What was special about a man named Enoch?

Answer:

More than one man held the name "Enoch," but the one we recall as being special is mentioned in Genesis 5:22-24, "After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him." The last phrase tells us that Enoch did not experience death as the vast majority of mankind has done. Though his days on the Earth were not as long as his family, God took him because he walked with God for over 300 years. He is listed among the heroes of faith for the same reason. "By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God" (Hebrews 11:5).

The phrase "walked with God" is only used one other time as a characteristic of Noah. "Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God" (Genesis 6:9). Hence, we know that walking with God refers to living righteously. Zachariah and Elizabeth, John the Baptist's parents, were described as "And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless" (Luke 1:6). Yet, though many walked in God's way, only one man, Enoch, was granted the gift of not experiencing death because of his obedience.

Outside of this, we know almost nothing about the man. Jude contains one quote from Enoch. Jude was given the words by the inspiration of the Spirit since they do not appear anywhere else. "Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."" (Jude 14).