Book of Jasher, Chapter 3 — Enoch Reigns over the Earth, Establishes Righteousness, and Is Taken Up to Heaven
1And Enoch lived sixty-five years, and he fathered Methuselah; and Enoch walked with God after he had fathered Methuselah, and he served the Lord, and despised the evil ways of men.
2And the soul of Enoch was wrapped up in the instruction of the Lord, in knowledge and in understanding; and he wisely withdrew from the sons of men, and hid himself from them for many days.
3And at the end of many years, while he was serving the Lord and praying before him in his house, an angel of the Lord called to him from heaven; and he said, Here I am.
4And he said, Rise, go out from your house and from the place where you hide yourself, and appear to the sons of men, so that you may teach them the way they should go and the work they must do to walk in the ways of God.
5And Enoch rose up according to the word of the Lord, and went out from his house, from his place and from the chamber where he was concealed; and he went to the sons of men and taught them the ways of the Lord, and at that time he assembled the sons of men and made known to them the instruction of the Lord.
6And he ordered it to be proclaimed in every place where the sons of men dwelt, saying, Where is the man who wishes to know the ways of the Lord and good works? Let him come to Enoch.
7And all the sons of men then assembled to him, for all who desired this thing went to Enoch; and Enoch reigned over the sons of men according to the word of the Lord, and they came and bowed to him, and they heard his word.
8And the spirit of God was upon Enoch, and he taught all his people the wisdom of God and his ways; and the sons of men served the Lord all the days of Enoch, and they came to hear his wisdom.
9And all the kings of the sons of men, first and last alike, together with their princes and judges, came to Enoch when they heard of his wisdom; and they bowed down to him, and they too asked Enoch to reign over them, and he consented.
10And there assembled in all one hundred and thirty kings and princes, and they made Enoch king over them, and they were all under his power and command.
11And Enoch taught them wisdom, knowledge, and the ways of the Lord; and he made peace among them, and peace was throughout the earth all the days of Enoch's life.
12And Enoch reigned over the sons of men two hundred and forty-three years, and he did justice and righteousness with all his people, and he led them in the ways of the Lord.
13And these are the generations of Enoch: Methuselah, Elisha, and Elimelech, three sons; and their sisters were Melca and Nahmah. And Methuselah lived eighty-seven years, and he fathered Lamech.
14And it was in the fifty-sixth year of the life of Lamech that Adam died; nine hundred and thirty years old was he at his death. And his two sons, with Enoch and Methuselah his son, buried him with great pomp, as at the burial of kings, in the cave that God had told him of.
15And in that place all the sons of men made a great mourning and weeping over Adam; and it has therefore become a custom among the sons of men to this day.
16And Adam died because he ate of the tree of knowledge — he and his children after him, as the Lord God had spoken.
17And it was in the year of Adam's death, which was the two hundred and forty-third year of the reign of Enoch, that Enoch resolved to separate himself from the sons of men and hide himself as at first, in order to serve the Lord.
18And Enoch did so — but not hiding himself from them entirely: he kept away from the sons of men three days, and then went to them for one day.
19And during the three days he was in his chamber, he prayed to the Lord his God and praised him; and on the day he went out and appeared to his subjects, he taught them the ways of the Lord, and all they asked him about the Lord he told them.
20And he did this for many years; and afterward he concealed himself for six days at a time, appearing to his people one day in seven; and after that, once in a month, and then once in a year — until all the kings, princes, and sons of men sought him, and longed again to see the face of Enoch and to hear his word, but they could not. For all the sons of men were greatly afraid of Enoch, and they feared to approach him because of the godlike awe that rested on his countenance; no man could look at him for fear he might be punished and die.
21And all the kings and princes resolved to assemble the sons of men and come to Enoch, thinking that they might all speak with him at the time when he came out among them; and they did so.
22And the day came when Enoch went out, and they all assembled and came to him; and Enoch spoke to them the words of the Lord, and he taught them wisdom and knowledge; and they bowed down before him, and they said, Long live the king! Long live the king!
23And some time after, while the kings and princes and the sons of men were speaking with Enoch, and Enoch was teaching them the ways of God, behold, an angel of the Lord called to Enoch from heaven, and wished to bring him up to heaven, to make him reign there over the sons of God, as he had reigned over the sons of men upon the earth.
24When Enoch heard this, he went and assembled all the inhabitants of the earth, and taught them wisdom and knowledge, and gave them divine instruction; and he said to them, I have been summoned to ascend into heaven, and I do not know the day of my going.
25Now therefore I will teach you wisdom and knowledge, and give you instruction before I leave you, how to act upon the earth so that you may live. And he did so.
26And he taught them wisdom and knowledge, and gave them instruction; and he reproved them, and set before them statutes and judgments to do upon the earth; and he made peace among them, and taught them everlasting life, and dwelt with them some time, teaching them all these things.
27And at that time the sons of men were with Enoch, and Enoch was speaking to them; and they lifted up their eyes, and the likeness of a great horse descended from heaven, and the horse moved in the air.
28And they told Enoch what they had seen; and Enoch said to them, On my account does this horse descend upon the earth. The time has come when I must go from you, and I shall be seen by you no more.
29And the horse descended at that time and stood before Enoch; and all the sons of men who were with Enoch saw it.
30And Enoch then again ordered a voice to be proclaimed, saying, Where is the man who delights to know the ways of the Lord his God? Let him come this day to Enoch, before he is taken from us.
31And all the sons of men assembled and came to Enoch that day; and all the kings of the earth, with their princes and counselors, remained with him that day; and Enoch then taught the sons of men wisdom and knowledge, and gave them divine instruction; and he bade them serve the Lord and walk in his ways all the days of their lives, and he continued to make peace among them.
32And after this he rose up and rode upon the horse, and he went forth; and all the sons of men went after him — about eight hundred thousand men — and they went with him one day's journey.
33And on the second day he said to them, Return home to your tents; why will you go on? Perhaps you will die. And some of them turned back from him; and those who remained went with him six days' journey. And Enoch said to them every day, Return to your tents, lest you die; but they were not willing to return, and they went with him.
34And on the sixth day some of the men still remained and clung to him, and they said to him, We will go with you to the place where you go; as the Lord lives, only death shall separate us from you.
35And they urged so hard to go with him that he ceased speaking to them; and they went after him and would not return.
36And when the kings returned, they had a census taken, to know the number of the men who remained, who had gone with Enoch. And it was on the seventh day that Enoch ascended into heaven in a whirlwind, with horses and chariots of fire.
37And on the eighth day all the kings who had been with Enoch sent to bring back the number of the men who had been with Enoch, from the place from which he had ascended into heaven.
38And all those kings went to the place, and they found the earth there filled with snow, and upon the snow were great stones of snow; and one said to the other, Come, let us break through the snow and see — perhaps the men who remained with Enoch are dead, and lie now under the stones of snow. And they searched, but they could not find him, for he had ascended into heaven.