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Genesis 5 English Standard Version (ESV)

Adam’s Descendants

(Chapter 4)

²⁵ And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.”²⁶ To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.

(Chapter 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.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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

REFLECTION

There are at least three purposes for the inclusion of this genealogy.

1. It shows the development of the human race from Adam to Noah and bridges the gap in time between these two major individuals.
2. It demonstrates the truthfulness of God’s word when He said that people would die as a result of sin (cf. 2:17). Note the recurrence of the phrase “and he died”.
3. It contrasts the progress of the godly line of Seth culminating in Enoch who walked with God and experienced rapture (5:6-24) with the development of the ungodly line of Cain. Cain’s branch of the human race culminated in Lamech who was a brutal bigamist (cf. 4:16-24).

Although “death” is the destiny of humankind no matter how long a person may live, there is one person – Enoch who never faced death.  Enoch is an example of one who found life amid the curse of death.

The finality of death caused by sin, and demonstrated in the genealogy of Genesis, is in fact not so final. Man was not born to die; he was born to live, and that life comes by walking with God. . . . Walking with God is the key to the chains of the curse. One can find life if one “walks with God”.

The lifestyle of Cain’s family can be seen as a picture of humanity—technical progress matched by moral decline. How do you see this trend reflected in our own society? In our own families?