The Genealogy
Notes
Transcript
This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.
NOTES:
Genesis 5 is an account of the genealogical record of Adam, starting with Adam and Eve’s third son, Seth, and ending with Noah.
One thing to keep in mind when reading through these genealogical accounts is Genesis 3:15. One of the main purposes is to trace the lineage of the “seed of the woman,” who will ultimately be the Messiah who will “bruise the head of the serpent.”
One of the striking features of this account is the long lifespans. Nearly everyone lived longer than 700 years, and some nearly 1000 years. The exception is Enoch, who was a special case because he was translated (raptured) directly to Heaven without having to die. These long life spans are likely the result of the fact that the degenerative effects of the fall had not significantly impacted the gene pool yet. Also, the water vapor that surrounded the Earth would have protected the Earth from the damaging effects of solar radiation.
Questions that often come up are: Where did Cain’s wife come from, and were there other humans on Earth before God created Adam and Eve, or did God create other human couples on Earth somewhere other than the Garden of Eden? The answer is that none of those alternatives is necessary. Adam and Eve were given the directive by God to “multiply and fill the earth.” With such long lifespans, they could have done so relatively quickly. If we consider how many children Adam and Eve could have had during their lifetime, and only half of those children got married, and only half of those who got married had children, then Adam could have seen as many as one million of his descendants during his lifetime. If we apply this same idea to Adam’s descendants, there could have been as many as 7 billion people on Earth at the time of the Flood.
The genealogies in the Bible can be stitched together to provide an account from Adam to Jesus Christ. If we add them all up, we come up with 4,000 to 5,000 years. Even with omissions or gaps in the genealogical record, it is hard to imagine that the time of Adam was more than 10,000 years before Jesus. This puts the Biblical record at odds with modern science. God could have built apparent age into creation, including the earth, and probably did so.
QUESTIONS:
What might be some reasons why God provided the genealogical records in the Bible, and why are they important to study?
One of the main reasons why God provided these genealogical records was to trance the lineage of the seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15. It also gives credibility to the Word of God because these lineages can be validated.
The length of lifespans dropped dramatically after the Flood. Why might this be the case?
(1) The effects of sin. (2) A change in the environment of the earth.
And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.
NOTES:
It is significant that Adam begot Seth in “his own likeness, after his image” because this occurred after the Fall. The image of God that Adam had before the Fall was now tainted by sin. So that fallen image was passed down from Adam to Seth, and consequently to the rest of the human race. Every human being has been born in Adam’s image with the exception of Jesus Christ.
The statement “and he died” is a reminder of the effect of the sin of the Fall. All who were born “in Adam” die.
QUESTIONS:
Since Jesus took on human flesh, how can we say that Jesus was not born in Adam’s image and therefore did not receive the sinful nature? How does Genesis 3:15 help us answer this question?
Jesus was born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). He did not inherit the sinful nature from Adam.
Who are the only two people that the Bible specifically mentions did not die and were translated directly to Heaven?
Enoch and Elijah.
Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot Enosh. After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died.
Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan. After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died.
Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel. After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.
Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared. After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died.
Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died.
Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died.
NOTES:
This section covers the lineage of Seth through Methuselah.
Methuselah is the oldest living person recorded in the Bible at 969 years old. His name means “when he is dead, it shall come.” This seems to be a reference to the Flood. Methuselah living longer than any other human being is a testimony to the grace of God extending the period of grace prior to pouring out His wrath in the Flood.
Included in this section is a brief account of Enoch. Enoch is an interesting person in the Bible because of the statement “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” The statement “he was not, for God took him” is widely interpreted as Enoch being translated (raptured) directly to Heaven without dying.
QUESTIONS:
Is Enoch mentioned elsewhere in the Bible other than this passage? If so, where is he mentioned, and what is the context?
Luke 3:37 - Genealogy of Jesus.
Jude 14-15 - Quotation from the book of Enoch on the judgment.
In your own words, what does it mean to “walk with God?”
To walk with God means to cultivate a close, personal relationship with Him, making Him the central focus of one's life and aligning one's actions and thoughts with His will. It involves listening to God's voice, obeying His commands, and living in a way that honors Him in every aspect of life.
What about the book of Enoch? Was it written by Enoch? Why is it not in the Bible? Is there any benefit to reading it? Are there any dangers?
The book of Enoch was not written by Enoch. It is a type of apocryphal work known as a pseudepigrapha. It was written in the 2nd century B.C. It is not in the Bible because it did not meet the requirements of canonical scripture and includes writings that contradict the rest of scripture. We should treat the Book of Enoch (and the other books like it) in the same manner we do the other apocryphal writings. Some of what the Apocrypha says is true and correct, but much of it is false and historically inaccurate. If you read these books, you should consider them interesting but fallible historical documents, not as the inspired, authoritative Word of God.
Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed.” After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died.
And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
NOTES:
Lamech living 777 years seems significant. The number 666 represents the mark of the beast in Revelation with the number 6 representing the number of man and something that is incomplete. The number 7 represents God and represents completion. It could be that the length of Lamech’s life represents God’s wrath reaching full completion prior to the Flood.
If the genealogies are consecutive, Noah was only born 14 years after the death of Seth. Seth died in the year 1042 from creation and Noah was born in the year 1056 from creation.
The name Noah means “rest or comfort.”
Here we are introduced to the three sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. These three individuals are extremely important in the continuing genealogies in the Bible after the Flood.
QUESTIONS:
What is the significance of Lamech naming his son Noah?
The name "Noah" means "rest" or "comfort." Lamech expressed hope that Noah would bring relief from the curse placed on the ground due to Adam’s sin, symbolizing a yearning for redemption and restoration.
Was Lamech’s hope for his son Noah fulfilled? Did Noah bring “rest and comfort?”
In a sense, no. The world fell further into sin and God had to send His judgment on the earth. In a sense, yes. Noah preserved the human race and the animals on the Ark and God restarted the human race through his family. However, Noah and his descendants were still under the curse of sin and sin continued to spread after the flood.
