I couldn’t tell which way your inclinations led in regards to validity, but I appreciate the suggestions a great deal. For instance, I hadn’t considered examining commentaries based on their date of publication and then using that information to find opposing commentaries (to create a better informed opinion).

The whole task of figuring this out, even just for myself, seems immensely daunting considering my current workload. Hopefully it will be a little less frightening after this semester is over (and my current paper, with a dozen books on their way to Meyer Library for research, is behind me).

http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/boe/index.htm

It is kind of ironic that we are trying to determine the validity of a document that has the validity of knowledge at the core of its controversy. This work extends the questions of how knowledge becomes sinful from the Genesis account of the tree of knowledge. The knowledge presented to man is obviously done in a way connected with mysticism, but people reading this work are left to question the problems with this knowledge. The problem comes from very small pieces of the list that suggests the fallen watchers taught things that Genesis implies God taught. Metal work is one focused on point, since Genesis has a piece stating man was purposely put close to precious metals in the Garden of Eden. I think as you read it though, it will be clear why the knowledge listed in the Book of Watchers can be considered sinful from any Judeo-Christian standpoint.

When looking for commentaries, a key subject to find different opposing sources on will be the time frame of authorship. There are arguments for an actual authorship from Enoch himself based on lack of references to the Torah and other Jewish works during the most accepted time of authorship. Some believe the books were orally transmitted in small Jewish communities in Ethiopia till they were written down only a couple hundred years before Christ.

Many scholars have reasons they believe this work reflects the second temple era. The most commonly held view is that Enoch was a famous figure used as a pen name for these works to give weight to the ideas of the authors.