(Gen 5:1 NASB) This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.
Gen 5:1: This verse contains the first use of the word “book” in the Tanakh and gives us the genealogy of Adam. The first use of the word “book” in the Brit Hadasha is in Matthew 1:1. This is the record of the genealogy of Yeshua Messiah. This is an interesting correlation between the first Adam and the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:47).
The record of Cain ends with the deeds of Lamech who was in the seventh generation from Adam. The seventh generation from Adam in the line of Seth was Enoch. It is probable that Adam died during the lifetime of Enoch and kept up with the descendants of Cain as long as he lived even though Cain alienated himself from the rest of his family.
Chapter 5 in the book of Genesis is actually a gloomy walk through the graveyard. Elohim warned that sin would lead to death in chapter 3 and chapter 5 is evidence of that.
(Gen 5:2 NASB) He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created.
(Gen 5:3 NASB) When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.
(Gen 5:4 NASB) Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters.
(Gen 5:5 NASB) So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.
Gen 5:5: This is Adam’s obituary. It says in verse four that he did a lot of “begottin” before he died. Adam and Eve probably had hundreds of children.
(Gen 5:6 NASB) And Seth lived one hundred and five years, and became the father of Enosh.
(Gen 5:7 NASB) Then Seth lived eight hundred and seven years after he became the father of Enosh, and he had other sons and daughters.
(Gen 5:8 NASB) So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.
(Gen 5:9 NASB) And Enosh lived ninety years, and became the father of Kenan.
(Gen 5:10 NASB) Then Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years after he became the father of Kenan, and he had other sons and daughters.
(Gen 5:11 NASB) So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died.
(Gen 5:12 NASB) And Kenan lived seventy years, and became the father of Mahalalel.
(Gen 5:13 NASB) Then Kenan lived eight hundred and forty years after he became the father of Mahalalel, and he had other sons and daughters.
(Gen 5:14 NASB) So all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.
(Gen 5:15 NASB) And Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Jared.
(Gen 5:16 NASB) Then Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years after he became the father of Jared, and he had other sons and daughters.
(Gen 5:17 NASB) So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died.
(Gen 5:18 NASB) And Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and became the father of Enoch.
(Gen 5:19 NASB) Then Jared lived eight hundred years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters.
(Gen 5:20 NASB) So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.
Gen 5:20: The Bible lists ten patriarchs for the time from creation to the flood. There is really no reason to think there are any gaps in this record. At least there is no internal evidence in Scripture that points to missing generations. These names are repeated in 1 Chron. 1:1-4 and Luke 3:36-38. This time frame of 1656 years gives a world population of at least seven billion people and there were probably many more than that. The only reasonable change in this time frame is the possibility that the years consisted of 360 days instead of the present 365.25 days.
(Gen 5:21 NASB) And Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah.
Gen 5:21: We are not told much about these patriarchs until we reach the seventh generation. This same type of emphasis is placed on the seventh generation from Adam on the side of Cain. There the focus is on the evil Lamech in chapter four. The emphasis here however, is on the holy man named Enoch.
(Gen 5:22 NASB) Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters.
(Gen 5:23 NASB) So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.
(Gen 5:24 NASB) And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
Gen 5:24: Apparently Enoch did not die. It says that “Elohim took him.” Enoch was a man of great faithfulness who apparently bore a great testimony for Elohim (Heb. 11:5). While it says in that passage that Enoch was taken up “so he should not see death,” it is possible that Enoch was rescued him in a life-threatening situation. Later in that chapter in Hebrews, it says that “all of these men died in faithfulness” (Heb. 11:13).
Enoch apparently prophesied about the second coming of Yeshua Messiah long before the flood came (Jude 14-15). There are writings attributed to Enoch in a collection of books called the pseudopigrapha. Jude is at least verifying the authenticity of these two verses, but there is likely much more in these writings that are authentic. Nevertheless, Enoch is one of the many intriguing characters in Scripture
Enoch was “translated.” When a word is translated into a different language, it is totally different but has the exact same meaning. Enoch was taken to a totally different place, but he is the same Enoch. We don’t know much more than Elohim took him. It does not say that Enoch did not die, but he might not have died. All we really know is that Elohim took him somewhere.
We are told twice that Enoch “walked with Elohim.” What does that mean? The book of Enoch says that Enoch was given Torah by angels. That would explain how he could walk in the Spirit and obey the commandments (Ezek. 36:27).
(Gen 5:25 NASB) And Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and became the father of Lamech.
(Gen 5:26 NASB) Then Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years after he became the father of Lamech, and he had other sons and daughters.
(Gen 5:27 NASB) So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.
Gen 5:27: Many scholars believe that the name Methuselah means “when he dies, judgment.” If that is what it means, then the prophet Enoch must have received a special revelation concerning the deluge because the flood came the same year that Methuselah died. It is interesting that Methuselah lived longer than anyone else. This is indicative that Elohim, while He is holy and righteous, is also patient and longsuffering (2 Pet. 3:9). He gave the people of that era a 969 year warning of the coming destruction. Elohim also gave the people a warning of the impending doom by having Noah build an ark for many years before the eyes of the people in that day. Apparently the people didn’t care.
(Gen 5:28 NASB) And Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and became the father of a son.
Gen 5:28: Lamech’s son was Noah. Noah is described as a “preacher of righteousness” by Peter (2 Pet. 2:5).
(Gen 5:29 NASB) Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one shall give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the LORD has cursed.”
Gen 5:29: Lamech’s prophecy is only one of two prophecies from the antediluvian era that is recorded in Scripture. The other was Enoch’s prophecy recorded in Jude. They are also the only two patriarchs who did not outlive their father.
(Gen 5:30 NASB) Then Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other sons and daughters.
Gen 5:30: Noah had other brothers and sisters who died in the flood. The wickedness of man had permeated into the Sethite line and apparently overcame most everyone except the line of the promised seed.
(Gen 5:31 NASB) So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died.
Gen 5:31: Lamech only living 777 years makes us think that he never had the chance to live a full life.
(Gen 5:32 NASB) And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Gen 5:32: Some people think that Shem, Ham, and Japheth were triplets, but that is not necessarily what happened. Noah did have these three boys until he was 500 years old which shows that the people in that day were frisky for at least several hundred years.
It goes to reason that Noah had many sons and daughters, but apparently they all fell away from Elohim except these three.
Patrick McGuire
Copyright 2014 Patrick McGuire and Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly All rights reserved, no portion of this Lesson may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly Fort Smith, Arkansas