Walter Vogels: Enoch Walked with God and God Took Enoch (Genesis 5:21-24)Theoforum (Eglise et Théologie) 34 (2003), 283-303The final redactors of the prehistory (Gn 1-11) have placed towards its middle the list of the antediluvianpatriarchs (Gn 5) and in that list, in the 7th position, appears Enoch (5:21-24).1 One thing can be said withouthesitation, all exegetes agree (which happens rarely): this passage is mysterious and exceptional. I start witha review on how biblical scholars have approached the text in the past, and include some methodologicalobservations. I then show how the structure of this passage forms an exception to the regular structure of thedifferent paragraphs of Gn 5. Finally, I study the surprising statements concerning Elioch in the passage.1. Before -Within- After the Text of Gn 5:21-24In biblical studies it has become more and more accepted to speak about 3 types of interpretation of texts: anauthor-centred interpretation which looks for the world behind the text, a text-centred interpretation whichlooks for the world within the text, and a reader-centred interpretation which looks for the world in front ofthe text.2 This is not exactly how the Enoch passage has been studied, and understandably so. I do not seehow a reader-centred interpretation would affect the meaning of the text. What would, for instance, afeminist reading or a materialistic reading contribute to our understanding? But still, for this text, too, onecan easily distinguish 3 approaches that have been used during the history of its exegesis: a search for whatlies before the present text, for what is within the text, and for what happened after the text.For a long time scholars have been searching for what was before the present Enoch text. The discovery ofextra-biblical documents, especially from Mesopotamia, and in a lesser degree also from Egypt, has greatlyaffected the understanding of the biblical prehistory (Gn 1-11). The extra-biblical stories of creation and ofthe flood...