." In chapters 46, 62, and 69, Enoch observes the Son of Man as a separate figure. If 71:14 identifies Enoch as that figure, it contradicts the rest of the Parables. This is a genuine internal inconsistency — and it cuts both ways. Either the identification is wrong (in which case, what IS the climax of the Parables?), or the text has a serious internal contradiction (in which case, it is not divinely inspired).

"The Parables section is a later addition." Chapters 37-71 are completely absent from the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran — the only section of 1 Enoch not represented there. Most scholars date the Parables to 40 BCE - 70 CE, well after the rest of the text. If the section containing the Son of Man identification was added later, that undermines the book's integrity as a unified revelation — and raises the question of what other material was added or altered.

The best-case scenario for 1 Enoch is that 71:14 doesn't really identify Enoch as the Messiah — in which case the book's climax is either incoherent or anticlimactic, the Parables section was likely added centuries after the rest, and the text has internal contradictions. The worst case is that it does identify Enoch as the Messiah — a direct contradiction of the Davidic covenant. Neither outcome supports treating the book as Scripture.

The book describes communication with the dead

Beyond the messianic claim, 1 Enoch has a problem Torah would immediately flag. In chapter 22, Enoch tours sheol and encounters Abel's spirit — conscious, speaking, making accusations against Cain from a compartment inside a mountain. Raphael introduces Enoch to the dead and explains who they are. This is communication with the dead — the very practice Torah calls an abomination:

This is the sin that ended Saul's kingdom (1 Samuel 28). But doesn't 1 Samuel 28 itself describe Samuel's spirit appearing and speaking? It does — and Scripture narrates the event while condemning it: "Saul died for his transgression... for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it" (1 Chronicles 10:13). The text records what happened and pronounces the verdict: this act destroyed him. Scripture narrates sins without endorsing them — David's adultery, Jephthah's vow, Solomon's idolatry.

1 Enoch does the opposite. In chapter 22, an archangel guides Enoch through sheol, introduces him to conscious dead spirits, and explains their conditions — as a legitimate divine revelation. The book does not condemn the encounter. It presents communication with the dead as God-authorized prophecy. That is the difference: 1 Samuel says consulting the dead destroyed Saul; 1 Enoch says consulting the dead is how God reveals truth.

And notice what the canon says about Abel: his blood cries from the ground (Genesis 4:10) — not his spirit from a compartment. The blood cries. The person is dead.

1 Enoch 22 describes four compartments in sheol for different categories of dead — all conscious, all awaiting judgment. But this architecture only works if the dead are awake. If the dead "know not anything" (Ecclesiastes 9:5), if "his thoughts perish" (Psalm 146:4), if they are in "silence" (Psalm 115:17) and "sleep" (Daniel 12:2) — compartments serve no purpose. 1 Enoch's sheol is built on a premise the canonical text denies. This is the same tradition behind the "two compartments" reading of the Rich Man and Lazarus parable (Luke 16:19-31) — imagery Jesus used to make a point about Torah, not to map sheol's architecture.

Enoch was taken — but where?

Genesis 5:24 says "God took him." Hebrews 11:5 says Enoch was "translated that he should not see death." The word is G3346 metatithemi — to transfer, transpose, transport. Enoch did not die. He was transported. He "was not found" — he vanished from his own time period. But the canon never says he went to heaven:

And he has not yet received the promise:

None of them are made perfect without us. It is a collective event — the resurrection. If Enoch didn't die and didn't go to heaven, where did he go? The simplest resolution consistent with all the texts: he was transported through time and space to the resurrection event itself — arriving at the moment when all the faithful are made perfect together. He vanished from his generation. He arrives at ours. No death, no heaven, no contradiction.

Either way — whether Enoch sleeps or was transported forward — 1 Enoch's framework of a conscious prophet touring sheol, speaking with dead spirits, and being enthroned as the Son of Man contradicts what Scripture says about the dead, what Torah commands about consulting them, and who the Messiah is.

The calendar — same error as Jubilees

1 Enoch's astronomical sections (chapters 72-82) lay out a solar-dominated cosmology. Some read it as a strict 364-day solar-only calendar — the same framework Jubilees and the Dead Sea Scrolls adopt. Others read its lunar sections as supporting a sliver-moon month-start. The text is ambiguous enough to sustain both readings — and that ambiguity is itself a problem, because the canonical text is not ambiguous about the moon's role.

Genesis 1:16 says God made the moon a "great light" to "govern the night with the stars." Psalm 104:19 says He appointed the moon for moedim. Only the full moon is visible from dusk to dawn, ruling the entire night alongside the constellations. No matter which way 1 Enoch is read — solar-only (no lunar month at all) or sliver-moon (barely visible, vanishes after sunset) — it never arrives at the full moon. Like every other extrabiblical calendar system, it lands on the wrong answer.

For the full canonical argument, see When Does the Month Start? and Solar Only Calendars.

So 1 Enoch fails on four independent counts: it identifies the wrong Messiah, it describes communication with conscious dead spirits (violating Deuteronomy 18:10-12 and contradicting the canonical state of the dead), its premise assumes Enoch is alive and touring the cosmos (contradicting John 3:13 and Hebrews 11:39-40), and its astronomical framework contradicts the creation mandate on the moon's authority.

What about Jude 14-15?

Jude 14 says "Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied" — he attributes a prophecy to Enoch the person, not to a book. Jude quotes Enoch, not the Book of Enoch. The prophecy itself — "the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment" — aligns with canonical teaching:

Jude validates one datum that the canon independently confirms. He does not endorse 1 Enoch's messianic claim for Enoch, its compartmentalized sheol, its Watcher mythology, or its astronomical cosmology. Quoting a person's prophecy is not canonizing a book written in that person's name — just as Joshua citing Jasher for the long day does not canonize Jasher's Rachel speaking from the grave.

Verdict: FAIL — 1 Enoch identifies the wrong Messiah, describes communication with conscious dead (an abomination per Deuteronomy 18:10-12), contradicts the canonical state of the dead, and demotes the moon from its canonical authority over the moedim.

Test 4: Jubilees — Adding To and Taking From the Torah

Jubilees claims to be an angelic revelation to Moses on Sinai — dictated by the "Angel of the Presence" from heavenly tablets while Moses was receiving the Torah (Jubilees 1:1-4, 26-29; 2:1). It tells readers that the Torah they have is incomplete without this secret supplement. Deuteronomy 4:2 was written to prevent exactly this kind of claim.

Five specific failures:

4a. Invents commandments and death penalties the Torah never gave

Jubilees repeatedly inserts laws and penalties Moses never gave:

• Sabbath marital relations — forbidden under penalty of death (Jubilees 50:7-8). The Torah's Sabbath commands say nothing about this.
• Sabbath fasting — a capital offense (Jubilees 50:12-13). Yet Moses himself fasted forty days including Sabbaths (Exodus 34:28).
• Intermarriage penalty — stoning and burning for a father who gives his daughter to a Gentile (Jubilees 30:7-17). The Torah does not prescribe this punishment.
• Extra offering rules — specific wood types for altar use (Jubilees 21:12-16), not found in Leviticus.

These are textbook violations of Deuteronomy 4:2. The Torah presents its penal code as complete. A book that invents new capital offenses is adding to the word.

4b. Removes the patriarchs' sins

The Torah candidly records the patriarchs' failures — and those failures are theologically essential. They demonstrate that God's covenant faithfulness does not depend on human perfection. Jubilees edits this out:

• Abraham's deception about Sarah being his sister (Genesis 12:10-20) — completely omitted.
• Jacob's deception of Isaac to obtain the blessing (Genesis 27) — rewritten so Jacob is blameless.

The raw Genesis accounts are cited in the New Testament precisely because they show flawed humans receiving unmerited grace (Romans 4:1-5, Romans 9:10-13, Hebrews 11:8-12). Jubilees turns history into propaganda — making the patriarchs flawless Torah-keepers. This is subtracting the Torah's theological point about human sinfulness and divine grace.

4c. Replaces the Torah's calendar

Jubilees mandates a fixed 364-day solar year and explicitly condemns anyone who observes the moon:

First Enoch's astronomical sections (chapters 72-82) support this same solar-only framework. The canonical text makes both luminaries authoritative:

The creation mandate establishes a non-negotiable condition: the moon must be a "great light" that "governs the night with the stars." Only the full moon is visible from dusk to dawn, ruling the entire night alongside the visible constellations. The sliver moon vanishes shortly after sunset, is barely visible, and cannot co-rule the night with the stars. The dark moon is not a light at all — it cannot serve as a sign.

Every major extrabiblical calendar tradition lands on the wrong side of the moon question. Jubilees and 1 Enoch eliminate the moon entirely. The rabbinic tradition (Talmud, Josephus, Philo) uses the dark moon or sliver moon. The ancient nations — Egypt, Babylon, China — all started months at or near the dark moon. None of them arrive at the full moon.

For the full canonical argument for full-moon month-start, see When Does the Month Start? For the detailed refutation of the 364-day solar calendar, see Solar Only Calendars.

4d. Backdates rituals the Torah presents as new

An important nuance: we believe Torah principles are eternal. Genesis 26:5 says Abraham "obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws" — using the full Mosaic vocabulary centuries before Sinai. The seventh-day pattern is established at creation. Abel and Noah offer sacrifices. There are strong hints of pre-Sinai awareness of God's ways.

The problem with Jubilees is not that it shows patriarchs following God's ways. The problem is that it backdates specific ritual details that the Torah explicitly presents as new at the time they were given:

• "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months" (Exodus 12:2) — presented as a new instruction to Israel. Jubilees claims the patriarchs already kept Passover with the same details.
• Abraham inventing Sukkot rituals — circling the altar seven times with palm branches and fruits (Jubilees 16:20-31). Leviticus 23:33-43 presents the Sukkot instructions through Moses; the text does not say "as your father Abraham already did."
• Noah keeping Shavuot with the rainbow covenant sign (Jubilees 6). The Torah presents the firstfruits/weeks observance as part of the Sinai legislation (Leviticus 23:15-21).

The test is simple: where the Torah itself says "this is new" or frames a command as first-given, Jubilees contradicts it by backdating. Where the Torah leaves room for eternal principles (Genesis 26:5, Genesis 2:2-3), that is a different question entirely.

4e. Claims to be a parallel Sinai revelation

The ultimate "adding to the word": Jubilees opens by claiming the Angel of the Presence dictated the entire book to Moses from heavenly tablets while he was on the mountain receiving the Torah. This would require us to believe Moses received two conflicting books on Sinai — one plain (our Torah) and one with hundreds of additions, subtractions, and corrections.

The consistent testimony of Jewish and Christian canons for two thousand years (outside the Ethiopian tradition) is that the Torah stands alone as God's sufficient word. Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32 were written to prevent exactly this scenario.

Verdict: FAIL — Jubilees adds commandments, removes patriarchal sins, replaces the calendar, backdates rituals, and claims Sinai-level authority.

The Scorecard

Test	Book	Claim	Canon says	Result
State of the dead	Jasher 42	Rachel speaks, knows, advises from the grave	Dead know nothing (Eccl 9:5), thoughts perish (Ps 146:4)	FAIL
Enoch ascended to heaven	Jasher 3	Enoch "ascended into heaven" (5x), reigns over sons of God	"Translated" / "took" (Gen 5:24, Heb 11:5); "no man hath ascended" (Jn 3:13)	FAIL
Identity of the Messiah	1 Enoch 71:14	Enoch is the Son of Man	Messiah is from David's line (2 Sam 7:12, Isa 9:6, Mic 5:2)	FAIL
Communication with the dead	1 Enoch 22	Enoch tours sheol, speaks with Abel's conscious spirit	Consulting the dead is an abomination (Deut 18:10-12); dead know nothing (Eccl 9:5); Abel's blood cries, not his spirit (Gen 4:10)	FAIL
Enoch alive in heaven	1 Enoch (entire premise)	Enoch is conscious, touring the cosmos, enthroned	"No man hath ascended" (Jn 3:13); "not made perfect without us" (Heb 11:39-40)	FAIL
Calendar / moon demoted	1 Enoch 72-82	364-day solar year; moon is secondary/irregular	Moon is a "great light" governing the night (Gen 1:16); appointed for moedim (Ps 104:19)	FAIL
Invented commandments	Jubilees 50:7-8	New death penalties for Sabbath	Torah gives no such penalties; Moses fasted 40 days (Exod 34:28)	FAIL
Patriarchal hagiography	Jubilees	Removes Abraham's and Jacob's deceptions	Torah records these candidly; NT cites the raw accounts	FAIL
Calendar authority	Jubilees 6:36-38	Solar-only 364-day; condemns the moon	Moon appointed for moedim (Ps 104:19, Gen 1:14-16)	FAIL
Backdating rituals	Jubilees 16:20-31	Abraham invented Sukkot rituals	Torah presents instructions through Moses (Lev 23:33-43)	FAIL
Parallel Sinai claim	Jubilees 1:1-4	Angel dictated this book alongside Torah	"Ye shall not add" (Deut 4:2)	FAIL
Citation = endorsement?	Jasher (Josh, 2 Sam)	Full book is Scripture because cited	Citations validate specific data, not entire source	FAIL

The Right Posture

These books can be useful the same way Josephus, the Talmud, or archaeological records are useful — as historical witnesses that illuminate context, preserve details, and corroborate timelines. In this book, we reference Jasher in exactly this way: Jasher 82:6 for the "same day" meaning in the Sinai arrival chronology, and Jasher 88:63-64 for the "36 moments" detail in Joshua's long day. In both cases, the data point is tested against the canonical text and accepted only where it aligns.

The error is treating these books as equal authority with the canonical text — importing their theology wholesale rather than extracting their history selectively. When Jasher's Rachel speaks from the grave, Jasher has moved from historical chronicle to theological claim. When Enoch is identified as the Son of Man, the book has moved from apocalyptic literature to competing gospel. When Jubilees invents new death penalties and condemns the moon, it has moved from commentary to rival Torah.