FRAMEWORKS:
Genesis 5: Family Tree from Adam to Noah
v.1-5
Adam
v.6-28
The New Line
v.29-32
Noah
For
notes, see end of chapter
v.1-5
Adam
v.1
This
is the written account of Adam's family line .
When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God.
v.2
He
created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them
“Mankind” when they were created.
v.3
When
Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in
his own image; and he named him Seth.
v.4
After
Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.
v.5
Altogether,
Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.
v.6-28
The New Line
v.6
When
Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father
of Enosh.
v.7
After
he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other
sons and daughters.
v.8
Altogether,
Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he
died.
v.9
When
Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan.
v.10
After
he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other
sons and daughters.
v.11
Altogether,
Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he
died.
v.12
When
Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel.
v.13
After
he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had
other sons and daughters.
v.14
Altogether,
Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he
died.
v.15
When
Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared.
v.16
After
he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had
other sons and daughters.
v.17
Altogether,
Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then
he died.
v.18
When
Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch.
v.19
After
he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other
sons and daughters.
v.20
Altogether,
Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he
died.
v.21
When
Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah.
v.22
After
he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully
with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.
v.23
Altogether,
Enoch lived a total of 365 years.
v.24
Enoch
walked faithfully with God ;
then he was no more, because God took him away.
v.25
When
Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech.
v.26
After
he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and
had other sons and daughters.
v.27
Altogether,
Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then
he died.
v.28
When
Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son.
v.29-32
Noah
v.29
He
named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us
in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground
the Lord has cursed.”
v.30
After
Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters.
v.31
Altogether,
Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died.
v.32
After
Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and
Japheth.
[Notes:
Although a somewhat basic chapter, various points of
interest need highlighting.
v.1-5
Adam:
•
The opening of “this
is the written account” v.1 appears similarly later with 6:9 in
respect of Noah, 10:1 of Shem (and his immediate family), 11:10
of Shem's family line, 11:27 of Terah, 25:12 of Ishmael, 25:19
of Isaac, 36:1,9 of Esau, and 37:2 of Jacob, i.e. up to the embryonic
nation of Israel. What is particularly interesting is that seven
of the nine references follow the family tree from Adam and Seth
to Israel but two others, Ishmael & Esau, are included almost
as if to honour them as having been involved in it along the way,
but are not part of it.
•
The first five verses
reiterate something of what has gone before – of God creating
mankind in His likeness, mankind meaning male and female (v.1,2),
of children maintaining this likeness of God (v.3), as if to emphasise
that ALL humans are in this likeness [see earlier].
•
The ages of the people
in this chapter appear very long to us but perhaps the easiest
explanation is that starting from a sin-free world they lived
much longer but, apart from Kenan, Jared & Methuselah, their
ages get slightly shorter with every generation. All such explanations
are really speculative. [The reader should by now have realised
that there are various details in the early chapters of Genesis
over which it is not wise to be dogmatic! The fact that we cannot
be sure about them does not mean they are untrue, or that it in
any way impinges on the integrity of the text as a whole, simply
that the whole picture is not given.]
•
The fact that every
name in the chapter, except Enoch, ends in death affirms the warning
from the beginning of the consequence of sin.
v.6-28
The New Line:
•
we have identified this
as a new line because from Seth the Bible follows a family tree
that eventually arrives at Abram.
•
as noted above, with
few exceptions the life-spans gradually reduce over that period
but are still very long by modern standards.
•
Enoch, v.21-24, particularly
stands out as someone who had a strong relationship with the Lord
and who is not recorded as dying but simply went to heaven (assumed)
•
Methuselah achieves
fame for being the longest to live.
v.29-32
Noah
•
and so we eventually
reach Noah who is intriguingly given a name which has within it
connotations referring to him being a comfort in the hardness
of life in this world. He has three sons and Shem will be the
one who carries the family tree on to Abram.]
Continue to Chapter 6