Traditions: Jewish biblical; Islamic Qur’anic and exegetical Motif: An ancient righteous figure uniquely taken or raised Connection verdict: Possible traditional identification, not explicit in the two verses Article status: Expanded Date: 2026-10-25
Summary
Genesis 5:21–24 says Enoch walked with God and then was taken by God. Qur’an 19:56–57 calls Idrīs truthful and prophetic and says God raised him to a high station. Later interpreters often identify Idrīs with Enoch. The short scriptural passages themselves, however, do not say that their differently named figures are the same person.
Enoch’s brief genealogy
In Genesis 5:21–24, Enoch’s life appears within a genealogy whose repeated pattern normally ends in death. Enoch’s notice breaks that rhythm: he walks with God and “was no more” because God took him. The text does not narrate a tour of the heavens, a detailed revelation, or later journeys. Those fuller stories belong to subsequent Enochic literature and reception.
Idrīs’ high station
In Qur’an 19:56–57, Idrīs is described as truthful and a prophet, and God raises him to a high station. The compact passage gives no parentage, date, travel itinerary, or explicit equation with Enoch. That silence matters. Muslim exegetical traditions can and do connect the figure with Enoch, but the identification is an interpretive development rather than wording supplied by these two verses.
Compare text and reception separately
Both figures are unusually elevated and associated with righteousness. That makes the traditional identification understandable. It does not, by itself, establish an independent historical identity or a direct textual equation. A fuller investigation would trace Arabic, Syriac, Jewish, and Christian interpretations across time. Collapsing all of that history into “the Qur’an calls Enoch Idrīs” overstates what the Qur’an says; denying the later identification would obscure an important part of how the text has been read.
A conversation worth having
The passages value a life marked by truthfulness and closeness to God more than a catalog of spectacular travels. Readers can discuss what it means to be remembered for integrity while acknowledging that traditions narrate the figures differently.
Sources and reading notes
- Genesis 5:21–24, Sefaria — Enoch’s exceptional notice in a genealogy.
- Qur’an 19:56–57, Quran.com — Idrīs’ truthfulness, prophethood, and elevation.
Research limit
The scriptural parallels invite comparison but do not themselves identify Enoch with Idrīs; that claim needs documented exegetical history.