Genesis 5

1 This [is] an account of the births of Adam: In the day of God's preparing man, in the likeness of God He hath made him;
2 a male and a female He hath prepared them, and He blesseth them, and calleth their name Man, in the day of their being prepared.
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.'
30 And Lamech liveth after his begetting Noah five hundred and ninety and five years, and begetteth sons and daughters.
31 And all the days of Lamech are seven hundred and seventy and seven years, and he dieth.
32 And Noah is a son of five hundred years, and Noah begetteth Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis 5 Commentary

Chapter 5

Adam and Seth. (1-5) The patriarchs from Seth to Enoch. (6-20) Enoch. (21-24) Methuselah to Noah. (25-32)

Verses 1-5 Adam was made in the image of God; but when fallen he begat a son in his own image, sinful and defiled, frail, wretched, and mortal, like himself. Not only a man like himself, consisting of body and soul, but a sinner like himself. This was the reverse of that Divine likeness in which Adam was made; having lost it, he could not convey it to his seed. Adam lived, in all, 930 years; and then died, according to the sentence passed upon him, "To dust thou shalt return." Though he did not die in the day he ate forbidden fruit, yet in that very day he became mortal. Then he began to die; his whole life after was but a reprieve, a forfeited, condemned life; it was a wasting, dying life. Man's life is but dying by degrees.

Verses 6-20 Concerning each of these, except Enoch, it is said, "and he died." It is well to observe the deaths of others. They all lived very long; not one of them died till he had seen almost eight hundred years, and some of them lived much longer; a great while for an immortal soul to be prisoned in a house of clay. The present life surely was not to them such a burden as it commonly is now, else they would have been weary of it. Nor was the future life so clearly revealed then, as it now under the gospel, else they would have been urgent to remove to it. All the patriarchs that lived before the flood, except Noah, were born before Adam died. From him they might receive a full account of the creation, the fall, the promise, and the Divine precepts about religious worship and a religious life. Thus God kept up in his church the knowledge of his will.

Verses 21-24 Enoch was the seventh from Adam. Godliness is walking with God: which shows reconciliation to God, for two cannot walk together except they be agreed, ( Amos 3:3 ) . It includes all the parts of a godly, righteous, and sober life. To walk with God, is to set God always before us, to act as always under his eye. It is constantly to care, in all things to please God, and in nothing to offend him. It is to be followers of him as dear children. The Holy Spirit, instead of saying, Enoch lived, says, Enoch walked with God. This was his constant care and work; while others lived to themselves and the world, he lived to God. It was the joy of his life. Enoch was removed to a better world. As he did not live like the rest of mankind, so he did not leave the world by death as they did. He was not found, because God had translated him, ( Hebrews 11:5 ) . He had lived but 365 years, which, as men's ages were then, was but the midst of a man's days. God often takes those soonest whom he loves best; the time they lose on earth, is gained in heaven, to their unspeakable advantage. See how Enoch's removal is expressed: he was not, for God took him. He was not any longer in this world; he was changed, as the saints shall be, who are alive at Christ's second coming. Those who begin to walk with God when young, may expect to walk with him long, comfortably, and usefully. The true christian's steady walk in holiness, through many a year, till God takes him, will best recommend that religion which many oppose and many abuse. And walking with God well agrees with the cares, comforts, and duties of life.

Verses 25-32 Methuselah signifies, 'he dies, there is a dart,' 'a sending forth,' namely, of the deluge, which came the year that Methuselah died. He lived 969 years, the longest that any man ever lived on earth; but the longest liver must die at last. Noah signifies rest; his parents gave him that name, with a prospect of his being a great blessing to his generation. Observe his father's complaint of the calamitous state of human life, by the entrance of sin, and the curse of sin. Our whole life is spent in labour, and our time filled up with continual toil. God having cursed the ground, it is as much as some can do, with the utmost care and pains, to get a hard livelihood out comfort us." It signifies not only that desire and expectation which parents generally have about their children, that they will be comforts to them and helpers, though they often prove otherwise; but it signifies also a prospect of something more. Is Christ ours? Is heaven ours? We need better comforters under our toil and sorrow, than the dearest relations and the most promising offspring; may we seek and find comforts in Christ.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 5

This chapter contains a list or catalogue of the posterity of Adam in the line of Seth, down to Noah; it begins with a short account of the creation of Adam, and of his life and death, Ge 5:1-5 next of five of the antediluvian patriarchs, their age and death, namely Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Ge 5:6-20 then a particular relation of Enoch, his character and translation, Ge 5:21-24 then follows an account of Methuselah, the oldest man, and Lamech's oracle concerning his son Noah, Ge 5:12-29 and the chapter is closed with the life and death of Lamech, and the birth of the three sons of Noah, Ge 5:30-32.

Genesis 5 Commentaries

Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.