Hebrew word · H2585

חֲנוֹךְ

chanokh

Enoch

A personal name, also used for Cain's son (4:17), a son of Midian (25:4) and a son of Reuben (46:9). The likely root ḥ-n-k means 'dedicate, inaugurate, initiate, train' (Deut 20:5; 1 Kgs 8:63; Prov 22:6), which gives a possible meaning of 'dedicated' or 'initiated one'.

Appears 16 times in 15 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man living at the time before the Flood, first mentioned at Gen.5.18;

son of: Jared (H3382);

father of: Methuselah (H4968)

Also named: Enōch (Ἐνώχ "Enoch" G1802)

§ Enoch = "dedicated"

1) eldest son of Cain

2) son of Jared and father of Methuselah whom God took home to heaven without dying

3) the city which Cain built and named after his son Enoch (after himself)

Hanoch = "dedicated"

4) a son of Midian, the third child

5) the eldest son of Reuben

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Genesis 5:22

Range of meaning

A personal name, also used for Cain's son (4:17), a son of Midian (25:4) and a son of Reuben (46:9). The likely root ḥ-n-k means 'dedicate, inaugurate, initiate, train' (Deut 20:5; 1 Kgs 8:63; Prov 22:6), which gives a possible meaning of 'dedicated' or 'initiated one'.

Against the English

English 'Enoch' comes through Greek Henōch and Latin. It gives no hint of the possible meaning.

Used elsewhere in the period

Cain's Enoch has a city named after him (4:17), and the seventh from Adam in Cain's line is the violent Lamech (4:23–24). Jude 14 calls Seth's Enoch 'the seventh from Adam'. Later Jewish literature (1 Enoch, Jubilees, 2 Enoch) makes him a receiver of heavenly secrets.

From the study of Genesis 5:23

Range of meaning

A personal name, probably from ḥ-n-k, 'to dedicate, inaugurate, train' (compare ḥanukkah, 'dedication'; Prov 22:6 'train up a child'). It is also the name of Cain's son and of the city Cain built (4:17), and later of a son of Midian and a son of Reuben.

Against the English

'Enoch' comes through Greek Henōch and Latin Henoch. The possible sense of 'dedicated' or 'initiated' is invisible in English.

Used elsewhere in the period

Enoch is seventh from Adam (Jude 14 counts him so). Many scholars compare him with Enmeduranki, the seventh antediluvian king in some versions of the Sumerian King List. Enmeduranki ruled at Sippar, the city of the sun-god Shamash, and in Mesopotamian tradition he was taken into the gods' presence and taught the secrets of divination. Second Temple literature (1 Enoch, Jubilees, Sirach 44:16, 49:14) made Enoch a scribe of heavenly knowledge.

Similar words

Where it appears

Genesis · 11

  1. Genesis 4:17 חֲנ֑וֹךְ חֲנֽוֹךְ׃ Enoch

    And Cain had relations with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain built a city and named it after his son Enoch.

  2. Genesis 4:18 לַֽחֲנוֹךְ֙ to Enoch

    Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methusael, and Methusael was the father of Lamech.

  3. Genesis 5:18 חֲנֽוֹךְ׃ Enoch

    When Jared was 162 years old, he became the father of Enoch.

  4. Genesis 5:19 חֲנ֔וֹךְ Enoch

    And after he had become the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.

  5. Genesis 5:21 חֲנ֔וֹךְ Enoch

    When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah.

  6. Genesis 5:22 חֲנ֜וֹךְ Enoch

    And after he had become the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.

    Here: The seventh name in the line from Adam. It probably comes from the root ḥ-n-k, 'dedicate, initiate, train' (used for dedicating a house in Deut 20:5 and for training a child in Prov 22:6), so it may mean 'dedicated' or 'initiated'. This etymology is likely, not certain. Cain's son in 4:17 has the same name, and the two figures are meant to be compared.

  7. Genesis 5:23 חֲנ֑וֹךְ Enoch

    So Enoch lived a total of 365 years.

    Here: The seventh figure in the line from Adam (counting Adam), son of Jared and father of Methuselah. He is not the same person as Cain's son Enoch in 4:17. The name probably comes from the root ḥ-n-k, 'to dedicate, initiate'.

  8. Genesis 5:24 חֲנ֖וֹךְ Enoch

    Enoch walked with God, and then he was no more, because God had taken him away.

    Here: Seventh in the line from Adam through Seth. The name is probably related to the root ḥ-n-k, "dedicate, initiate, train" (as in Hanukkah, "dedication"), but that is uncertain. A different Enoch, Cain's son, appears in Genesis 4:17.

  9. Genesis 25:4 וַחֲנֹ֔ךְ and Hanoch

    The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

  10. Genesis 46:9 חֲנ֥וֹךְ Hanoch

    The sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 6:14 חֲנ֤וֹךְ [were] Hanoch

    These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans of Reuben.

    Here: Reuben's first son, the founder of the Hanochite clan (Num 26:5). The name is the same as 'Enoch' and is usually linked to a root meaning 'dedicate' or 'initiate'.

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 26:5 חֲנוֹךְ֙ Hanoch

    Reuben was the firstborn of Israel. These were the descendants of Reuben: The Hanochite clan from Hanoch, the Palluite clan from Pallu,

1 Chronicles · 3

  1. 1 Chronicles 1:3 חֲנ֥וֹךְ Enoch

    Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah.

  2. 1 Chronicles 1:33 וַחֲנ֔וֹךְ and Hanoch

    The sons of Midian: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All of these were Keturah’s sons.

  3. 1 Chronicles 5:3 חֲנ֥וֹךְ Hanoch

    The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.