Evidence #542 | April 29, 2026

Doctrine and Covenants Evidence: Enoch’s Wisdom

Post contributed by

 

Scripture Central

God pouring out his wisdom on Enoch and his people. Image generated via Chat-GPT.

Abstract

In D&C 45:10–12 the Lord’s wisdom is closely associated with Enoch and his people, a detail that is amply corroborated by ancient and medieval sources.

Although wisdom is regularly referenced throughout scripture, this attribute is rarely associated with a specific individual. One significant exception is King Solomon, who was renowned for his wisdom (1 Kings 4:29–34). Joseph and Daniel were also described as being wise (Genesis 41:39; Daniel 1:17). But, generally speaking, most other prophets, apostles, and notable scriptural figures are not associated with wisdom in any prominent way, at least not in the scriptural canon itself.1 For this reason, it is rather interesting that Enoch and his people seem to have a pronounced association with God’s wisdom in D&C 45:10–12:

I will reason as with men in days of old, and I will show unto you my strong reasoning. Wherefore, hearken ye together and let me show unto you even my wisdom—the wisdom of him whom ye say is the God of Enoch, and his brethren, Who were separated from the earth, and were received unto myself—a city reserved until a day of righteousness shall come—a day which was sought for by all holy men.

This statement suggests that Enoch and his people may have been known in ancient times as archetypal recipients of divine wisdom. While nothing in the Bible itself directly hints at this association, the unique wisdom of Enoch is abundantly attested in ancient and medieval traditions.2

Enoch’s Wisdom in Extrabiblical Sources

The Book of Similitudes, a booklet within 1 Enoch, opens with the following description:

The vision which Enoch saw the second time—the vision of wisdom which Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalalel, son of Kenan, son of Enosh, son of Seth, son of Adam, saw: This is the beginning of the words of wisdom which I commenced to propound. … It is good to declare these words to those of former times, but one should not withhold the beginning of wisdom from those of latter days. Until now such wisdom, which I have received as I recited (it) in accordance with the will of the Lord of the Spirits, had not been bestowed upon me before the face of the Lord of the Spirits. (1 Enoch 37:1–4)3

Enoch is also described as passing on his wisdom in 1 Enoch 82:1–2: “Now, Methuselah, my son … I have given wisdom to you, to your children, and to those who shall become your children in order that they may pass it (in turn) to their own children and to the generations that are discerning. All the wise ones shall give praise, and wisdom shall dwell upon your consciousness.”4

In the opening to The Epistle of Enoch, yet another booklet within 1 Enoch, we read, “(Book) five, which is written by Enoch, the writer of all the signs of wisdom among all the people” (1 Enoch 92:1).5 A manuscript variant for this passage states, “Enoch, skilled scribe and wisest of men, and the chosen of the sons of men and judge of all the earth.”6

Remarkably, 2 Enoch also opens with a description of Enoch’s wisdom: “There was a wise man and a great artisan whom the LORD took away. And he loved him so that he might see the highest realms and of the most wise and great and inconceivable and unchanging kingdom of God almighty.”7 Later in the same text, the Lord makes the following statement: “And now, Enoch, whatever I have told you, and whatever you have understood, and whatever you have seen in the heavens, and whatever you have seen on the earth, and whatever I have written in the books—by my supreme wisdom all these things I planned to accomplish.”8

Wisdom is also associated with the angel Metatron (Enoch in his glorified form) in 3 Enoch. In one passage he declares, “Then the Holy One, blessed be he, bestowed upon me wisdom heaped upon wisdom” (3 Enoch 8:2).9 Another passage states, “The Holy One, blessed be he, revealed to me from that time onward all the mysteries of wisdom, all the depths of the perfect Torah and all the thoughts of men’s hearts” (3 Enoch 11:1).10

According to Jubilees 4:16–17, Enoch’s father “called him Enoch. This one was the first who learned writing and knowledge and wisdom, from (among) the sons of men, from (among) those who were born upon earth.”11 Another Jewish text, known as Midrash ’Aggadah, relates that Enoch “walked with the angels for three hundred years. He was with them in the Garden of Eden, and he learned about intercalation, the seasons, the constellations, and many types of wisdom from them.”12 The Zohar declares,

It is taught in the Book of Enoch that at the time they revealed to him the wisdom of the supernal mysteries he saw the Tree which is in the Garden of Eden. They showed to him the celestial secret wisdom, and he discerned that all the worlds were bound to each other. He asked them how they (the worlds) were sustained. They responded: each one of them stands upon the letter yod, and from it they were built and knotted together, as scripture affirms: “all of them You formed with wisdom” (Ps 104:24).13

Enoch’s wisdom is also emphasized in Islamic sources, which identify him as Idris. Other texts associate Enoch with the Egyptian figure known as Hermes. Over time, these associations underwent various degrees of syncretic merging. One Islamic source declares “‘Idris’ was the grandfather of the father of Noah (upon whom be peace). His name in the Torah is Enoch (Akhnukh), and he was called ‘Idris’ due to his constant study (dars) of books, meaning books and wisdom of God.”14 Another source mentions the “Wisdom of the great Hermes, whose deeds are most praiseworthy, whose words and exploits are most gratifying, who is counted as one of the greatest prophets, and who is said to be the prophet Idris, upon whom be peace!”15 Yet another source explains,

The ancient ones among the Greeks claim that Enoch is Hermes, and he bears the surname Trismegistus, meaning a teaching about “three,” because he depicted the Most Exalted Creator with these three attributes: existence, wisdom, and vitality. The Arabs call him Idris. … The third Hermes was Egyptian. He was the one who was called Trismegistus, meaning three times in wisdom, because he appeared as the third of the Hermes sages.16

Conclusion

In addition to the sources cited above, other texts from Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions similarly emphasize Enoch’s profound wisdom, which is often portrayed as being dispensed to him and his people by God or other heavenly beings (see the Appendix). Summarizing this body of research, Andrei Orlov writes:

Scholars have observed that it is possible that “the oldest feature connected to Enoch is that of the primeval sage.” This role of the patriarch as a sage preoccupied with primeval knowledge and wisdom often has been considered by students of Enochic traditions to be principally responsible for shaping the patriarch’s legendary profile.17  

Could Joseph Smith have known of this association in 1830? It is possible, as this detail is present in 1 Enoch, which had been published in English in 1821.18 And it could have been transmitted to him through some other intermediary source, such as Freemasonry.19 Nevertheless, the way that D&C 45:10–12 associates Enoch and his people with divine wisdom is consistent with a host of ancient and medieval sources. At the same time, this element isn’t clearly present in the Bible. It therefore constitutes a consistent detail of Enochic lore that Joseph Smith would have needed to either correctly guess or derive from arcane sources in his day. While it may not be a profound parallel on its own, the proliferation of these types of consistencies within Joseph Smith’s revelations is quite notable.  

Further Reading
Appendix
Relevant Scriptures
Endnotes
Enoch
Wisdom