The KJV has Paul saying Enoch was translated (metatithemi – G3346) that he should not see death (Hebrews 11:5). Other translations say Enoch was: taken from the earth; transplanted from earth; taken up; taken away; taken to heaven, to express what occurred. In other places in the New Covenant Scriptures the word is rendered: carried over (Acts 7:16); changed (Hebrews 7:12); removed (Galatians 1:6); and turning (Jude 1:4). From these Scriptures it may be clearly understood that the translators of Hebrews 11:5 have added words like “earth” and “heaven” to the verb they used: i.e. taken, transplanted, taken away, carried over etc.
In other places in the New Covenant Scriptures we are told that no man has ascended into heaven (John 3:13). Therefore, Hebrews 11:5 cannot mean that Enoch was carried or taken up into heaven! John 3:13 denies such an idea. Enoch could not have been taken to heaven in one verse of the word of God and at the same time say no man had ascended into heaven in another verse. The two ideas are mutually contradictory (cf. John 10:35). Therefore, if Jesus said “no man has ascended into heaven,” this must also refer to Enoch.
How, then, should Paul be understood? The word of God speaks of two different deaths. There is a first death, a spiritual death, that occurred on the very day that Adam ate of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:6-7). The second or physical death didn’t occur until 930 years after Adam was created (Genesis 5:5). Therefore, the death that the Lord mentioned in Genesis 2:17 must have been spiritual death, not the physical one. The logical conclusion, then, is that, if Enoch didn’t ascend into heaven (viz. John 3:13) but died (Hebrews 9:27), then the death that Paul mentions in Hebrews 11:5 must refer to spiritual death!
The nearest antecedent to ‘was not found’ in Hebrews 11:5 is **death**, not Enoch. Therefore, it is death that wasn’t found, that is, Enoch didn’t see spiritual death, because he “believed” God (cf. John 8:51) and was carried away in the spirit into heavenly places by the Spirit of God, which the Lord placed in him (cp. 1Peter 1:11; Ephesians 2:6). In other words, since the spirit that allowed man to have fellowship with God was dead, the Lord substituted his Spirit to enable Enoch to understand spiritual things (cp. Galatians 2:20). Having the Spirit of God doesn’t demand anyone to ascend bodily into heaven. The Scriptures testify of how much a living spirit is needed to have fellowship with God and understand spiritual matters.
It’s interesting that every other patriarch lived to be 777 to 960 years old, with most living over 900 years. Yet, Enoch lived to be only 365 years old (Genesis 5:22-24). While this is a long life by today’s standards, it was a very short life among the patriarchs. According to Jude 1:14-16, Enoch was the seventh from Adam and was a preacher of righteousness, meaning his spiritual eyes had been opened, because he had pleased God by expressing his trust in him in some manner (Hebrews 11:5). So, why did Enoch, a preacher of righteousness, live such a short life by the standards of Genesis 5? It may be, because he was slain by Lamech, the seventh from Adam in the lineage of Cain (Genesis 4:19-24). There, Lamech admitted to slaying a young man, and he compared himself to Cain who slew his righteous brother, Abel. It may be that this murder was placed in the lineage of Cain to show how Enoch died, because it is implied in the Scriptures that he and Lamech were contemporaries.
In Hebrews 11:6 Paul tells us that, without faith, it is impossible to please God. While Genesis never mention that either Abel or Enoch had faith, they must have had faith, if they pleased God, and the Scriptures do say or imply that both men lived a life pleasing to God. Therefore, Paul proves his point through logic. If only faith pleases God, then those, concerning whom God is pleased, must have had faith. To simply believe that God exists, is not enough. Both Cain and Lamech believed God existed and feared, but they simply didn’t trust him. Both Abel and Enoch showed they believed God would reward them, if they acknowledged him and sought to live in a manner that honored him.
In the context of Hebrews 11, we need to keep in mind that Paul mentions the patriarchs in an effort to encourage his readers. They were being persecuted and some had already lost their lives. Notice what Jude claimed about Enoch:
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage (Jude 1:14-16 KJV).
Evidently, Enoch had been confronting his generation with the fact that they were living lives that were ungodly, doing all kinds of evil things, even slandering God. They complained and lived according to however they desired without considering the will of God. Enoch prophesied, therefore, that God would eventually judge such behavior. In this context, Lamech’s evil deed (Genesis 4:23) makes sense in the light of Enoch’s comparatively short life.
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