In our NT Seminar today Professor Loren Stuckenbruck discussed chapters 106-108, which gives a birth narrative of Noah. (1 Enoch is a intertestamental-psuedopigraphal writing.) The narrative has Noah being born with the characteristics of one of the Nephilim children–the giants who have an angelic father and human mother. Lamech is worried that Noah is not his own child because he is big like the giants, but more importantly he has shining eyes, white hair, and extols God’s praise from birth. Lamech asks Methuselah, and Methuselah goes to Enoch to get his opinion. Enoch tells Methuselah that Noah really is Lamech’s own child. He then tells how God will judge the world through the deluge, but save humanity through Noah. However, later the evil will be even greater than before the deluge and God will judge again. The story ends with Enoch telling Methuselah that the boy should be named “Noah”, noting the connection to comforting his people.

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