And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos. Not that this was his firstborn, no doubt but he had other children before this time; but this is only mentioned, because it carried the lineage and descent directly from Adam to Noah, the father of the new world, and from whom the Messiah was to spring; whose genealogy to give is a principal view of this book, or account of generations from Adam to Noah. read more
The antediluvian saints. I. DESCENDANTS OF ADAM . AS such they were— 1. A sinful race. Adam's son Seth was begotten in his father's image. Though still retaining the Divine image ( 1 Corinthians 11:7 ) as to nature, in respect of purity man has lost it. Inexplicable as the mystery is of inherited corruption, it is still a fact that the moral deterioration of the head of the human family has transmitted itself to all the members. The doctrine of human depravity, however... read more
The lives of the succeeding patriarchs are framed upon the model of this Adamic biography, and do not call for separate notice. The names of the next six were Seth ( Genesis 5:6 ; vide Genesis 4:25 ); Enos ( Genesis 5:9 ; vide Genesis 4:26 ); Cainan , possession (Gesenius); a child, one begotten (Furst); a created thing, a creature, a young man (Ewald); possessor, or spearsman (Murphy; Genesis 5:12 ); Mahalaleel , praise of God (Gesenius, Furst, Murphy; Genesis 5:15 ); ... read more
- Section V - The Line to Noah- The Line of Sheth1. ספר sepher “writing, a writing, a book.”9. קינן qēynān, Qenan, “possessor, or spearsman.”12. <מהללאל mahelal'ēl, Mahalalel, “praise of ‘El.”15. ירד yerĕd, Jered, “going down.”21. מתוּשׁלה metûshālach, Methushelach, “man of the missile.”29. נה noach, Noach, “rest,” נחם nācham “sigh; repent; pity; comfort oneself; be revenged.”32. שׁם shēm, Shem, “name, fame; related: be high.” חם chām Cham, “hot.” יפת yāpet, Japheth, “spreading;... read more
Genesis 5:6-19 . We have here all that the Holy Ghost thought fit to leave upon record concerning five of the patriarchs before the flood, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, and Jared. There is nothing noticed concerning any of those particularly, though we have reason to think they were men of eminence, both for prudence and piety; but, in general, their generations are largely and expressly recorded. We are told how long they lived that lived in God’s fear, and when they died, that died in... read more
5:1-32 GENEALOGY FROM ADAM TO NOAHAs the human race expanded, the minority of people who remained faithful to God became smaller and smaller. The purpose of the genealogy recorded in this chapter is to trace from Adam to Noah that thin line of believers who kept alive the knowledge of God.The genealogy does not name every descendant in the line from Adam to Noah, but selects ten important people to form an overall framework. Selective genealogies such as this, being easy to remember, were... read more
Enos. See Genesis 4:26 . read more
These verses relate, after the same pattern, the nine other names in this list. Instead of copying the text, we have arranged a table as follows: Name of PatriarchAge atBirth ofYears lived afterTotal age ADAM130SETH800930 SETH105ENOSH807912 ENOSH90KENAN815905 KENAN70MAHALALEL840910 MAHALALEL65JARED830895 JARED162ENOCH800962 ENOCH65METHUSELAH300365 METHUSELAH187LAMECH782969 LAMECH182NOAH595777 NOAH500SHEM, HAM, JAPHETH There are several points of unusual interest regarding what is added... read more
C. What became of Adam 5:1-6:8The primary purpose of this second toledot section appears to be to link the generations of Adam and Noah. The cursed human race continued to multiply, and human beings continued to die. Yet the record of Enoch gives hope."Genealogies in this book of genealogies . . . serve several purposes, depending in part on the nature of the genealogy. Broad genealogies present only the first generation of descendants (e.g., "the sons of Leah . . . the sons of Rachel . . . "... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 5:6-20
We have here all that the Holy Ghost thought fit to leave upon record concerning five of the patriarchs before the flood, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, and Jared. There is nothing observable concerning any of these particularly, though we have reason to think they were men of eminence, both for prudence and piety, in their day: but in general, I. Observe how largely and expressly their generations are recorded. This matter, one would think, might have been delivered in fewer words; but it is... read more