Genesis 5:1-32 • From Adam to Noah

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Genesis 5 is in my opinion, a transitionary passage. While primarily a genealogy from Adam to Noah (and his pre-flood sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth), it is also an important passage for several reasons.

• 1st → While comparing chapter 5 and 11 and several other small sections of Genesis, we get a pretty clear layout of the timeframe of Genesis. Mapped out we find that the book of Genesis covers a time period of 2,316 years. The interesting part is that the section that covers Adam to Abraham covers 2,009 years. That is 11 of the 50 chapters. The time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (and his 12 sons) only covers 307 years, but is lived out in 39 chapters. Theologians break these two times periods out into Primeval History (chapters 1-11), and Patriarchal History (chapters 12-50). I also like to think of these sections in this way... In the Primeval time period, the focus is on world events and how it affected the people in it, whereas in the Patriarchal time period, the focus is on one family and how they affected the world they lived in.

• 2nd → This passage is the 1st segment of what is known as "the line of Christ." In comparing this chapter, with Matthew chapter 1 (the line through Jesus' step-father Joseph to Solomon, David's son, then to Abraham) and Luke chapter 3 (the line through Mary to Nathan, David's son, then to Adam), we see that Jesus was qualified through His lineage through both His mother and His step-father to sit on the throne of David.

• 3rd → This passage in Gen 5 is a common heritage for all humans who have ever or will ever live. From a biblical perspective, we are ALL descendants of Noah, and therefore, ALL descendants of Adam. No matter what race you think you belong to, or what percentage you are of any given race, you are in fact, first and foremost a full member of the HUMAN race.

► Let's look at the passage and then I'll make some more comments in regards to what we see at the end...

Gen 5:1-32 → 1This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. 2He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created.

• This introductory comment reminds us that we are all descended from Adam, and when this passage says "man", the Hebrew word for man is "adam".

• It also reminds us, that even though the genealogical record in the Bible is mostly male-centered, it really is based on the God planned and ordained partnership between a man and a woman. So whether they are named or not (there are only 5 women listed in the record - we will talk about them tomorrow), they are of equal importance to the men as it is a package deal.

3When 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. 4Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters. 5So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.

• Adam - 930 years - Gen 1:1 to 5:5 - Luke 3:38

• We are going to see several repeated phrases, with minor exceptions that I'll note when they pop up...

► "lived ... became the father of..." - when he became a parent (at least of this child)

► "after he became the father of..." - how long he lived after this child

► "and he had other sons and daughters." - it's easy to forget there were other children

► "all the days..., and he died." - the common thread - we are all destined to die

6Seth lived one hundred and five years, and became the father of Enosh. 7Then Seth lived eight hundred and seven years after he became the father of Enosh, and he had other sons and daughters. 8So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.

• Seth - 912 years - Gen 5:3-8 - Luke 3:38

9Enosh lived ninety years, and became the father of Kenan. 10Then Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years after he became the father of Kenan, and he had other sons and daughters. 11So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died.

• Enosh - 905 years - Gen 5:6-11 - Luke 3:38

12Kenan lived seventy years, and became the father of Mahalalel. 13Then Kenan lived eight hundred and forty years after he became the father of Mahalalel, and he had other sons and daughters. 14So all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.

• Kenan - 910 years - Gen 5:9-14 - Luke 3:37

15Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Jared. 16Then Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years after he became the father of Jared, and he had other sons and daughters. 17So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died.

• Mahalalel - 895 years - Gen 5:12-17 - Luke 3:37

18Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and became the father of Enoch. 19Then Jared lived eight hundred years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters. 20So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.

• Jared - 962 years - Gen 5:16-20 - Luke 3:37

21Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah. 22Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. 23So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

• Enoch - 365 years - Gen 5:18-24 - Luke 3:37

• Enoch didn't die, if we understand the phrases "walked with God" and "was not, for God took him." The wording here denotes a unique and intimate relationship with God. One that ended with God sparing Enoch the indignity of death and exporting him directly to heaven. The only other person recorded in the Bible who experienced this "taking up" was Elijah, the prophet (2 Kings 2:1-12).

25Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and became the father of Lamech. 26Then Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years after he became the father of Lamech, and he had other sons and daughters. 27So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.

• Methuselah - 969 years - Gen 5:21-27 - Luke 3:37

• When charted out (see the graphic) Methuselah would have died either just before or during the flood.

28Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and became the father of a son. 29Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the LORD has cursed.” 30Then Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other sons and daughters. 31So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died.

• Lamech - 777 years - Gen 5:26-31 - Luke 3:36

32Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

• Noah - 950 years - Gen 5:29-32; 9:28-29 - Luke 3:36

• When the text says "This one (Noah) will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the LORD has cursed" it's uncertain what Lamech's motivation was for his saying this.

► The name Noah literally means "rest" in the Hebrew.

► While Lamech might have considered that something unique was going to come from Noah that would restore the earth in his lifetime, the true path to this restoration will come at the end of time when Jesus rebuilds the earth. So in a sense, the "rest" will come through Noah, just not in his lifetime.

• All of Noah's predecessors were gone before the flood. Only Noah, his 3 recorded sons, and their 4 wives escaped the effects of the flood.

• We see that Noah's death is recorded in Gen 9:29, and that it follows the pattern of the names listed in chapter 5.

► Gen 9:28 → Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood. 29 So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.

• All of the ages of the people in this list are exorbitantly long, with the Enoch being the youngest at 365 years old. BUT, they are way too long, based on life expectancy of what we experience today. We will see, post-flood, that those lengths of ages will dramatically shorten. They will still be longer than what is common today, but much closer in time frame. By the time biblical history gets to the Kings of Israel and Judah, those longer ages will not exist. The explanation for the ultra-long ages, and the cessation of them, comes from our understanding of the "canopy" of water in the sky, created on the 2nd day of creation (Gen 1:6-8). The assumption being that this protective canopy came down during the flood and that was the end of it. Less protection from the effects of the sun = shorter life spans.

• The focus on this list, and all the other "line of Christ" genealogical records in the Scriptures, is very narrow, but the phrase "and he had other sons and daughters" reminds us that these families were probably quite large. We'll see several times throughout the Old Testament where one family would end up producing a multitude of progeny in a relatively short time period. From Abraham, who had to wait until he was 100 before the promised son Isaac was born (he was 86 when Ishmael was born), we end up with two nations. A nation would come from Ishmael (Gen 17:20) as would also from Isaac (Israel). It's also amazing that of the 70 or so persons in the family of Israel (Jacob) who travel to Egypt near the end of Genesis (Gen 46:26-27), it's estimated that in the 400 years they spent in Egypt, the "family" became a nation to be estimated of around 2,000,000 people. Exodus 12:37 talks about "six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children" and Numbers 1:46 mentions "all the numbered men were 603,550." While these numbers seem huge, keep in mind that the population of the United States in 1776 was roughly about 2.5 million people , but today is around 342 million, a growth rate of 136 times the original number in 250 years. The growth rate of the nation of Israel in 400 years was 28,571 times the original number. I guess I know what their favorite pastime was!

• God created created Adam and Eve, and told them to be "fruitful and multiply" (Gen 1:28). We haven't really obeyed any other of God's commands, but this one we do pretty well. In spite of our constant disobedience, and the death and destruction it brings, either from our own hands, or from the judgement of God, He still wants to restore every one of us to a right relationship with Him. But our sin gets in the way. We can't, and even if we could we won't, fix the problem on our own. We can never be good enough to measure up to God's holy standard. So what are we to do? Nothing. There is nothing WE can do. But what could be done, God did for us. Jesus came to this earth, the Son of God, the Creator of everything, not primarily to live an exemplary life for us to follow, which we should, but to "seek and to save that which was lost” as it states in Luke 19:10. While on the cross, as horrific as that event was purely from the perspective of what Jesus had to physically endure, what was the worst part was the moment when Jesus felt that separation, that condemnation, that wrath, from God that He endured on our behalf. When Jesus uttered the words "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?", He wasn't just quoting Psalm 22:1, but He was doing so because He took on Himself the punishment for our sin. And He did so expressly so that we could receive that gift of eternal life, the gift that God had originally planned for us, but which we don't deserve, by trusting, by believing, in Jesus, in who He is, Lord and God, and what He did for us on the cross. It's my prayer and hope that everyone will consider who Jesus is, and what He has done, and will for themselves each call on Jesus as Savior and Lord.

“Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995

by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org”