Genesis 5:1-32

Genesis 5:1-32

We now start the second toldot, the account of Adam’s line extending through Gen 6:8 where in Gen 6:9 we begin the third toldot, the story of Noah. A good question to ask is, “why is this toldot here?” What is its purpose? Here are several reasons.

1. This chapter is the only genealogical record of the time between the creation and the flood. In chapter 4 we saw the origin of secular and sacred culture, and chapter five traces the line of sacred culture.
2. In chapter 4 we noted technological developments—metallurgy, animal husbandry and advances in agriculture, music and poetry, the beginning of cities. With living such a long time, people must have learned much from experience. At tNoahhe end of this toldot we find Noah who becomes a master carpenter and shipbuilder.
3. We see the proliferation of people as the men who are listed lived for many years each producing many sons and daughters, thus we see the mandate of to fill the earth being worked out.
4. There is also death. Each man listed dies. We are reminded of the curse given to Adam that is now present with each generation.
5. Sadly there is also an increasing pattern of sin, as we conclude this section in 6:5, The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 
6. But there is hope as chapter 5 notes the beginning of the genealogical record of the promised seed given in Gen 3:15 (which is again mentioned in 1 Chron 1-8, and fully outlined in Lk 3).

Before we start we should also mention something about the times involved. Chapter 5 is extremely specific as to the length of these men’s lives. If you do the math, it is a total of 1656 years between the creation of Adam and the flood. There is nothing to suggest a year back then is any different than what we know now as a year. The translation is clear, a year is a year.

This is a tight genealogy and by that I mean there are no mentioned gaps. The genealogical sequence of Chapter 5 is also mentioned in 1 Chr 1, Lk 3, and in Jude 14. In other words, scripture is very consistent in how it presents this record. We have the testimony of 1 Chr, the testimony of Luke, and the testimony of Jude, that the record of Gen 5 is true and correct. Obviously that puts the Biblical record at odds with our current cultural and scientific understanding of the past.

The question is “how do we reconcile current scientific understanding with the Biblical record?” A few things can be helpful.

1. Our scientific understanding does change. At one time we thought the world was flat and then we discovered it was round. We once thought physics was all Newtonian until Einstein opened the door to quantum mechanics. In other words, scientific paradigms do shift and our understanding of the world shifts with it.
2. The reason scientific paradigms shift is related to three things; either new data, or old data that is interpreted in a new and novel way, or a combination of the two. We need the humility to say when facing seemingly irreconcilable ways in which to view the past, is we may not have all the data, or we are interpreting it in a misleading way.
3. The ultimate decision is one of authority. The Bible is not a scientific book, but it is a book of authority that gives testimony to its veracity. Hence in weighing or interpreting a set of data points (i.e. the age of the earth, DNA records etc.) your default, though not always fully understood, should be faith in God’s word.

The other thing to note about time in this antediluvial period is that there is a great deal of overlap among these men. They live a long time and one reason to think about is we have no record that there was a written tradition among them. Everything is passed down orally. So perhaps, one reason for the overlap is to preserve accurately the creation account and what happened afterwards.

This second toldot can be divided into three sections,

1. An Introduction and summary in verses 1-2
2. The Genealogy of the line of Seth in verses 3-32
3. A discussion of the Sons of God and the Daughters of men in 6:1-8.

Introduction and Summary, verses 1-2.

In verse 1 we read the following;

Vs 1a, This is the written account of Adam’s family line.

The KSV, NKJV, and NASB, all have this as the book of the generations of Adam. The Hebrew word for book or written account, is the word seipher, which means book of. This raises the question as to where did Moses get his source material for the book of Genesis. We don’t know. Much of it was oral tradition which he codified and wrote down but some material had been written and this genealogy was an example. The word seipher is used only one other time in Matthew’s gospel when he says in Mt 1:1, The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. This is appropriate for Adam was the first man and Christ was the last Adam.

Vs 1b-2, When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. ² He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind” ^[a] when they were created. Verses 1b and 2 are a summary of the first toldot found in Gen 2:4 through 4:26. We have covered this in detail, but Moses summarizes the first toldot with the following points,

1. God created mankind.
2. He made them in His image –hence this second toldot is concerned with the passing down of that image from one generation to the next.
3. God made man as male and female. This is a biologic distinction, not a socially constructed one.
4. He blessed them. He provided them an idyllic environment with plants and animals, both wild and domesticated, with a purpose to steward and care for what God had made; and a social structure, marriage and family, with which to grow and multiply.
5. He named them “mankind.”
6. God did this on the sixth day of creation.

Genealogy of the line of Seth, verses 3-32.

This section details the progeny and subsequent generations of Adam and Eve traced through the line of Seth. The section starts with Adam and ends with Noah in verse 32. It profiles ten men. In each description the pattern of the genealogy is very consistent. We are given the age of the father at the birth of the firstborn, the name of the firstborn, the duration of life of the father after the firstborn, then reference to other children, and then death.

Adam, vs 3-5.

Vs 3, When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. 

Note Adam was 130 years old when he had Seth. What environmental changes were present to account for such advanced years are not known. Note Adam was initially made in God’s image, without sin. Now Seth is born in Adam’s image which is now fallen. Seth’s name means foundation. You may remember Eve initially thought Cain was to be the God -man who would fulfill the promise God gave her in Gen 3:15, but he murdered his brother who had no progeny. Therefore Seth was to be the line of promise, hence the name “foundation.”

Vs 4, After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.

Verse four tells us that though Adam and Eve had only three named sons they had other sons and daughters. How many we are not told. However Adam lived another 800 years after the birth of Seth so it was probably a fair number. This also explains the origin of Cain’s fear of others as noted in Gen 4:14 and the origin of his wife noted in Gen 4:17.

Vs 5, Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.

Adam lived a total of 930 years. He lived into Lamech’s generation—the father of Noah—so Adam was only one generation removed from the flood. He saw fully the consequences of his sin as Cain murdered Abel, then went on with his descendants to form Secular culture. But he also saw Seth, who clung to God and fostered other righteous men all the way down to Noah. Seth’s line led to Sacred culture. Adam saw it all, a bittersweet legacy. Adam then physically dies, fulfilling the curse placed upon him in Gen 2:17 and 3:19. But how gracious God has been to allow him to live such a long life!

Seth, vs 6-8.

Vs 6, When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father^[b] of Enosh. 

In verse 6 we are told Seth became the father of Enosh. He is the only named child which means he is the child of promise.

Vs 7, After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters.

Note Seth had many sons and daughters after Enosh which implies Enosh was the firstborn. Note God’s command to multiply and fill the earth is now being fulfilled.

Vs 8, Altogether, Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died.

Seth lived 912 years and then died. Again Moses notes that though these men lived long lives although the curse of Gen 3:19 remains (you shall return to dust).

Enosh, vs 9-11.

Vs 9-11, When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. ¹⁰ After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹¹ Altogether, Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died.

The same pattern is followed with Enosh as it was with Seth. It will be the same pattern for the next three men which we can go through quickly. We are given Enosh’s age when he became the father of Kenan (90 years old), then how many years he lived after the birth of the promise child (815 years), and he had other children.

Kenan, vs 12-14.

Vs 12-14, When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. ¹³ After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁴ Altogether, Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died.

The name Kenan means smith otherwise the information is in the same format as before.

Mahalalel, vs 15-17.

Vs 15-17, When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. ¹⁶ After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁷ Altogether, Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died.

Jared, vs 18-20.

Vs 18-20, When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. ¹⁹ After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁰ Altogether, Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.

Enoch, vs 21-24.

Vs 21-24, When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. ²² After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. ²³ Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. ²⁴ Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

So far the pattern for each of the above men has been the same save for the names and numbers of years. Now we come to Enoch. Enoch has the shortest life span of any of these listed men while his son, Methuselah will have the longest. The name Enoch means dedication or consecration. We see that there are three things the text notes about him,

1. He walked faithfully with God. The word for walk is the same word used of God walking around in the Garden in chapter 3. The word emphasizes fellowship and communion. Heb 11:5 states for before he was taken from this life, he was commended as one who pleased God. What does it mean to walk with God? As MacArthur says, “It means to be reconciled to God through faith. It means to have come to God and asked forgiveness for your sin so that a relationship between you and God can be established. It means to be agreed with God, it means to be in fellowship with God, to be obedient to God, and to love God.”
2. He spoke as a prophet. In the book of Jude, Jude speaks of false prophets and quotes Enoch (which is the only record of anything that he said) who had spoken out against then during his lifetime. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones ¹⁵ to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him. Think about this; Enoch, the first recorded preacher, speaking out against his secular Cainite cousins.
3. God took him away. This is in marked contrast to the previous men listed who the author notes all died. In Enoch’s case God took him. Heb 11:5 says by faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: He could not be found, because God had taken him away. So like the prophet Elijah, Enoch was removed from the earth.

Methuselah, vs 25-27

Vs 25-27, When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. ²⁶ After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁷ Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.

We now return to the previous pattern of the men before Enoch. The name Methuselah means man of the spear, or shooting forth. As Methuselah’s father was Enoch, whom we know from Jude was a prophet, many commentators believe the name Methuselah was a prophetic name referring to the flood.

Lamech, vs 28-31

Vs 28-31, When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. ²⁹ He named him Noah^[c] and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.” ³⁰ After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. ³¹ Altogether, Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died.

This next section takes a minor deviation from the others as it specifically mentions Noah’s name as the deliverer from the curse of Gen 3:17. Noah’s name means comfort. Lamech, like Eve with Cain, felt that Noah would rescue mankind from the Adamic curse. We now come to Noah.

Noah, vs 32

Vs 32, After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

The chapter ends with noting that Noah had three sons by the time he was five hundred years old. Shem means name, Ham means hot, and Japheth means beauty. Let me conclude with this quote by MacArthur, “Three men, then, mark this genealogy in a very special way. Adam, he shows us the reign of sin and death. And Enoch, he shows us the hope of conquering death. And Noah, he tells us of a new day and a new creation that will come after the judgment. And that is the history of redemption. The fall, salvation, and the new creation – all pictured in that genealogy.

 Father      yr of F birth     F age at birth of son        Yrs after Birth     F total age   yr of Father death

Adam           1                              130                                    800                      930                   930

Seth              130                         105                                    807                      912                   1042

Enosh           235                         90                                      815                      905                    1140

Kenan           325                        70                                      840                       910                    1235

Mahalalal    395                         65                                      830                       895                    1290

Jared            460                         162                                    800                       962                    1422

Enoch           622                         65                                      300                       365                    987

Meth            687                         187                                    782                       969                    1656

Lamech        874                        182                                     595                       777                   1651

Noah            1056                      500                                     450                       950                    2006

The Flood    1656

This table shows the ten names listed chronologically. There are many observations we can make.

1. Note there are no gaps in the genealogy. When the word begat is used it can mean a gap –but begat is not used here.
2. These years are normal years which obviously is in conflict with our current understanding of the age of man. I don’t have a tidy way to reconcile this other than I trust God’s word.
3. Note Adam was alive until the 56^th yr of Lamech. This means the first eyewitness of history was only once removed from Lamach and twice removed from Noah.
4. Later Biblical writers of both the OT and NT accepted these names as historical (see 1 Chron 1:1-4 and Lk 3:36-38).
5. This is a record of the seed line. The focus here is on the promise of Gen 3:15 and the line that will fulfill that promise.
6. There are three NT references to this line. The first is in Mt 1:1-17. The second is in Lk 3:36-38, and the third is in Heb 11:5-6. (the above chart and comments from Fruchtenbaum).