A Commentary on the Book of Genesis

Chapter Five

The First Genealogy 

As a rule, most people don’t like genealogies, especially those found in the Bible and for that reason they are often overlooked and therefore not studied. Unless you are looking for a specific name, a genealogy can be a bit dry, and…okay, can we say boring? No one likes to wade through a bunch of difficult-to-pronounce names for enjoyment, but don’t let that stop you, remember God’s Word contains information we need, so please read on.

This genealogy serves several roles, to begin with it is like a montage. Not familiar with that word? A montage is a film technique that pieces together scenes or images that typically depict the passage of time. The technique is used when the details are not necessarily vital to the story but at the same time demonstrate progress, something like watching a movie in fast forward. In this chapter God shows us the lineage of the coming Savior prior to the worldwide flood. We will see that some of these, well let’s call them patriarchs, were more significant than others.

5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. 2 Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.

We are introduced to another new Hebrew word, ‘sē’·pěr’,^[1] referring to a book, document, letter, or certificate, essentially anything that is written down. This Hebrew word can be found over 180 times in the Old Testament, there are a number of ‘books’ referenced in the Bible (New Testament equivalent would be the Greek word ‘biblos’,^[2] the root word for the word Bible, or its diminutive ‘biblion’).^[3] For most people, the English term ‘book’ generally brings into mind a number of pages bound together in a spine with a front and back cover. That is what most scholars would call a codex (or the plural codices, pronounced koh-duh-seez), however, most books referenced in the Bible would be considered to be more like scrolls. But remember, as pointed out above, they could simply be a reference to nearly anything written. Many believe that when Moses wrote Genesis (as well as parts of Exodus) he incorporated many previously written historical accounts by a variety of authors into his narrative, including lists of genealogies like this one. The book of the generations of Adam may have been one of those external documents, perhaps even written by Adam himself.

5:3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. 4 The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters. 5 Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died. 

Note the contrast between the first verse and verse three, God created man in the likeness of God and Adam fathered a son in his own likeness, the same Hebrew word we were introduced to in Genesis 1:26. In other words, Seth was born in sin, retaining the fallen nature of his father. The apostle Paul summarizes this in his epistle to the church in Rome, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). 

This genealogy offers the patriarch’s name, how long they lived, what age they were when the next patriarch was born and, for some, add something more about the individual. Bear in mind when you read these names that there were many sons and daughters not listed; as they were not in the lineage of the promised Savior. 

A “Biblical month” is thirty days long and a “Biblical year” is based on the Hebrew lunar calendar and that consists of twelve months or 360 days (not the 365, plus a fraction days we use today).

5:6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh. 7 Seth lived after he fathered Enosh 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8 Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died. 

5:9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan. 10 Enosh lived after he fathered Kenan 815 years and had other sons and daughters. 11 Thus all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died. 

5:12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel. 13 Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 Thus all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died. 

5:15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared. 16 Mahalalel lived after he fathered Jared 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17 Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died. 

5:18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he fathered Enoch. 19 Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died. 21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 22 Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. 

The genealogy stops briefly to mention a special person by the name of Enoch, he is identified as someone who walked with God. Was this a literal walk like what what we saw in Genesis 3:8 or perhaps like what we might do with a friend or a loved-one? It could have been, but we also see that the world ‘walk’ in the Bible can also refer to one’s obedience and desire to live in accordance with the will of God, a way of life. 

Some people get upset when they hear about someone walking physically with God, thinking that since Enoch would have been a sinner like all those that came before him, he could not survive an encounter with God. That is not always the case; God can choose to veil His glory as He did for Moses and Abraham. Regardless, Enoch had God’s attention, even though he was indeed a sinner. Enoch enjoyed a close relationship with God and maintained fellowship with Him. What did he do differently than everyone else? No one knows exactly, but don’t forget we all have the ability to fellowship with God through our obedience and prayer (see 2 Corinthians 5:7; Galatians 5:25; Colossians 2:6). 

Enoch never experienced death. You’re probably wondering how that is even possible since all must die (see Romans 5:12; 6:23). First, remember that God sets the rules and secondly, He can choose to be merciful to those He chooses to be merciful to (see Exodus 33:19; Romans 9:15). There are two such exceptions in the Old Testament: Enoch from before the flood and the prophet Elijah (see 2 Kings 2:1-12), after the flood. In what is often referred to as “The Hall of Faith” in the book of Hebrews, the author offers this explanation: “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:5-6)

There is an old riddle that goes something like this, “How could Methuselah be considered to be the oldest man who ever lived if he died before his father?” Obviously it is a trick question, since his father Enoch never died, he was taken by God!

5:25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech. 26 Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died. 

Enoch is often referred to as a prophet (see note below) and many people believe that God had promised Enoch that the coming judgment of the worldwide flood would not occur as long as his son lived. So, he gave his son the name Methuselah (meaning “his death shall bring”). This may be the reason why Methuselah lived as long as he did, allowing time and opportunity for people to repent (remember 2 Peter 3:9). The flood came the year Methuselah died.

5:28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son 29 and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” 30 Lamech lived after he fathered Noah 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31 Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died. 32 After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 

Again, just a reminder, this is not the same Lamech that was mentioned earlier in Genesis 4:18-24. 

Were Shem, Ham, and Japheth triplets? No, while the text does not specifically say, most scholars believe that this verse is pointing to the fact that Noah was 500 years old when he had his son Japheth (considered the eldest, see Genesis 10:21). We know from Genesis 11:10 that Shem was 100 years old when his wife gave birth to their first son Arpachshad two years after the flood. Making Shem 98 years old when the flood came, thus Noah was 502 when Shem was born. Ham is later mentioned as being the youngest of Noah’s sons (see Genesis 9:24). Why was Shem mentioned first? As we often see in the Bible, the most important or most influential person is often mentioned first. Since the Messiah will be born in the line of Shem, that would certainly qualify as being the most important. 

*Enoch did not die but was “taken” by God before he died.

**Methuselah died the year that the worldwide flood came.

Considerations

Early Writing

There are some who reject the idea that Biblical writers prior to Moses had the knowledge or capability to write. There has been a long debate in archaeology as to when language was first written down, though most believe it was somewhere between 4,000 and 3,000 B.C. One of the earliest forms of written language discovered is cuneiform, believed to have been developed by Sumerian scribes in the ancient city-state of Uruk as a means of recording transactions around 3,200 B.C.^[4] Prior to that period there were other forms of written communications including pictograms, ideograms, and phonograms. Since genealogical records would probably not require a sophisticated system, there is no real good reason to reject the idea that some of the genealogical records survived until Moses’ day. However, it is probably more probable that God provided all the necessary details for Moses to write down, just like what He did when He conveyed the story of creation to him. 

A Model for the Future?

The text says that God ‘took’ Enoch, the Hebrew word is ‘lā·qǎḥ’,^[5] meaning “to take” or “take away” implying a quick action. The Septuagint and the New Testament translates this word into the Greek word ‘metatithēmi’,^[6] which means to ‘transpose’, ‘transport’ or ‘translate’. Since this word is similar in nature to the Greek word ‘harpazō’^[7] (meaning “to be snatched” or “carried off”), many consider Enoch’s and Elijah’s pre-death departures a model for what the apostle Paul describes in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” The phrase translated in this verse as, “will be caught up,” is the Greek word ‘harpagēsometha’, a variation of ‘harpazō’. 

Enoch the Prophet

We encounter the name of Enoch again later in the Bible in the short, one-chapter book, found just before the last book of the Bible, the epistle of Jude. Earlier in the epistle, Jude had described the nature and motivation of the ungodly people that have crept into Christian lives, families, and churches (see Jude 4) and now he is pointing out that their destinies were also prophesied in the Bible. The source of this prophecy is stated as coming from Enoch, the seventh from Adam. “It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” (Jude 14-15) This passage is considered the earliest recorded prophecy in the Bible, and it is about the second coming of Jesus. 

Now before we continue, we should recognize that even though this prophecy is not recorded anywhere else in the Bible does not mean that it is an error or that it is wrong. The statement carries the same weight as an Old Testament prophecy since the Holy Spirit included it in this New Testament book and used it in context as being true. As such, it should be interpreted as truth and applied in the same way everything else should be interpreted and understood in the Bible, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20-21)

This prophecy that Jude is quoting, is recorded in the Book of Enoch. Now, before you start looking at your Bible’s table of contents, it is not a book of the Bible. There are four main types of extra-biblical writings that are often considered profitable to study but, for one reason or another, they are not considered to be fully God’s Word and therefore they are not included in the Canon of holy Scripture. Those four types are: Apocryphal (touted as being true but authenticity is doubtful or questioned), Pseudepigraphal (a falsely attributed writing; the claimed author is not the true author), Historical (history is recorded, although may require verification or facts are wrong) and Commentary (books that simply explain existing text are not usually considered part of God’s Word). The Book of Enoch would fall into the pseudepigraphal category. Since much of the world was clamoring for more information about God and Jesus by the end of the first century, several pseudepigraphal books started to appear, many included the title of ‘gospel’, playing on the name given to the books that described the real story of salvation. Some titles include Book of Noah, Prayer of Joseph, Testament of Job, Elijah the Prophet, Secrets of Enoch, Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Judas, Gospel of Peter, Epistles of Barnabas, Apocalypse of Peter, Apocalypse of Paul, and the list goes on! Most of these are very limited in number and in some cases only one copy was found (many of those had missing words). 

There are a number of non-biblical books referenced in the Bible (Paul referred to several, see Acts 17:28; 1 Corinthians 15:33; Titus 1:12). Since Enoch and the Book of Enoch were important parts of Jewish history, most of Jude’s early audience would have been familiar with the text. The section Jude quotes is either from 1 Enoch 1:9 or 2:1, depending on the translation you choose to read. The quote begins with a statement that the Lord (Jesus) comes with ten thousands. The word ‘thousands’ is not an error in translation, it comes from the same Greek word we get the word ‘myriad’ from, meaning either “tens of thousands,” many thousand, or some unlimited number. The term does not necessarily represent an actual number (although it is often used in that manner). He continues by saying that Jesus will come back with His holy ones. This is the Greek word, ‘hagios’^[8] which is most often translated into English either ‘holy’ or as ‘saints’. This is somewhat unusual as Jesus’ Second Coming is frequently described as being accompanied by angels (see Matthew 24:33; 25:31; Mark 8:38). Some scholars believe Jesus will come back with His saints (see Revelation 7:9 and 19:14) while others believe that Jude was also referring to angels even though he did not use that word.  

According to the prophecy in Jude 15, Jesus will be returning to execute judgment and convict the ungodly (Greek ‘asebeis’^[9]), a term that does not refer to a mild form of being ungodly, such as saying, “he acted ungodly.” This word implies that the person absolutely refuses to acknowledge or follow God and was, as a result, certainly not one that would seek forgiveness from God. They are being condemned for their actions and all the ‘harsh’ things (Greek ’sklērōn’^[10], implying severely harsh, violent, and intolerable things) that these ‘sinners’ say against God.

Years not Months

As we discussed in Genesis chapter one regarding the Canopy Theory, one feature that pops out at us when we read the genealogy of this chapter is the longer human life spans. Since the typical life span today is under 100 years, many readers want to impose the use of months instead of years. This is not what the text is implying, the definition of the Hebrew word ’šā·nā(h)’^[11] is very clear and is consistently used throughout the Old Testament.

The Gospel in a Genealogy?

It is an interesting exercise to review the basic meanings of the names found in this chapter. Bear in mind that not all linguists or theologians agree to the basic definitions or translations to the names found in the Bible (both Old and New Testaments). Recognizing the futility in that effort, many scholars do not even try to translate. However, this chapter seems to provide an intriguing message. Here is the list of names found in this chapter followed by a reasonable and likely translation:

Adam means “man;” 

Seth means “appointed” or “placed;” 

Enosh means “mortal,” “frail,” or “miserable,” (from the root anash, “to be incurable,” often used of a wound, grief, woe, sickness, or wickedness); 

Kenan (Cainan) means “sorrow,” or “wandering nomad;” 

Mahalalel means “The Blessed God.” (‘El’, “God;” ‘mahalal’, “blessed”); 

Jared (from the word ‘yaradh’), meaning “shall come down”; 

Enoch means “to train up” or “teaching;” 

Methuselah means “his death shall bring” (‘muth’, “to die”; ‘shalak’, “to send forth” or “bring about”); 

Lamech means “despairing,” (same root also behind our English word, “lamentation”) 

Noah means “comfort” or “rest” (from the word ‘nacham’, “to bring relief” or “comfort”). 

The story would be essentially hidden to a casual reader because the names found in the Genesis chapter five are transliterated (to spell or sound like the original language) instead of being translated (equivalent word or words). When you write out the names in the order of appearance the translation would be something like this: “Man is appointed mortal sorrow; but the Blessed God shall come down, teaching that His death shall bring the despairing comfort or rest!”^[12] The message is the gospel story in a ‘nutshell’.

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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 5612.

[2] Strong’s Greek 976.

[3] Strong’s Greek 975.

[4] World's First Writing. (2016, April 5). Archaeology. Retrieved from archaeology.org (May/June 2016 Edition)

[5] Strong’s Hebrew 3947.

[6] Strong’s Greek 3346.

[7] Strong’s Greek 726.

[8] Strong’s Greek 40.

[9] Strong’s Greek 765.

[10] Strong’s Greek 4642.

[11] Strong’s Hebrew 8141.

[12] Missler, Dr. Chuck (1999) Cosmic Codes (p. 75). Koinonia House. <http://www.khouse.org/>