GENESIS   ● Chapter 5 This chapter details the genealogical line of Adam, who was a son of God, through Seth, to Noah. The chronology of Mankind is based on this genealogy of faith, hope and holiness of which Adam was the head of the human race. It terminates with the Flood and Noah eventually became the second natural head of it. The Genealogy of Adam Gen 5:1:  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. These verses recapitulate the creation of Man but with a new composition.  The first verse accounts Man as an earthly creature of God from the day of his Fall, revealed by this phrase — “in the likeness of God made he him”.  The “image of God” that we read in Genesis 1:26-27: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:… So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” is not repeated here.  Recall that the “image” speaks of the spiritual, divine, heavenly being that Adam was, and the “likeness” points to  the physical, natural, earthly side of Adam. The second verse echoes that the name Adam (the root word meaning “to show blood in the face”, suggests that Adam had a ruddy (red) complexion, like in the color of the dirt in which he was created from) was a name given to both the male and the female. The female was fashioned from the side of the Man and she was called Woman, and between them, she (woman) is 'ishshâh (באשׁתו) and he (man) is 'îysh (אישׁ). After the Serpent intruded into the Man’s garden, and sowed his seed that brought forth Cain, the Man called the Woman, “Eve”, revealing that she was the mother of all living. Gen 5:3:  And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: The genealogy immediately goes to Adam’s descendent, Seth. There is no mention of Cain or Abel.  The birthright belongs to the firstborn alone (Gen.43:33; 48:8-19). Chronologically, Cain was the first man born on the Earth. But Cain was not the son of Adam. If he was, Cain would be the firstborn of Adam and the genealogy would have the record of his name, the names of his son, grandson, great grandson and so on down the line. Being the seed of the Serpent, the Wisdom of God had Moses separate the genealogy of Cain’s pure descendents, ending with Lamech, who was the last of the pure Cainic firstborns (Gen.4:17-22). It was a brief genealogy, with no mention of their lifespan; instead, it revealed their lifestyles and corruption. [Note:  Cain’s descendants are called Cainites; they are not Adamites. Adam’s descendants through Seth are called Sethites rather than Adamites. It is to set them apart from the Cainites.] Abel was killed and so his progeny never did exist, making it unnecessary to list his name in Adam’s genealogy.  (The name Abel connotes the followings — BREATH, VAPOUR, FLEETING, VANITY.  Sadly, that was the short life of Abel.)  God had appointed Seth to take the place of Abel when Adam was 130 years old.  If the Sacred Scripture is true, then Adam only knew Eve, his wife, the second time after Abel was killed. Adam and Eve had no other children between the time of Abel’s birth and death. [Note: There are countless foolish Christians and Bible Believers, who choose to ignore the Truth of Scriptures, mainly because of the dread to face It. It is easy to flow downstream with the mass of religious ‘church people’ in traditional doctrines than to thrust upstream to face the Truth. Without proper study of the Word, many have simply accepted that Cain was Adam’s son who had gone astray and killed his brother Abel, thus he was not counted in the genealogy of Adam. Yet, Scripture proved otherwise that Cain was of the Wicked One, who fathered him through the Serpent. Refusing to see the Truth, many even brushed it away and considered the Truth as non-essential to the Christian Faith. Yet, they are unable to answer the question ‘Why must blood be shed for the remission of sin?’] Notice the wordings of the Scripture in the verse, “And Adam…begat a son in his own likeness, after his image”. If the Fall of Man had not been, then Adam, a son of God, would bring forth children in God’s image (the invisible spiritual side) and after His likeness (the visible physical side). However, because Adam had sinned, the “image of God” that was in Adam was stained. When sin touched the soul, corruption ate into the physical body. Infirmities, sickness and death set in. Therefore, Seth, and all his siblings, were born bearing the tainted image and likeness of their father Adam. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom.3:23). Hence, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the perfect Man in the image of God, came to bear not only our sins but also “took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses” — both spiritual and physical (Mat.8:17 cf. Isa.53:4). Our Heavenly Father sent Christ to identify with us that we might be reconciled to Him, and be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom.8:29-30; 2Co.3:18). Chronological Age Gen 5:4:  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. The genealogy of Adam next shows Adam’s length of days upon the Earth. After Adam fathered Seth at 130 years old, he lived for another 800 years before he died. Adam had also other sons and daughters besides Seth. His chronological age at death was 930 years. Gen 5:6:  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. Seth, whose name means APPOINTED, birthed Enos at the age of 105 years. After Enos he had other sons and daughters. He lived for another 807 years before he expired at the age of 912 years. Seth so named his son, Enos (or Enosh), as a sign that he had seen the corruption in the life of Cain’s people. Enos means MORTAL, weak, sick, frail, and incurable. Cain was at least 129 years older than Seth, and he would have a sizeable population of his people by the time Seth was married and had Enos. Seth would have seen Cain’s firstborn, Enoch, initiating and teaching the Cainic people a new form of religious worship of Yahweh. And Enos grew up witnessing the Cainic people had a form of godliness in their worship for they invoked the name of Yahweh upon their idols. They blatantly profaned the Name of Yahweh. Gen 5:9:  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. At 90 years old, Enos had a son and he named him Cainan (or Kenan), which means SORROW because he was grieved to see the Cainites had further deteriorated in their worship. When the Cainic people drifted away from the true form of worship into a form of godliness of their own impression, they created for themselves a state of grief and pain.  Their pagan form of worship, led by Cain and his firstborn, might have driven them to find bliss through the sorrow of self-punishment, as is seen in today’s many paganistic and spiritistic practices. The carnal Cainites were smart and astute. As their population grew, they built cities using tools forged out of metals. By and by, the farming community shrank as the people moved to live in cities. The offering of the crops of their fields on the altar (which Cain started) might have given ways to self-atonement and self-punishment in worship; they worshipped in their temples in the cities. Later, when the Sethites and the Cainites began to intermarry, corruption in the genes took place, and the human race became increasingly wicked and evil with each passing generation. Perhaps, self-punishment in worship might have led some to even practice child-immolation and sexual orgy before the Almighty God sent a deluge upon the Earth. Enos had other sons and daughters after his firstborn Cainan, and lived for another 815 years before he died at the age of 905 years. Gen 5:12:  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. Cainan grew up, married and had a son. He PRAISED and BLESSED the Name of his God and called him Mahalaleel, testifying of his faith in THE BLESSED GOD. Truly, no matter how dark the situation around God’s people might get, a believer can always praise and bless the Name of the Lord God and look to His coming to bless His people. Cainan had more sons and daughters besides Mahalaleel and lived another 840 years. He lived a total of 910 years. Gen 5:15:  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. Notice Mahalaleel married at an earlier age than all his predecessors and had his firstborn son at the age 65. He named his son Jared, whose name means A DESCEND. Was Mahalaleel looking forward to his blessed Lord coming down to bless his people, or to intervene in the degradation of the Sethic race for they had turned their eyes toward the fair Cainic women and had taken them for wives? Perhaps Mahalaleel used the name, Jared, to warn the Sethites that intermarriage with the Cainites would water down the Sethic race. Mahalaleel lived another 830 years, and had other sons and daughters. He died at the age of 895 years. Gen 5:18:  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. Jared married and had a son when he was 162 years old. By the inspiration of God, he named his son, Enoch, for he had witnessed that there was no stopping the backsliding Sethites from intermarrying with the Cainites. Enoch means to TEACH, TRAIN, INITIATE, DISCIPLINE. Was Enoch born to teach and discipline his people? Jared lived another 800 years, and had other sons and daughters before he died at 962 years old. Gen 5:21:  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. Like his grandfather, Mahalaleel, Enoch married and had his firstborn son at the age of 65 years. After that he had other sons and daughters, and he lived for another 300 years. Enoch was the only firstborn son among the pre-flood Patriarchs to have the shortest lifespan on the Earth — 365 years. But Enoch did not die for he “walked with God: and he was not; for God took him”.  How and why was Enoch’s walk with God so unique?  Did not the rest of the pre-flood Patriarchs and his closest of kin walk with God?  Certainly many did, but the walk of Enoch with Yahweh was very different. Enoch’s walk must have been very disciplined, very gratifying to his Creator as the apostle Paul wrote: “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Heb.11:5). Enoch was unlike the firstborn son of Cain, who also was called Enoch.  Cainic Enoch initiated idolatry worship, teaching the people to invoke the Name of Yahweh upon their idols. He was a false prophet.  Sethic Enoch was a great man of God in his days. His father named him Enoch, and so he was, in teaching and disciplining his people with the truth.  He taught the whole of Mankind the fear of Yahweh and prophesied that they should flee from the judgment of God to come (Jude 1:14).  By faith, he saw the judgment coming and thus named his firstborn son, Methuselah, which means “man of a dart or javelin; when he is dead, it shall be sent”; simply, as commonly translated, “when he is gone, it shall come”.  The dart or javelin was that Great Deluge.  When the man was gone, the dart was released upon the earth. In his short epistle, the apostle Jude specifically stated that Enoch was the seventh from Adam (Jude 1:14). Organized churches may ignore this fact just to hold to their traditional teaching that Cain was Adam’s son.  If Cain was of Adam, Enoch could not have been the seventh; he should be the eighth counting from Adam.  The birthright belongs to the firstborn alone (Gen.43:33; 48:8-19). Why was Cain, who was the first to be born of Eve (Gen.4:1), not mentioned in the book of the generations of Adam (Gen.5) and in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Luk.3:23-38)?  [Note:  Esau, who was the firstborn of Isaac, was not mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ because he sold his birthright to Jacob (Gen.25:29-34). Abel was not listed because he was murdered (that stopped the lineage), and Seth was the substitute to bring about the descendants of the Adamic race.] Gen 5:25:  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. Methuselah became a father at the age of 187 years when his wife gave birth to a son whom he named Lamech. Lamech signifies something GREAT or something DESPAIRING. Methuselah lived for another 782 years with other sons and daughters born to him. He died at the age of 969, making him the man with the longest lifespan. Yet, Methuselah fell short of living through the “one day” of God’s time after sin entered the Garden of Eden. Man died the very “day” he partook of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil — “for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen.2:17).  No man ever lived longer than a “1000-year” day — “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2Pe.3:8).  So, Methuselah, the oldest man died; HIS DEATH SHALL BRING the dart. Jewish tradition has it that after 7 days of his passing “were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened” (Gen.7:11). Gen 5:28:  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. Lamech married and had a son when he was 182 years old. He called his son, Noah, saying, “This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed”.  Noah simply means REST or COMFORT.  Lamech had other sons and daughters after Noah.  He lived for another 595 years before he died at the age of 777 years.  Five years later, the Flood came.  Except for Noah, all the firstborns of the generations of Adam departed before the Flood. Adam lived to see and fellowship with Methuselah for 243 years and with Lamech for 56 years, but he never saw the birth of Noah. Enoch also never saw the birth of Noah before he was translated. Gen 5:32:  And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Noah married at a very old age. He had his first son when he was 500 years old. All his firstborn forefathers married and had children before the age of 190 years. The genealogy of Adam ended with Noah.  He was the last of the pure Sethic firstborn sons.  Although Japheth was Noah’s firstborn, his name was not listed directly after Noah. The reason for Noah’s late marriage and Japheth’s name not being in Adam’s genealogy becomes apparent only in the next chapter of Genesis, which detailed the corruption that came upon the Adamic race. The genealogy of Adam ended with this short statement, “and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth”.  This indicates that Noah was the new natural head of the human race that stemmed today’s diverse  populace through his three sons. All people today are traced back to the “one blood” of Noah and his wife through his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth — “And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth,..” (Acts 17:26). The Hidden Gospel Message The names of the genealogy of Adam hid a Gospel Message. Yahweh remarkably provided an outline of His plan of redemption through the names of the patriarchs, 4,000 years before the birth of the Messiah. Adam – Man Seth – Appointed Enos – Mortal Cainan – Sorrow Mahalaleel – The Glory or Blessed God Jared – Shall come down Enoch – Teaching Methuselah – His death shall bring Lamech – The Despairing (or The Great) Noah – Rest (or Comfort) The wonderful message was spelt out in the names: Man(-kind) is appointed to sorrow.  But the Glory of the Blessed God shall come down from heaven and teach men that by means of His death, He shall bring comfort and rest to those who mourn. ~~~~~~~ ● Chapter 6