Genesis 5

Chapter context

What is happening in Genesis 5?

creationfallcovenantpromise

Genesis 5 belongs to the early movement of the book, especially the section often described as primeval history from creation to Babel. Genesis opens the whole Bible with creation, fall, flood, Babel, and the long patriarchal story that carries the reader from Eden to Egypt. Read this chapter with the wider themes of creation, fall, and covenant in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.

¹ This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; ² Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. ³ And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: ⁴ And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: ⁵ And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. ⁶ And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos: ⁷ And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters: ⁸ And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died. ⁹ And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan: ¹⁰ And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters: ¹¹ And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died. ¹² And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel: ¹³ And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters: ¹⁴ And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died. ¹⁵ And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared: ¹⁶ And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters: ¹⁷ And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died. ¹⁸ And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch: ¹⁹ And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: ²⁰ And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died. ²¹ And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: ²² And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: ²³ And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: ²⁴ And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. ²⁵ And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech: ²⁶ And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters: ²⁷ And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died. ²⁸ And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: ²⁹ And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed. ³⁰ And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters: ³¹ And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died. ³² And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Study helps

Glossary

Seth Person v. 3-4, 6-8: Appointed; a substitute, the third son of Adam and Eve ( Gen. 4:25 ; 5:3 ). His mother gave him this name, “for God,” said she, “hath appointed me [i. e., compensated me with] another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. ”.
Enos Person v. 6-7, 9-11: Man the son of Seth, and grandson of Adam ( Gen. 5:6-11 ; Luke 3:38 ). He lived nine hundred and five years. In his time “men began to call upon the name of the Lord”.
Cainan Person v. 9-10, 12-14: Possession; smith. (1. ) The fourth antediluvian patriarch, the eldest son of Enos. He was 70 years old at the birth of his eldest son Mahalaleel, after which he lived 840 years.
Jared Person v. 15-16, 18-20: Descent. (1. ) The fourth antediluvian patriarch in descent from Seth ( Gen. 5:15-20 ; Luke 3:37 ), the father of Enoch; called Jered in 1 Chr. 1:2 . (2. ) A son of Ezra probably ( 1 Chr. 4:18 ).
Enoch Person v. 18-19, 21-24: Initiated. (1. ) The eldest son of Cain ( Gen. 4:17 ), who built a city east of Eden in the land of Nod, and called it “after the name of his son Enoch. ” This is the first “city” mentioned in Scripture.
Noah Person v. 29-30, 32: Rest, (Heb. Noah) the grandson of Methuselah ( Gen. 5:25-29 ), who was for two hundred and fifty years contemporary with Adam, and the son of Lamech, who was about fifty years old at the time of Adam’s death.
Shem Person v. 32: A name; renown, the first mentioned of the sons of Noah ( Gen. 5:32 ; 6:10 ). He was probably the eldest of Noah’s sons. The words “brother of Japheth the elder” in Gen.