Notes · Gen 5:1–32

The Book of the Generations of Adam

21 approved team notes on Gen 5:1–32.

Read Gen 5:1–32

Gen 5:1

cross-referenceGen 5:1–32; Luke 3:36–38; Heb 11:5; Jude 1:14–15; Rom 5:14; Matt 19:4; Mark 10:6

Gen 5 and its NT texts: form only

SaysLuke 3:36–38 has no SBLGNT apparatus unit; the Byzantine Textform spells Καϊνάν and Ἰαρέδ; Swete prints Ἰάρεδ, and his apparatus at 5:18 gives Ιαρετ for Alexandrinus and the Bodleian Genesis.
SaysHeb 11:5 agrees in form with Swete 5:24; the SBLGNT apparatus records the Byzantine Textform’s αὐτοῦ after μεταθέσεως.
SaysJude 14 calls Enoch ἕβδομος ἀπὸ Ἀδάμ, and 14–15 quote words that stand in 1 Enoch; the SBLGNT apparatus at 15 records Westcott and Hort, Tregelles and the NIV Greek text for πάντας τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς, the Byzantine Textform’s αὐτῶν, and NA28’s πᾶσαν ψυχήν.
SaysRom 5:14 has no unit; Matt 19:4 and Mark 10:6 agree in form with Swete 5:2 and 1:27; the Byzantine Textform adds αὐτοῖς and reads ποιήσας at Matt 19:4 and adds ὁ θεός at Mark 10:6.
UncertainLuke’s second Cainan is not in Swete’s Genesis 5; no lean is taken on gaps or on the standing of 1 Enoch. Form agreement is not a claim about which text a writer used.

✓ Approved LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 RP2018 Unlicense

exegeticalGen 5:1–32

The ages in the Hebrew and the Greek, and the long lifespans

SaysThe printed ages are the Masoretic Text; the Greek ages stand beside them as a textual fact. Six generations differ by a hundred years before and after with the same total; Jared and Methuselah agree; Lamech differs. Swete has no 5:32: English 5:32 is the first sentence of Swete 6:1.
UncertainNo lean is taken among the traditions, on the long lifespans (literal, schematic by the grounds of 365 and 777, or comparison with royal lists without dependence), or on possible gaps, including Luke 3:36's Cainan, a Genesis 11 / Luke fact, not a Swete Genesis 5 plus. The Samaritan figures, given in the textual note, agree with the Masoretic Text except for Jared, Methuselah and Lamech.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Skinner, Genesis (ICC) public domain

exegeticalGen 5:1–32

Genesis 5 in the New Testament

SaysLuke 3:36–38, Hebrews 11:5, Jude 14–15 and Romans 5:14 say what they say about the line, Enoch's taking, and death from Adam. Jude quotes words that also stand in 1 Enoch, stated as reception, not authority.
ImpliesThose texts read the figures of Genesis 5 as real persons. They do not fix a lean on the ages, on gaps, or on the manner of the taking beyond 5:24 and Hebrews 11:5.
UncertainNo lean is taken on gaps or on whether Jude drew on the book or a shared tradition. Form agreement is not a claim about which text was used. No application is drawn.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 SBLGNT CC BY 4.0

exegeticalGen 5:1–32

Genesis 5: the book of the generations of Adam (overview)

SaysGenesis 5 opens with the book of the generations of Adam, traces the line to Noah with ages and, except for Enoch, and he died, records Enoch's taking and Noah's naming, and closes with Shem, Ham and Japheth. Swete has no 5:32.
ImpliesThe named figures are real persons, as the New Testament treats them; that is set out in the note on persons and history, consistent with the notes on Genesis 2.
UncertainThe ages, the long lifespans, possible gaps, the manner of Enoch's taking, the horizon of 5:29, and the name parallels, are treated in the Hebrew, Greek and historical notes. No lean is taken on those questions.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0

exegeticalGen 5:1–32

The figures of Genesis 5 as real persons

SaysLuke 3:38, Hebrews 11:5, Jude 14 and Romans 5:14 treat the figures of Genesis 5 as persons.
ImpliesThe named figures are real persons, consistent with those texts and with the shared core of the notes on Genesis 2. No lean is taken between historical narrative and history told with literary features.
UncertainA purely non-historical or eponymous reading, which Driver holds, is presented fairly and is outside that core. Skinner holds that the ages are meant literally and that the author had actual individuals in view. No lean is taken between historical narrative and history told with literary features.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 SBLGNT CC BY 4.0

historicalGen 5:1–32

The genealogy of Adam in early Jewish and Christian reading

SaysEach entry in Gen 5:3–31 gives a begetting age, later years, other sons and daughters and a total; Luke 3:38 traces Jesus’ line to Adam, the son of God.
UncertainHow the numbers of the witnesses relate, and whether the line is complete or selective, are open; no lean on chronology or lifespans, and these readings do not fix the meaning of Gen 5.

✓ Approved BSB public domain Josephus (Whiston) public domain APOT public domain Etheridge public domain Augustine, City of God (NPNF1 vol. 2) public domain

historicalGen 5:1–32

Names shared by the lines of Cain and Seth

SaysKenan (5:9) and Cain (4:17), Methuselah (5:21) and Methushael (4:18) resemble each other; Enoch and Lamech appear in both lines.
UncertainWhether the likenesses mark two families or variant forms of one list, and whether any name has a Babylonian counterpart, are open; no lean, and these comparisons do not fix the meaning.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 Driver, Genesis (Westminster) public domain Skinner, Genesis (ICC) public domain King, Legends of Babylon and Egypt public domain

historicalGen 5:1–32

Genesis 5 and the Babylonian lists of early kings

SaysGen 5:3–32 traces ten generations from Adam to Noah, giving begetting ages, remaining years and totals, with “and then he died” for all but Enoch.
UncertainWhether the Babylonian lists of early kings (Berossus; the Sumerian Dynastic List) bear on Gen 5 at all is open; no dependence claimed, no lean on the long lives, and background does not fix the meaning.

✓ Approved BSB public domain Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels public domain King, Legends of Babylon and Egypt public domain

languageGen 5:1–2

Gen 5:1–2: "the book of the generations of Adam"

Saysזֶה סֵפֶר תּוֹלְדֹת אָדָם (BDB on the noun); the personal name in 5:1a, the common noun in 5:1b and 5:2 (OSHB; BSB footnote "Hebrew Adam"); see the Gen 2 adam note; Swete ἀνθρώπων and Ἀδάμ.
Implies5:1–2 take up the likeness, "male and female," and the blessing of 1:26–28.
Uncertain"Book": an earlier written list or a heading; no lean.

✓ Approved OSHB CC BY 4.0 BSB public domain BDB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0

languageGen 5:1–32

LXX Gen 5: the book of origin, the ages, and no Swete 5:32

SaysSwete 5:1 has Αὕτη ἡ βίβλος γενέσεως ἀνθρώπων for סֵפֶר תּוֹלְדֹת אָדָם, and 5:3 has κατὰ τὴν εἰδέαν αὐτοῦ καὶ κατὰ τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ for בִּדְמוּתוֹ כְּצַלְמוֹ.
Implies5:1–2 repeat κατ’ εἰκόνα θεοῦ and ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ from Swete 1:27, so the list opens by recalling the making of humankind.
SaysSwete’s begetting ages are 100 years above the MT for Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, and Enoch, with remaining years 100 lower and the same totals; Jared and Methuselah match the MT; Lamech has 188, 565, and 753 (MT 182, 595, 777).
SaysAt 5:25 Swete prints ἑκατὸν καὶ ὀγδοήκοντα ἑπτά, and the apparatus records ὀγδο- over an erasure in Alexandrinus, where the first hand apparently had ἑξη-.
SaysSwete has no 5:32; ENG 5:32 is printed as the first sentence of Swete 6:1. Καινάν at 5:9–14 is Kenan son of Enosh, and Swete’s Genesis 5 has no second Cainan.
UncertainNo lean is taken among the MT, Samaritan, and Greek numbers, on the long lifespans, or on possible gaps.

✓ Approved LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 OSHB CC BY 4.0 Abbott-Smith public domain

VariantGen 5:1–32

Genesis 5: other Greek differences

SaysGreek ἀνθρώπων / Ἀδάμ (5:1–2); εἰδέαν … εἰκόνα (5:3); εὐηρέστησεν … τῷ θεῷ (5:22, 24); οὐχ ηὑρίσκετο … μετέθηκεν (5:24); διαναπαύσει, Κύριος ὁ θεός (5:29); τρεῖς υἱούς (5:32).
UncertainWhether the Greek differences reflect other Hebrew or the translator.

✓ Approved OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0

VariantGen 5:1–32

Genesis 5: the ages in the MT, the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Greek

SaysLXX +100 / −100, same total, for Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel and Enoch; Jared and Methuselah agree with the MT; Lamech differs. SP agrees with the MT for Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel and Enoch; lower ages at fathering and lower totals for Jared, Methuselah and Lamech; at 5:17 one Samaritan manuscript transposes letters in "ninety"; another is damaged there. BSB follows the MT; 5:25 Swete 187, a correction over an erasure in Alexandrinus.
UncertainWhich tradition is earlier, and whether any was adjusted; no lean.

✓ Approved OSHB CC BY 4.0 von Gall, Sam. Pent. public domain LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 BSB public domain

Gen 5:3

languageGen 5:3–5

Gen 5:3–5: "in his likeness, as his image"

Saysוַיּוֹלֶד בִּדְמוּתוֹ כְּצַלְמוֹ: the nouns of 1:26, prepositions exchanged (BDB "likeness, similitude"; "image, likeness, of resemblance"); "a son" supplied by the BSB; Adam names Seth (Eve at 4:25); Swete εἰδέαν … εἰκόνα; וַיָּמֹת first of eight; Rom 5:14.
UncertainGod's image carried on, Adam's fallen likeness, or ordinary family likeness; objections; no lean.

✓ Approved OSHB CC BY 4.0 BSB public domain BDB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0

Gen 5:6

languageGen 5:6–20

Gen 5:6–20: the repeated formula

SaysThe formula: lived, fathered, years after, sons and daughters, total, "and he died"; the order of the numerals; MT paragraph breaks after each entry; the Greek ages differ (chronology note).
ImpliesThe repeated formula frames each life; "and he died" closes every entry but Enoch's.
UncertainLiteral, symbolic or schematic, or comparable to royal lists; grounds and objections; no lean.
UncertainA closed or open line (Luke 3:36 Cainan from the Greek of Gen 11); no lean.
UncertainThe like names in Cain's line (Gen 4 notes); no lean.

✓ Approved OSHB CC BY 4.0 BSB public domain

Gen 5:21

exegeticalGen 5:21–24

Enoch walked with God, and God took him (Genesis 5:21–24)

SaysEnoch walked with God; he was not, for God took him. Hebrews 11:5 says he was taken up so that he did not see death. Jude names him the seventh from Adam and quotes words that also stand in 1 Enoch, stated as reception, not authority.
UncertainWhether walked with God speaks of fellowship or conduct, and how and where Enoch was taken beyond 5:24 and Hebrews 11:5, are open. No lean is taken here.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 SBLGNT CC BY 4.0

historicalGen 5:21–24

Enoch in early Jewish and Christian reading

SaysGen 5:24: Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him; Heb 11:5 says he was taken up so that he did not see death; Jude 14 calls him the seventh from Adam.
UncertainWhether Jude drew on 1 Enoch or a shared tradition, and what Enoch’s taking involved beyond Gen 5:24 and Heb 11:5, are open; no lean, and these readings do not fix the meaning of 5:21–24.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 APOT public domain APOT 1 public domain Josephus (Whiston) public domain

languageGen 5:21–24

Gen 5:21–24: "Enoch walked with God"

Saysוַיִּתְהַלֵּךְ חֲנוֹךְ אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים for "lived" (Hithpael; BDB "walk, walk about, move to and fro"); וְאֵינֶנּוּ כִּי־לָקַח אֹתוֹ אֱלֹהִים for "and he died" (BDB "is not, are not, was not"; "take"); Swete εὐηρέστησεν … οὐχ ηὑρίσκετο, διότι μετέθηκεν.
SaysHeb 11:5 (taken, not seeing death); Jude 14 "the seventh from Adam," quoting words also in 1 Enoch; stated, not promoted.
Uncertain"Walked with God": fellowship or conduct (cf. 17:1); no lean.
UncertainThe manner of the taking beyond 5:24 and Heb 11:5; no lean.

✓ Approved OSHB CC BY 4.0 BSB public domain BDB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0

languageGen 5:21–24

LXX Gen 5:21–24: Enoch “pleased God” and “was not found”

SaysAt 5:22 and 5:24 Swete has εὐηρέστησεν … Ἑνὼχ τῷ θεῷ where the MT has וַיִּתְהַלֵּךְ חֲנוֹךְ אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים.
Says5:24 reads καὶ οὐχ ηὑρίσκετο, διότι μετέθηκεν αὐτὸν ὁ θεός for וְאֵינֶנּוּ כִּי־לָקַח אֹתוֹ אֱלֹהִים; μετατίθημι renders לָקַח.
Says5:22 has διακόσια (MT 300), 5:23 totals 365 with no καὶ ἀπέθανεν, as the MT; Swete’s apparatus records καὶ ἔζησεν Ἑνώχ for the Bodleian Genesis at 5:22 and ὅτι for διότι at 5:24, inferred for the Cotton Genesis from the silence of its collation.
SaysHeb 11:5 has οὐχ ηὑρίσκετο διότι μετέθηκεν αὐτὸν ὁ θεός and εὐαρεστηκέναι τῷ θεῷ.
UncertainNo lean is taken on the manner of Enoch’s taking beyond what 5:24 and Heb 11:5 say, or on what “walked with God” meant in practice.

✓ Approved LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 OSHB CC BY 4.0 SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 Abbott-Smith public domain

Gen 5:28

exegeticalGen 5:28–32

Lamech names Noah, and Noah fathers Shem, Ham and Japheth (Genesis 5:28–32)

SaysLamech names Noah, this one will comfort us, from the toil of the cursed ground; after Noah is 500 he fathers Shem, Ham and Japheth. Swete numbers 5:32 as the first sentence of 6:1.
ImpliesThe narrative draws a name-play: Noah is heard in will comfort us.
UncertainThe horizon of the hope, whether the imperfect is a wish or an expectation, and whether all three sons were born at 500, are open. No lean is taken here.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Etheridge public domain

languageGen 5:28–31

Gen 5:28–31: Noah's name and "this one will comfort us"

Saysוַיּוֹלֶד בֵּן; זֶה יְנַחֲמֵנוּ Piel imperfect (BDB "comfort, console"); BSB renders a wish; the toil, ground and curse of 3:17; BDB name and verb on separate pages; Swete διαναπαύσει, Κύριος ὁ θεός.
ImpliesNoah's name is heard in "will comfort us": a name-play the narrative draws.
UncertainNoah's day, after the flood (8:21, another verb), or beyond; wish or expectation; no lean.

✓ Approved OSHB CC BY 4.0 BSB public domain BDB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0

Gen 5:32

languageGen 5:32

Gen 5:32: Noah and his three sons

Saysוַיְהִי־נֹחַ בֶּן־חֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה (age idiom); the three sons; the formula completed at 9:28–29; named at 6:10, 10:1, 1 Chr 1:4; Swete numbers it 6:1 with (32), adds τρεῖς υἱούς; Luke 3:36–38.
UncertainAll three born at 500, or the first; 11:10; no lean.
UncertainHistorical narrative or history with literary features (persons real, as the NT treats them); no lean.

✓ Approved OSHB CC BY 4.0 BSB public domain LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0