3 And Adam liveth an hundred and thirty years, and begetteth `a son' in his likeness, according to his image, and calleth his name Seth.
4 And the days of Adam after his begetting Seth are eight hundred years, and he begetteth sons and daughters.
5 And all the days of Adam which he lived are nine hundred and thirty years, and he dieth.
6 And Seth liveth an hundred and five years, and begetteth Enos.
7 And Seth liveth after his begetting Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begetteth sons and daughters.
8 And all the days of Seth are nine hundred and twelve years, and he dieth.
9 And Enos liveth ninety years, and begetteth Cainan.
10 And Enos liveth after his begetting Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begetteth sons and daughters.
11 And all the days of Enos are nine hundred and five years, and he dieth.
12 And Cainan liveth seventy years, and begetteth Mahalaleel.
13 And Cainan liveth after his begetting Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begetteth sons and daughters.
14 And all the days of Cainan are nine hundred and ten years, and he dieth.
15 And Mahalaleel liveth five and sixty years, and begetteth Jared.
16 And Mahalaleel liveth after his begetting Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begetteth sons and daughters.
17 And all the days of Mahalaleel are eight hundred and ninety and five years, and he dieth.
18 And Jared liveth an hundred and sixty and two years, and begetteth Enoch.
19 And Jared liveth after his begetting Enoch eight hundred years, and begetteth sons and daughters.
20 And all the days of Jared are nine hundred and sixty and two years, and he dieth.
21 And Enoch liveth five and sixty years, and begetteth Methuselah.
22 And Enoch walketh habitually with God after his begetting Methuselah three hundred years, and begetteth sons and daughters.
23 And all the days of Enoch are three hundred and sixty and five years.
24 And Enoch walketh habitually with God, and he is not, for God hath taken him.
25 And Methuselah liveth an hundred and eighty and seven years, and begetteth Lamech.
26 And Methuselah liveth after his begetting Lamech seven hundred and eighty and two years, and begetteth sons and daughters.
27 And all the days of Methuselah are nine hundred and sixty and nine years, and he dieth.
28 And Lamech liveth an hundred and eighty and two years, and begetteth a son,
29 and calleth his name Noah, saying, `This `one' doth comfort us concerning our work, and concerning the labour of our hands, because of the ground which Jehovah hath cursed.'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 5
Commentary on Genesis 5 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 5
Ge 5:1-32. Genealogy of the Patriarchs.
1. book of the generations—(See Ge 11:4).
Adam—used here either as the name of the first man, or of the human race generally.
5. all the days … Adam lived—The most striking feature in this catalogue is the longevity of Adam and his immediate descendants. Ten are enumerated (Ge 5:5-32) in direct succession whose lives far exceed the ordinary limits with which we are familiar—the shortest being three hundred sixty-five, [Ge 5:23] and the longest nine hundred sixty-nine years [Ge 5:27]. It is useless to inquire whether and what secondary causes may have contributed to this protracted longevity—vigorous constitutions, the nature of their diet, the temperature and salubrity of the climate; or, finally—as this list comprises only the true worshippers of God—whether their great age might be owing to the better government of their passions and the quiet, even tenor of their lives. Since we cannot obtain satisfactory evidence on these points, it is wise to resolve the fact into the sovereign will of God. We can, however, trace some of the important uses to which, in the early economy of Providence, it was subservient. It was the chief means of reserving a knowledge of God, of the great truths of religion, as well as the influence of genuine piety. So that, as their knowledge was obtained by tradition, they would be in a condition to preserve it in the greatest purity.
21. Enoch … begat Methuselah—This name signifies, "He dieth, and the sending forth," so that Enoch gave it as prophetical of the flood. It is computed that Methuselah died in the year of that catastrophe.
24. And Enoch walked with God—a common phrase in Eastern countries denoting constant and familiar intercourse.
was not; for God took him—In Heb 11:5, we are informed that he was translated to heaven—a mighty miracle, designed to effect what ordinary means of instruction had failed to accomplish, gave a palpable proof to an age of almost universal unbelief that the doctrines which he had taught (Jude 14, 15) were true and that his devotedness to the cause of God and righteousness in the midst of opposition was highly pleasing to the mind of God.
26. Lamech—a different person from the one mentioned in the preceding chapter [Ge 4:18]. Like his namesake, however, he also spoke in numbers on occasion of the birth of Noah—that is, "rest" or "comfort" [Ge 5:29, Margin]. "The allusion is, undoubtedly, to the penal consequences of the fall in earthly toils and sufferings, and to the hope of a Deliverer, excited by the promise made to Eve. That this expectation was founded on a divine communication we infer from the importance attached to it and the confidence of its expression" [Peter Smith].
32. Noah was five hundred years old: and … begat—That he and the other patriarchs were advanced in life before children were born to them is a difficulty accounted for probably from the circumstance that Moses does not here record their first-born sons, but only the succession from Adam through Seth to Abraham.