The Books of Enoch: Inspiration in the Epistle of Jude and the Coptic Tradition

Despite the profound impact of St. Athanasius’s Easter Letter No. 39 regarding the canon of Scripture, the Book of Enoch sparked considerable controversy due to the circulation of Coptic manuscripts within the Christian community in Egypt—a community historically intertwined with the Ethiopian Church during the Middle Ages. Consequently, a critical theological question arises: why would the author of the Epistle of Jude draw upon apocryphal writings such as the Book of Enoch? Examining the concept of divine inspiration in Coptic literature, alongside the intended audience of the text, clarifies the complex relationship between the canonical status of the Epistle of Jude and the Book of Enoch. Furthermore, these Coptic readings shed significant light on the nature and reception of the biblical quotations found within the Epistle of Jude.

Dr. Father Polos R. Sedra is an Egyptian Coptic Orthodox priest and scholar affiliated with the Institute of Coptic Studies in Cairo. His stated specialisation concerns Coptic and Old Testament manuscript traditions. Public biographical and institutional sources also document his teaching of the Old Testament and Hebrew at theological institutions in Egypt.

His conference presentation examines the relationship between the Books of Enoch, the Epistle of Jude, biblical inspiration and the reception of Scripture in the Coptic tradition.