1.
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
1. book of the generations—(See
Genesis 11:4).
Adam—used here either
as the name of the first man, or of the human race generally.
2.
Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
3.
And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
4.
And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:
5.
And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
5. all the days . . . Adam lived—The
most striking feature in this catalogue is the longevity of Adam and
his immediate descendants. Ten are enumerated () in direct succession whose lives far exceed the ordinary
limits with which we are familiar—the shortest being three hundred
sixty-five, [Genesis 5:23] and the
longest nine hundred sixty-nine years [Genesis 5:23]. It is useless to inquire whether and what secondary causes
may have contributed to this protracted longevity—vigorous
constitutions, the nature of their diet, the temperature and
salubrity of the climate; or, finally—as this list comprises only
the true worshippers of God—whether their great age might be owing
to the better government of their passions and the quiet, even tenor
of their lives. Since we cannot obtain satisfactory evidence on these
points, it is wise to resolve the fact into the sovereign will of
God. We can, however, trace some of the important uses to which, in
the early economy of Providence, it was subservient. It was the chief
means of reserving a knowledge of God, of the great truths of
religion, as well as the influence of genuine piety. So that, as
their knowledge was obtained by tradition, they would be in a
condition to preserve it in the greatest purity.
6.
And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:
7.
And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:
8.
And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
9.
And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:
10.
And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:
11.
And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.
12.
And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:
13.
And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:
14.
And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
15.
And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:
16.
And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:
17.
And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.
18.
And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:
19.
And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
20.
And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
21.
And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
21. Enoch . . . begat
Methuselah—This name signifies, "He dieth, and the sending
forth," so that Enoch gave it as prophetical of the flood. It is
computed that Methuselah died in the year of that catastrophe.
22.
And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
23.
And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
24.
And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
24. And Enoch walked with God—a
common phrase in Eastern countries denoting constant and familiar
intercourse.
was not; for God took him—In
Hebrews 11:5, we are informed that
he was translated to heaven—a mighty miracle, designed to effect
what ordinary means of instruction had failed to accomplish, gave a
palpable proof to an age of almost universal unbelief that the
doctrines which he had taught (Judges 1:14;
Judges 1:15) were true and that his
devotedness to the cause of God and righteousness in the midst of
opposition was highly pleasing to the mind of God.
25.
And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech:
26.
And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:
26. Lamech—a different person
from the one mentioned in the preceding chapter []. Like his namesake, however, he also spoke in numbers on
occasion of the birth of Noah—that is, "rest" or
"comfort" [Genesis 5:29,
Margin]. "The allusion is, undoubtedly, to the penal
consequences of the fall in earthly toils and sufferings, and to the
hope of a Deliverer, excited by the promise made to Eve. That this
expectation was founded on a divine communication we infer from the
importance attached to it and the confidence of its expression"
[PETER SMITH].
27.
And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
28.
And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:
29.
And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.
30.
And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:
31.
And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.
32.
And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
32. Noah was five hundred years old:
and . . . begat—That he and the other patriarchs were advanced
in life before children were born to them is a difficulty accounted
for probably from the circumstance that Moses does not here record
their first-born sons, but only the succession from Adam through Seth
to Abraham.