Genesis Chapter 5 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Genesis 5:1–2
Here is the genealogy of Adam. On the day that God created man he made him in the likeness of God; he created them male and female; he blessed them and called them Adam on the day they were created.
The name Adam means “man” or “humankind,” and we see that his family tree begins with the fact that he was created in God’s image. We also see that God blessed them, but what does that actually mean?
The word translated as blessed is baruch, and it speaks of being set apart or holy, walking with God, and being shown the favor of God. In this case, they were set apart by God because they were made in His image and were shown favor in being made in the image of God unlike any other creature.
In this passage, we see a pattern that will flow throughout this chapter. We are introduced to a man who fathers a child. That child is set apart from the rest of the children that the man produced, and that child is given a name with significance.
Genesis 5:3–5
After Adam lived 130 years he fathered a son like himself and named him Shet. After Shet was born, Adam lived another 800 years and had both sons and daughters. In all, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.
Here, we see the pattern repeated as Adam fathers a son named Shet, or Seth, which means “chosen.” In Genesis Chapter 4, we saw that Seth was appointed to replace Abel, the son that God blessed and who was murdered by his brother.
As we see here, Shet was created in the image of his father. That image had been tainted by sin, and so through Adam all men would be born with sin and its effects.
The end of Adam’s life also makes visible the warning that had been given in the garden. Though Adam lived many years, the statement remains: “then he died.” The consequence of sin eventually reached every generation.
Genesis 5:6–8
Shet lived 105 years and fathered Enosh. After Enosh was born, Shet lived another 807 years and had sons and daughters. In all, Shet lived 912 years; then he died.
Seth had a son named Enosh, and his name comes from the Hebrew root word anash, which means “mortal.” We are reminded that God had told Adam that he would die if he ate of the fruit.
At this point in Seth’s life, with his father getting old and near the end of his life, the words of God must have echoed in their minds as they saw the inevitable truth that death was coming to Adam and had been passed on throughout mankind.
The genealogy does not allow us to forget that death had become part of human experience after the fall. Generation after generation lived, had children, and then died.
Genesis 5:9–11
Enosh lived ninety years and fathered Kenan. After Kenan was born, Enosh lived another 815 years and had sons and daughters. In all, Enosh lived 905 years; then he died.
The pattern continues with Kenan, whose name means “lamenter” and speaks of the composition of a sad poem that is sung. We see that the number of years that each generation lives is going down.
The sad song being composed is the effect of sin in the world. The names in this genealogy are not presented as meaningless labels. They contribute to a larger message about the consequences of sin, the sorrow of mortality, and the continuing need for God’s salvation.
Genesis 5:12–14
Kenan lived seventy years and fathered Mahalal’el. After Mahalal’el was born, Kenan lived another 840 years and had sons and daughters. In all, Kenan lived 910 years; then he died.
The name Mahalalel comes from two root words. Mahalal means “blessed” or “praise,” while el is a name for God.
We see a change in the pattern established up to this time as Kenan lived five more years than his father, Enosh, had lived. Throughout the Bible, the number five is associated with grace, and anytime we see a change in the pattern it is for the revelation, or unveiling, of a new concept.
Here, we see the concept of grace, or unmerited favor, unveiled because we are not told of any special reason why Kenan lived more years than his father. God, in His grace, gave Kenan an extra five years so that those who would come after could understand the concept of grace.
Genesis 5:15–17
Mahalal’el lived sixty-five years and fathered Yered. After Yered was born, Mahalal’el lived another 830 years and had sons and daughters. In all, Mahalal’el lived 895 years; then he died.
The name Yered, commonly rendered Jared, comes from the root word yaradh, which means “descend from a place of prominence.” This would be an unusual name for a child unless it was inspired by God.
The name continues the message found in the genealogy. The family line does not merely record generations; it points to humanity’s decline from the place and fellowship with God that existed before sin.
Genesis 5:18–20
Yered lived 162 years and fathered Hanokh. After Hanokh was born, Yered lived 800 years and had sons and daughters. In all, Yered lived 962 years; then he died.
Once again, we see a change in the pattern as Yered, or Jared, lived sixty-seven years longer than his father. The name Hanokh, commonly rendered Enoch, means “trained” or “dedicated.”
Enoch was the first of what was to be four generations of preachers sharing the Word of God. His appearance in the genealogy prepares us for the remarkable statement that he would not simply live and die like the generations described before him.
Genesis 5:21–24
Hanokh lived sixty-five years and fathered Metushelach. After Metushelach was born, Hanokh walked with God 300 years and had sons and daughters. In all, Hanokh lived 365 years. Hanokh walked with God, and then he wasn’t there, because God took him.
The name Metushelach, commonly rendered Methuselah, comes from the words muth, meaning “death,” and shalach, meaning “to bring” or “to send forth.”
We see here that Enoch did not just live and die as the others were described. Instead, we are told that he “walked with God” and then was taken by God to be with Him. So what does walking with God actually mean?
We are reminded of the Garden of Eden when Adam and Havah walked with God before their disobedience and exile from His presence. Therefore, walking with God can be associated with obedience to His commands.
We see another break in the pattern because we are not told that Hanokh, or Enoch, died. Instead, we are told that God took him. He was immediately translated, or changed, to his heavenly body. This is a picture of the coming rapture of the church, as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
Enoch taught us by his example that we do not have to just accept the effects of sin and death. We can walk with God and be blessed, shown favor, by being in His presence forever.
Genesis 5:25–27
Metushelach lived 187 years and fathered Lemekh. After Lemekh was born, Metushelach lived 782 years and had sons and daughters. In all, Metushelach lived 969 years; then he died.
Although the word Lemekh does not occur in Hebrew in a simple direct form, it can be reasonably constructed from the particle le, which means “to,” and the verb muk, which means to be low or depressed. This speaks of humility.
In this setting, it points to lowering yourself from the position of making judgments and accepting the fact that God is the only right and true Judge. This is the same choice Adam and Havah had in the garden, where they made the wrong choice and elevated themselves to the role of judge.
It is worth noting that Adam was still alive at the time of the birth of Lemekh. He would have been able to see eight toledot, or generations, and throughout the Bible the number eight signifies a new beginning.
Our new beginning starts with the same humility: accepting that God is the only right and true Judge. That change of mind is repentance.
Genesis 5:28–31
Lemekh lived 182 years and fathered a son, whom he called Noach; for he said, “This one will comfort us in our labor, in the hard work we do with our hands from the ground that ADONAI cursed.” After Noach was born, Lemekh lived 595 years and had sons and daughters. In all, Lemekh lived 777 years; then he died.
The name Noah comes from the root nacham, which means “to bring relief” or “comfort.” This passage speaks of relief from the curse that was pronounced in Genesis Chapter 3 as the result of sin.
Lamech did not understand that the comfort Noah would bring was not relief from working the soil, but a cleansing of the earth and a picture of redemption from sin through a Jewish Messiah.
We also see that Lemekh lived a total of 777 years. The number seven is associated with completeness, and three is associated with the earthly display of God’s will for man. That will is brought out in the completion of this chapter and the continuing movement of God’s plan toward redemption.
Genesis 5:32
Noach was 500 years old; and Noach fathered Shem, Ham and Yefet.
Through these sons, the world would again be populated and God would have a chosen people. Noah’s three sons stand at the end of this genealogy and prepare the reader for the events of the flood in the chapters that follow.
When all of the meanings of the names are put into order, we receive a message from God that goes something like this: Man has chosen mortality, composing a sad song of sin. Praise God, the decline trained man for repentance, bringing relief to His people.
This reminds us that God had a plan for our restoration, and it has always been the same. That plan is repentance from sin and accepting the relief provided through Jesus Christ.