As Torah tells it, the earliest humans’ years of life ranged from 365 (Enoch / Chanoch) to 969 (Methuselah / Metushelach). Enoch presents a challenge: He “walked with God” for 300 years and “all” his days were 365 years; at that point, he again “walked with God.” Was walking with God an early expression of belief or worship? Did he die?

“Enoch walked with God.” Nearly the same thing is said about Noah; however, Torah (in the Hebrew) reorders the phrase: “With God walked Noah.” Idiomatically, there may be no significant difference, but, as with any similarity/difference in Torah, this calls out “darsheini / explicate me!” It’s an invitation to the imagination.

According to the Etz Hayim chumash, the idiom “Enoch walked with God” describes Enoch spending a life in close intimacy with God. Further, the idiom as used with Noah appears to mean the same thing.

To me, the difference between “Enoch walked with God” and “With God walked Noah” could mean that Enoch chose to have a relationship with God. Moreover, the expression of his devotion comes right after the birth of his first child. Perhaps that miraculous event moved Enoch to appreciate God’s place in the world and to take an active role in his relationship with the Divine.

On the other hand, Noah may have been a reluctant devotee, needing God to come to him, to initiate the “walking.” (Only after Noah “finds favor” before God did Noah have children.) There is no record of God speaking with Enoch. By contrast God says a great deal to Noah (see next week’s reading), but Noah does not say a word; he just follows God’s orders.

We could learn from all this that there are different expressions of relationship with God, different levels of intensity and interaction. Either way, initiating and maintaining a relationship with God can be affirming, supportive, comforting and empowering.

We can wait, like Noah, until God issues the invitation. Or, like Enoch, we can move ourselves to take the first steps of walking with God.