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Read Genesis Chapter 5

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1This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

2Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

3And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

4And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:

5And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

6And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:

7And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:

8And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.

9And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:

10And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:

11And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.

12And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:

13And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:

14And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.

15And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:

16And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:

17And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.

18And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:

19And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

20And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.

21And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:

22And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

23And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:

24And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

25And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech:

26And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:

27And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.

28And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:

29And 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.

30And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:

31And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.

32And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

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Explanation

Genesis 5

In short

This chapter lists the family line from Adam down to Noah, showing how long each person lived and how they had children. The passage is structured as a record to show the unbroken connection between the first human and Noah, who will become important later in the Bible's story.

What the text says

Verses 1-2 open with the heading "the book of the generations of Adam" and recall that God made humans in his likeness, both male and female, and blessed them. Verses 3-5 then begin the pattern: Adam lived 130 years, had a son Seth in his own likeness, lived another 800 years, had other children, and died at 930. Verses 6-8 repeat this pattern for Seth: 105 years to his first son Enos, 807 more years, then death at 912. The passage continues this same structure for Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, and Jared, each with similar length of life and the repeated statement "and he died" at the end of their account. Enoch is different: verses 21-24 say he lived 65 years before Methuselah was born, walked with God for 300 more years, and then "God took him" without the word "died." Methuselah follows the usual pattern and reaches 969 years. Lamech lives 182 years before Noah is born, and Lamech names his son Noah, saying he will comfort them concerning their work and the cursed ground. Verse 32 closes with Noah at 500 years old, having three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Takeaways

  • The lifespans in this era are extraordinarily long, though the numbers decrease as the list goes down.
  • Each person in the line dies, reflecting the ongoing consequence of human sin, except Enoch, who is taken by God without dying.
  • Noah appears at the end of this ten-generation chain as the one expected to bring relief from humanity's hardship.

Explanation written with the help of AI. The Bible text above is not changed. Context and interpretation are flagged as such; always come back to the text itself.