A Record of Generations of Adam[i]
Genesis 5:1–32
I have included both translations in this post.
Translation from BHS
This is a record of the generations[ii] of humanity (adam[iii]) from the day Elohim created (bara) humanity (adam), in the likeness of Elohim he made him, (2) male and female he created them, and he blessed them, and he called their name human (adam), on the day they were created.
(3) Adam lived one hundred and thirty years and he fathered in his likeness, according to his image,[iv] and he called his name Shet. (4) And the days of Adam after he fathered Shet were eight hundred years and he fathered sons and daughters. (5) And all the days of Adam which he lived were nine hundred and thirty years and he died.
(6) And Shet lived one hundred and five years and he fathered Enosh. (7) And Shet lived after he fathered him, Enosh, eight hundred and seven years and he fathered sons and daughters. (8) And all the days of Shet were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.
(9) And Enosh lived ninety years and he fathered Qenan. (10) And Enosh lived. after he fathered Qenan, eight hundred and fifteen years and he fathered sons and daughters. (11) And all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years and he died.
(12) And Qenan lived seventy years and he fathered Mahalalel. (13) And Qenan lived, after he fathered Mahalalel, eight hundred and forty years and he fathered sons and daughters. (14) And all the days of Qenan were nine hundred and ten years and he died.
(15) And Mahalalel lived sixty-five years and he fathered Yared. (16) And Mahalalel lived, after he fathered Yared, eight hundred and three years and he fathered sons and daughters. (17) And all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years and he died.
(18) And Yared lived a hundred and sixty-two years and he fathered Khanok. (19) And Yared lived, after he fathered Khanok, eight hundred years and he fathered sons and daughters. (20) And all the days of Yared were nine hundred and sixty-two years and he died.
(21) And Khanok lived sixty-five years and he fathered Metushelakh. (22) And Khanok walked[v] with the Elohim[vi], after he fathered Metushelakh, three hundred years and he fathered sons and daughters. (23) And all the days of Khanok were three hundred and sixty-five years. (24) And Khanok walked with the Elohim and he was not, because Elohim took him.[vii]
(25) And Metushelakh lived seven one hundred and eighty-seven years and he fathered Lemek. (26) And Metushelakh lived, after he fathered Lemek, seven hundred and eighty-two years and he fathered sons and daughters. (27) And all the days of Metushelakh were nine hundred and sixty-nine years and he died.
(28) And Lemek lived one hundred and eighty-two years and he fathered a son. (29) And he called his name Noakh, saying, “This one will bring rest to us from our work and from the pain of our hands from the ground which Yahweh cursed.”[viii] (30) And Lemek lived, after he fathered Noakh five hundred and ninety-five years and he fathered sons and daughters. (31) And all the days of Lemek were seven hundred and seventy-seven years and he died. (32) And Noakh was a son of five hundred years and Noakh fathered Shem, Kham and Yaphet.
Translation from Ralhfs LXX
This is the record of offspring of humans (anthrōpōn), the day God made humans (adam) according to the image of God he made him (2) male and female he made them, and he blessed them. And he called their name human (adam) on the day he made them.[ix]
(3) And Adam lived two hundred and thirty years and he fathered, according to his form, and according to his image, and he called his name, Sēth. (4) And the days of Adam after he fathered Sēth were seven hundred years, and he fathered sons and daughters. (5) And all the days of Adam, which he lived, were nine hundred and thirty years and he died.
(6) And Sēth lived two hundred and five years and he fathered Enōs. (7) And Sēth lived, after he fathered Enōs, seven hundred and seven years and he fathered sons and daughters. (8) And all the days of Sēth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.
(9) And Enōs lived one hundred and ninety years and he fathered Kainan. (10) And Enōs lived, after he fathered Kainan, seven hundred and fifteen years and he fathered sons and daughters. (11) And all the days of Enōs were nine hundred and five years, and he died.
(12) And Kainan lived one hundred and seventy years and he fathered Maleleēl. (13) And Kainan lived, after he fathered Maleleēl, seven hundred and forty years and he fathered sons and daughters. (14) And all the days of Kainan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.
(15) And Maleleēl lived one hundred and sixty years and he fathered Iared. (16) And Maleleēl lived, after he fathered Iared, seven hundred and thirty years and he fathered sons and daughters. (17) And all the days of Maleleēl were eight hundred and ninety-five years and he died.
(18) And Iared lived one hundred and sixty-two years and he fathered Enōch. (19) And Iared lived, after he fathered Enōch, eight hundred years and he fathered sons and daughters. (20) And all the days of Iared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.
(21) And Enōch lived one hundred and sixty-five years and he fathered Mathousala. (22) And Enōch was pleasing to God, after he fathered Mathousala, two hundred years and he fathered sons and daughters. (23) And all the days of Enōch were three hundred and sixty-five years. (24) And Enōch was pleasing to God; and he was not found because God transferred him.
(25) And Mathousala lived one hundred and sixty-seven years and he fathered Lamech. (26) And Mathousala lived, after he fathered Lamech, eight hundred and two years and he fathered sons and daughters. (27) And all the days of Mathousala which he lived were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.
(28) And Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-eight years and he fathered a son. (29) And he called his name Nōe, saying, “This one will bring rest to us from our works and from the pain of our hands and from the land which the Lord God cursed.” (30) And Lamech lived, after he fathered Nōe, five hundred and sixty-five years and he fathered sons and daughters. (31) And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and fifty-three years and he died. (32) And Nōe was five hundred years, and Nōe fathered three sons: Sēm, Cham, Iapheth.[x]
Notes and Quotes
[i] Don’t skip over this genealogy. There are some very interesting factoids that prompt some consideration, even if the answers to our questions are not easy to ascertain. Genealogies are in the biblical texts because they were important to the authors, editors, compilers, and readers. I would encourage you to press on, read slowly, try to pronounce the names and see what you make of this chapter.
[ii] The genealogies in the biblical texts (and elsewhere) are filled with names that English readers often find hard to pronounce. Because of the formulaic patterns, they also are quite repetitious. Add to that, we’ve got lifespans that are exceeding long and that beggar belief. Most people just skip over or, at best, quickly scan the genealogies. However, it is important to remember that the authors, redactors, and intended readers of these texts did not consider them unimportant. As Alter states, “…genealogies [are] an intrinsic element of literary structure” in the biblical texts (Genesis, 126). This one marks off “the story of Creation and the antediluvian founding figures from the Deluge story” (Genesis, 126). It is important to note that when “there is a divergence from the formula, in the case of Enoch, it is very significant” (Genesis, 127).
[iii] In Gen 5:1-5, the Hebrew word אָדָם (adam) is found six times, each time without an adjoining definite article. Normally that would mean that it is being used as a proper name, transliterated as Adam. However, in vv.1-2, it seems unlikely that the proper name is not what the author had in mind. Why? Because these verses state that “Elohim created adam … male and female he created them.” Obviously, the man Adam was not created male and female, but rather the human species, not a single person named “Adam,” is the “them” that Elohim created and then “called their name adam.” Once we get to v. 3 and beyond, adam refers to an individual with the proper name, transliterated, Adam. To reiterate, in vv. 1–2, adam refers to humanity or humankind or more loosely “the human species.” However, I’ve left adam untranslated and only transliterated for the sake of clarity.
[iv] Compare with Genesis 1:26–27, where Elohim states his intention to “make (asah) humans in our image (tselem), according to our likeness (demut)” and then Elohim “created (bara) humanity in his image (tselem), in the image (tselem) of Elohim he created (bara) them…”. Here “Adam fathered in his likeness (demut), according to his image (tselem), and named him Shet.” I’m not sure what to make of this statement. It is not said of any other son of any other father, yet it is said of Adam in regard to Shet (i.e., Seth). And Shet is not Adam’s first son, which given these genealogies, is what most take the first named son to be, i.e., the firstborn son.
[v] There is so much that can be said about this verse and so much of it would be mere speculation. We really don’t know what it means that “Khanok (i.e., Enoch) walked with the Elohim.” I think that the best we can say is to quote Friedman who wrote, “This expression is used in ancient Near Eastern text to express continuous fidelity. So here it would mean that Enoch was faithful to God” (Torah, 32).
[vi] This is the first occurrence (of only a few) in the biblical texts of Elohim being prefaced by the definite article ha. The phrase, the Elohim, occurs again in v. 24 where it is repeated that “Enoch walked with the Elohim.” It occurs again in Gen 6:2, 4, 9, 11, only. We must remind ourselves that Elohim is a plural noun and sometimes refers not to the God of the Israelites but in general to “the gods.” Is this how we should translate/understand its usage here, i.e., that Enoch walked with “the gods.” In Gen 6:2, 4, the author talks about “the sons of the Elohim.” In v. 9, it is used of that “Noah walked with the Elohim.” In v. 11, we read that “the land was corrupt before the face of the Elohim.” In each of these cases should we translate/understand “the Elohim” means “the gods”? I’m not sure, but I find the idea intriguing and uncomfortable at the same time. More research is needed on my part.
[vii] This is typically interpreted that Enoch was taken by Elohim into “heaven” to be with him. The Hebrew literally reads, “And Enoch walked with the Elohim, and he was not, because Elohim took him.” The same phrase “and he was/is not” was used by Joseph’s brothers to say that one of the brothers “is not” (Gen 42:3). Both Enoch and Joseph simply were not. There were there, but they are gone. Where did Elohim take him and why? There are two apocryphal books that offer some thoughts on that. But, the bottom line, like Friedman, in answer to the question, “What does this mean?” I would say also, “I do not know.”
[viii] The Hebrew name נֹחַ (Noakh) is exactly the same as the word for rest or resting place. How Noah did that is not stated, if he did that at all. Rather, it was through his obedience to Elohim that he and his immediate family were the only humans who did not die in the flood. It that the rest he brought his fellow humans?
[ix] Though in Hebrew “adam” appears in vv. 1–2, three times, for the first appearance the LXX translator chose “anthropon” (meaning “man, human”) while in the second and third appearances the LXX translator chose to transcribe the Hebrew word directly as the proper name “Adam.” However, given the context, God didn’t call the name of both male and female “Adam”, thus I “corrected” the LXX translator. After v. 2, every appearance of “adam” is the proper name of “the first human.”
[x] Susan Brayford notes, “The genealogy of LXX-G makes the same points as its MT counterpart, but its details are quite different. Whereas the time from creation to the flood covered 1,656 years in the MT, it covers 2,242 years in LXX-G. The same period between creation and flood in the Samaritan Pentateuch is only 1,307 years” (Genesis LXX, 258).