Genesis 5 (The Genealogy of Adam - Part I)

In my last Bible post, I wrote about the death of Abel at his brother's hands. But Abel's death is not the only murder listed in Genesis 4. Lamech, Cain's great-great-great-grandson, also murdered a man; he claimed to have killed the unnamed man for wounding him.

Just as disturbing, Lamech took it upon himself to proclaim that anyone who avenged the murder would receive the Lord's vengeance seventy-sevenfold; in essence, he presumed to speak for the Lord Himself. (Earlier, the Lord proclaimed that anyone who avenged Abel's death and harmed Cain would receive vengeance sevenfold--in other words, the sin of murder would not be made right by another murder.) Lamech was also the first man in the Bible to take multiple wives, which had not been God's original intention.

So within just a few generations, man was already filled with sin and turning against God. However, the chapter does end on a positive note: Eve gives birth to another son, Seth, whose wife gives birth to a son named Enosh. The chapter ends with this line: "Then men began to call on the name of the Lord."

Genesis 5 isn't quite as exciting as Genesis 4. In fact, most people would say that it's quite boring and would probably skip over it altogether. After all, does it really matter who begot who?

If there's one thing I have learned about the Bible, it's the fact that every word, every chapter is important. Even the "boring" bits can be interesting and exciting if you take the time to look beyond the words on the page. In this case, the meaning behind each name listed in the genealogy is fascinating.

This is the genealogy of Adam (through his son, Seth), with the meanings of each name listed alongside:

Adam - man, a being created from material, dust or earth
Seth - appointed, with connotations of tumult
Enosh - mortal human being, or frail and miserable man
Cainan - variant of Kenan - to propogate, increase, possibly a growth of offspring or fortune; possession
Mahalalel - praise of God
Jared - decline or descent
Enoch - initiated or dedicated
Methuselah - man of the javelin or dart; or "When he is dead, it shall come"
Lamech - lowering, depression, humiliation
Noah - rest or comfort, with overtones of finality, victory or salvation

In and of itself, this list might not seem that interesting. However, in the next post I will show how these names and their meanings not only summarize the state of the world from earth's creation to the great flood of Noah's generation, but it is also a glimpse at God's plan for salvation, through His son, Jesus Christ.

Note--I used two websites to find the meanings of each name: Behind the Name and Abarim Publications.