From Adam to Noah
Genesis 5
Genesis chapter 5 contains the generations of Adam from his son Seth all the way down to Noah. In contrast to the ungodly lineage of Adam’s son Cain that was given near the end of chapter 4 (which hit a dead end at the flood), this is the messianic lineage that survives the Great Flood and ultimately leads to Jesus. Let’s fight off the temptation to just skip over scripture that deals with genealogical records and dig in a little bit..
These verses list the 10 generations from Adam to Noah and provide some interesting data about the individuals listed:
Adam, 130 years old, fathered Seth. Adam lived 930 years.
Seth, 105 years old, fathered Enosh. Seth lived 912 years.
Enosh, 90 years old, fathered Kenan. Enosh lived 905 years.
Kenan, 70 years old, fathered Mahalelel. Kenan lived 910 years.
Mahalelel, 65 years old, fathered Jared. Mahalelel lived 895 years.
Jared, 162 years old, fathered Enoch. Jared lived 962 years.
Enoch, 65 years old, fathered Methusaleh. Enoch was taken when he was 365 years old.
Methusaleh, 187 years old, fathered Lamech. Methusaleh lived 969 years – the oldest man in the bible.
Lamech, 182 years old, fathered Noah. Lamech lived 777 years.
Noah, 500 years old, fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
If you take this information literally and do some math, you can determine that the flood occurred 1656 years after creation. Noah’s father, Lamech, died 5 years before the flood, but his grandfather, Methusaleh (the oldest man in the bible), died the year of the flood!
It is fascinating how long people lived before the flood. That longevity would mean that at least four or five generations of these families lived at the same time. Also, given the fact that all of these families were so large and lived so long, the population was exploding exponentially during this time, meaning that there were probably millions of people on earth at the time of the flood.
For all but one of the men listed in the ten generations, we see the phrase “and then he died.” Noah’s great-great grandfather, Enoch, was the one exception. It was said of Enoch that he “walked with God” and that after he had lived 365 years, “God took him” (Genesis 5:23-24). This unusual exception to death is further explained in Hebrews 11:5 – “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: ‘He could not be found, because God had taken him away.’ For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.”
Aside from the interesting aspects of this genealogy, the big picture is that it connects Adam down to Noah and shows the lineage that God used to save the world from his first judgment that came in the form of the Great Flood. This lineage will continue all the way down to Jesus Christ who will save us from God’s final judgment.
written by Joe Hust