The Fallible Study Bible

The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible

Genesis5:1–17

The Descendants of Adam

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Genesis 5:1–17 — The Descendants of Adam. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

1

This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in His own likeness.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

zeh sê·p̄er tō·wl·ḏōṯ ’ā·ḏām bə·yō·wm ’ĕ·lō·hîm bə·rō ’ā·ḏām ‘ā·śāh ’ō·ṯōw biḏ·mūṯ ’ĕ·lō·hîm

Word by word12 · parsed
זֶ֣הzehThisH2088
√ zeh — the masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or thatPronounmasculine singular
סֵ֔פֶרsê·p̄er[is] the bookH5612
√ çêpher — properly, writing (the art or a document)Nounmasculine singular construct
sêp̄er · H5612. A masculine singular construct — “the book of …” This is the first of the great tôlᵉḏôṯ headings to add the word “book.” Barnes hears in it “some ground in the text for supposing the insertion by Moses of an authentic document, handed down from the olden time.” The Pulpit Commentary draws the inference further: “The expression presupposes the invention of the art of writing.”
תּוֹלְדֹ֖תtō·wl·ḏōṯof the generationsH8435
√ tôwlᵉdâh — (plural only) descent, iNounfeminine plural construct
tôwlᵉḏōṯ · H8435. Feminine plural construct, “generations / descents / outworkings.” It is the structural seam of Genesis (cf. 2:4; 6:9; 10:1) — the formula by which the book is jointed. Keil: “the creation being mentioned again as the starting point, because all the development and history of humanity was rooted there.”
אָדָ֑ם’ā·ḏāmof AdamH121
√ ʼÂdâm — Adam the name of the first man, also of a place in PalestineNounpropermasculine singular
בְּי֗וֹםbə·yō·wmIn the dayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Preposition-bNounmasculine singular construct
אֱלֹהִים֙’ĕ·lō·hîmthat GodH430
√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural
ʾĕlōhîm · H430. The chapter opens with Elohim, the Creator-name of Genesis 1, before turning to the covenant name later in the section (so Barnes traces the document’s seams). The likeness is therefore God’s likeness — Maker to creature — not yet framed in covenant terms.
בְּרֹ֤אbə·rōcreatedH1254
√ bârâʼ — (absolutely) to createVerbQalInfinitive construct
bᵉrōʾ · H1254. Qal infinitive construct of bārāʾ, the verb reserved in Scripture for divine creation. “In the day of God’s creating man” quotes Genesis 1:27 almost word for word — this verse is, as Barnes says, “a recapitulation of the creation of man.”
אָדָ֔ם’ā·ḏāmmanH120
√ ʼâdâm — ruddy iNounmasculine singular
עָשָׂ֥ה‘ā·śāhHe madeH6213
√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular
ʿāśāh · H6213. Qal perfect, “He made.” The shift from bārāʾ (create) to ʿāśāh (make) within a single verse is not careless synonymy; Scripture pairs the two for the one event (cf. Genesis 2:2–3). Both the creation from nothing and the fashioning stand behind the man who bears God’s likeness.
אֹתֽוֹ׃’ō·ṯōwhimH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person masculine singular
בִּדְמ֥וּתbiḏ·mūṯin His own likenessH1823
√ dᵉmûwth — resemblancePreposition-bNounfeminine singular construct
dᵉmûṯ · H1823. “Likeness.” The deliberate re-use of 1:26 vocabulary after the Fall is doctrinally weighted: Ellicott reads it as proof the image “was not therefore lost,” damaged only “so far as sin corrupted the vessel in which this great gift was deposited.” The same word will pass from Adam to Seth in v. 3 — but with a difference the chapter will not let us miss.
אֱלֹהִ֖ים’ĕ·lō·hîm. . .H430
√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural
2

Male and female He created them, and He blessed them. And in the day they were created, He called them “man.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

zā·ḵār ū·nə·qê·ḇāh bə·rā·’ām way·ḇā·reḵ ’ō·ṯām bə·yō·wm hib·bā·rə·’ām way·yiq·rā ’eṯ- šə·mām ’ā·ḏām

Word by word11 · parsed
זָכָ֥רzā·ḵārMaleH2145
√ zâkâr — properly, remembered, iNounmasculine singular
zāḵār · H2145. “Male.” With its pair nᵉqêḇāh it is lifted verbatim from Genesis 1:27 — Cambridge: “This clause is repeated from Genesis 1:27.” The recapitulation is exact, marking the heading as a quotation of the creation account.
וּנְקֵבָ֖הū·nə·qê·ḇāhand femaleH5347
√ nᵉqêbâh — female (from the sexual form)Conjunctive wawNounfeminine singular
בְּרָאָ֑םbə·rā·’āmHe created themH1254
√ bârâʼ — (absolutely) to createVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singularthird person masculine plural
וַיְבָ֣רֶךְway·ḇā·reḵand He blessedH1288
√ bârak — to kneelConjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way­ḇāreḵ · H1288. Consecutive imperfect Piel, “and He blessed.” Poole: “He blessed them with power to propagate their kind, and with other blessings” — the verse’s blessing is what makes the long list of births that follows a fulfillment, not a mere chronicle.
אֹתָ֗ם’ō·ṯāmthemH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person masculine plural
בְּי֖וֹםbə·yō·wmAnd in the dayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Preposition-bNounmasculine singular construct
הִבָּֽרְאָֽם׃סhib·bā·rə·’āmthey were createdH1254
√ bârâʼ — (absolutely) to createVerbNifalInfinitive constructthird person masculine plural
וַיִּקְרָ֤אway·yiq·rāHe calledH7121
√ qârâʼ — to call out to (iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
שְׁמָם֙šə·māmthemH8034
√ shêm — an appellation, as amark or memorial of individualityNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine plural
šᵉmām · H8034. “Their name” — a masculine singular noun (“name”) with a plural suffix (“their”). Both the man and the woman bear the one name ʾāḏām. Poole gathers the senses: the name is given “to every man … and to the first man … and to the whole kind.” The naming is God’s act, not the man’s.
אָדָ֔ם’ā·ḏāmmanH120
√ ʼâdâm — ruddy iNounmasculine singular
ʾāḏām · H120. The species-name as title. Barnes: “God, as the maker, names the race, and thereby marks its character and purpose.” In Eden the man named the animals (2:19–20); here the Maker names the man — naming runs downward from God.
3

When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son in his own likeness, after his own image; and he named him Seth.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’ā·ḏām way·ḥî šə·lō·šîm ū·mə·’aṯ šā·nāh way·yō·w·leḏ biḏ·mū·ṯōw kə·ṣal·mōw way·yiq·rā ’eṯ- šə·mōw šêṯ

Word by word12 · parsed
אָדָ֗ם’ā·ḏāmWhen AdamH121
√ ʼÂdâm — Adam the name of the first man, also of a place in PalestineNounpropermasculine singular
וַֽיְחִ֣יway·ḥîwasH2421
√ châyâh — to live, whether literally or figurativelyConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way­ḥî · H2421. “Lived” — the verb ḥāyāh that opens nearly every entry in the chapter, against which the closing wayyāmoṯ (“and he died”) will toll. Life is stated first, death last; the order itself preaches.
שְׁלֹשִׁ֤יםšə·lō·šîm130H7970
√ shᵉlôwshîym — thirtyNumbercommon plural
וּמְאַת֙ū·mə·’aṯ. . .H3967
√ mêʼâh — a hundredConjunctive wawNumberfeminine singular construct
שָׁנָ֔הšā·nāhyears oldH8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
וַיּ֥וֹלֶדway·yō·w·leḏhe had a sonH3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
בִּדְמוּת֖וֹbiḏ·mū·ṯōwin his own likenessH1823
√ dᵉmûwth — resemblancePreposition-bNounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine singular
dᵉmûṯô · H1823. The crux of the unit. Adam was made in God’s likeness (v. 1); he begets in his own likeness. Henry: “when fallen he begat a son in his own image, sinful and defiled … having lost it, he could not convey it to his seed.” Keil sharpens it: Adam “transmitted the image of God … not in the purity in which it came direct from God, but in the form given to it by his own self-determination, modified and corrupted by sin.” The likeness is not erased — it is inherited damaged.
כְּצַלְמ֑וֹkə·ṣal·mōwafter his own imageH6754
√ tselem — a phantom, iPreposition-kNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular
ṣalmô · H6754. Tselem, “image.” The pairing with dᵉmûṯ exactly reproduces Genesis 1:26 — the same two nouns, the same two prepositions — so that the reader cannot avoid the comparison. The Pulpit Commentary reads it as “the image or likeness of his own fallen nature, i.e. the image of God modified and corrupted by sin,” and frames the old Traducianist debate (per traducem vs. creation of each soul) as the doctrine this verse keeps alive.
וַיִּקְרָ֥אway·yiq·rāand he named himH7121
√ qârâʼ — to call out to (iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
wayyiqrāʾ · H7121. “And he called.” In v. 2 God named the race; here Adam names his son — naming descends the generations. The Targumists, Gill reports, read Seth as “like to his image and similitude” in a good sense, opposing Cain; the plain Hebrew, however, sets Adam’s likeness over against God’s likeness, and so the Reformers read it of inherited corruption.
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
שְׁמ֖וֹšə·mōwH8034
√ shêm — an appellation, as amark or memorial of individualityNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular
שֵֽׁת׃šêṯSethH8352
√ Shêth — Sheth, third son of AdamNounpropermasculine singular
Šēṯ · H8352. Seth, “appointed/set.” A rare name (8 verses in the Hebrew Bible) — its recurrence in 4:25–26 and 1 Chronicles 1:1 makes the verbal thread to those genealogies firm.
4

And after he had become the father of Seth, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’a·ḥă·rê hō·w·lî·ḏōw ’eṯ- šêṯ yə·mê- ’ā·ḏām way·yih·yū šə·mō·neh mê·’ōṯ šā·nāh way·yō·w·leḏ bā·nîm ū·ḇā·nō·wṯ

Word by word13 · parsed
אַֽחֲרֵי֙’a·ḥă·rêAnd afterH310
√ ʼachar — properly, the hind partPreposition
הוֹלִיד֣וֹhō·w·lî·ḏōwhe had become the father ofH3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngVerbHifilInfinitive constructthird person masculine singular
hôlîḏô · H3205. Hiphil infinitive construct with suffix — “his begetting (of Seth).” The Hiphil (causative) recurs across the chapter for every father; begetting is framed as something the father does, the channel by which the line — and the inherited likeness of v. 3 — is carried.
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
שֵׁ֔תšêṯSethH8352
√ Shêth — Sheth, third son of AdamNounpropermasculine singular
יְמֵי־yə·mê-H3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Nounmasculine plural construct
אָדָ֗ם’ā·ḏāmAdamH121
√ ʼÂdâm — Adam the name of the first man, also of a place in PalestineNounpropermasculine singular
וַיִּֽהְי֣וּway·yih·yūlivedH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural
wayyihyû · H1961. “And [the days] were” — the existence-verb hāyāh, here plural agreeing with “days.” The formulaic frame (lived-X-years, begot, lived-Y-years-more, died) begins in earnest; v. 4 is the second panel of the Adam template.
שְׁמֹנֶ֥הšə·mō·neh800H8083
√ shᵉmôneh — a cardinal number, eight (as if a surplus above the 'perfect' seven)Numberfeminine singular
מֵאֹ֖תmê·’ōṯ. . .H3967
√ mêʼâh — a hundredNumberfeminine plural
שָׁנָ֑הšā·nāhyearsH8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
וַיּ֥וֹלֶדway·yō·w·leḏand had [other]H3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
בָּנִ֖יםbā·nîmsonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural
bānîm · H1121. “Sons,” paired with bānôṯ, “daughters.” The unnamed multitude. Keil notes the structural point of the whole frame: the father “did not die till he had propagated life, so that in the midst of the death of individuals the life of the race was preserved.”
וּבָנֽוֹת׃ū·ḇā·nō·wṯand daughtersH1323
√ bath — a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively)Conjunctive wawNounfeminine plural
5

So Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’ā·ḏām way·yih·yū kāl- yə·mê ’ă·šer- ḥay tə·ša‘ mê·’ō·wṯ ū·šə·lō·šîm šā·nāh šā·nāh way·yā·mōṯ

Word by word12 · parsed
אָדָם֙’ā·ḏāmSo AdamH121
√ ʼÂdâm — Adam the name of the first man, also of a place in PalestineNounpropermasculine singular
וַיִּֽהְי֞וּway·yih·yūlivedH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural
כָּל־kāl-a total ofH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
יְמֵ֤יyə·mê. . .H3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Nounmasculine plural construct
אֲשֶׁר־’ă·šer-H834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
חַ֔יḥayH2421
√ châyâh — to live, whether literally or figurativelyVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular
ḥay · H2421. “Lived.” Henry ties the total to the sentence: “Adam lived, in all, 930 years; and then died, according to the sentence passed upon him, To dust thou shalt return.” The long life is no reprieve from the verdict, only its slow execution — “a wasting, dying life.”
תְּשַׁ֤עtə·ša‘930H8672
√ têshaʻ — nine or (ordinal) ninthNumberfeminine singular construct
מֵאוֹת֙mê·’ō·wṯ. . .H3967
√ mêʼâh — a hundredNumberfeminine plural
וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֖יםū·šə·lō·šîm. . .H7970
√ shᵉlôwshîym — thirtyConjunctive wawNumbercommon plural
שָׁנָ֔הšā·nāhyearsH8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
שָׁנָ֑הšā·nāh. . .H8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
šānāh · H8141. The doubled “year” reflects the Hebrew compound-number idiom. The remarkable longevity provokes the commentators’ most candid restraint: JFB advises, “Since we cannot obtain satisfactory evidence on these points, it is wise to resolve the fact into the sovereign will of God,” while Ellicott rehearses the textual variants (Hebrew 1656, Samaritan 1307, LXX 2262 years to the Flood) and warns “we must not use these genealogies for chronological purposes.”
וַיָּמֹֽת׃סway·yā·mōṯand then he diedH4191
√ mûwth — to die (literally or figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
wayyāmoṯ · H4191. Consecutive imperfect of mûṯ. The first “and he died” in Scripture’s longest death-refrain. Paul will read this very chapter when he writes that “death reigned from Adam” (Romans 5:14) — Keil cites the verse explicitly. The bell that tolls here for Adam tolls for all his line, and the chapter means it to.
6

When Seth was 105 years old, he became the father of Enosh.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

šêṯ way·ḥî- ū·mə·’aṯ šā·nîm ḥā·mêš šā·nāh way·yō·w·leḏ ’eṯ- ’ĕ·nō·wōš

Word by word9 · parsed
שֵׁ֕תšêṯWhen SethH8352
√ Shêth — Sheth, third son of AdamNounpropermasculine singular
Šēṯ · H8352. Seth begins the second biography, framed (the Pulpit Commentary says) “upon the model of this Adamic biography.” Gill marks the structural purpose: Seth is named “because it carried the lineage and descent directly from Adam to Noah … and from whom the Messiah was to spring.”
וַֽיְחִי־way·ḥî-wasH2421
√ châyâh — to live, whether literally or figurativelyConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
וּמְאַ֣תū·mə·’aṯ105H3967
√ mêʼâh — a hundredConjunctive wawNumberfeminine singular construct
שָׁנִ֖יםšā·nîm. . .H8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine plural
חָמֵ֥שׁḥā·mêš. . .H2568
√ châmêsh — fiveNumberfeminine singular
שָׁנָ֑הšā·nāhyears oldH8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
וַיּ֖וֹלֶדway·yō·w·leḏhe became the father ofH3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
wayyôleḏ · H3205. The begetting-verb. Geneva reads the whole Sethite line as God’s preservation of His church: the succession is set down “to show the true Church, and also what care God had over the same from the beginning.”
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
אֱנֽוֹשׁ׃’ĕ·nō·wōšEnoshH583
√ ʼĔnôwsh — Enosh, a son of SethNounpropermasculine singular
ʾĕnôwš · H583. A rare proper noun (the same consonants as the word for mortal man). Its recurrence in Genesis 4:26 (where “men began to call on the name of the LORD”) and in 1 Chronicles 1:1 anchors the verbal threads to those texts. The name itself whispers the mortality the chapter is documenting.
7

And after he had become the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’a·ḥă·rê hō·w·lî·ḏōw ’eṯ- ’ĕ·nō·wōš šêṯ way·ḥî- ū·šə·mō·neh mê·’ō·wṯ šā·nîm še·ḇa‘ šā·nāh way·yō·w·leḏ bā·nîm ū·ḇā·nō·wṯ

Word by word14 · parsed
אַֽחֲרֵי֙’a·ḥă·rêAnd afterH310
√ ʼachar — properly, the hind partPreposition
Šēṯ · H8352. Seth again — the entry’s second panel. Henry’s counsel for the whole repetitive list: “It is well to observe the deaths of others,” for the recurring frame is meant to be felt, not skimmed.
הוֹלִיד֣וֹhō·w·lî·ḏōwhe had become the father ofH3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngVerbHifilInfinitive constructthird person masculine singular
way­ḥî · H2421. “And he lived.” Gill flags the LXX’s habitual numeric divergence here (205 before, 707 after Enosh) — a reminder that the very figures the chapter repeats so carefully were transmitted differently in the ancient versions.
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
אֱנ֔וֹשׁ’ĕ·nō·wōšEnoshH583
√ ʼĔnôwsh — Enosh, a son of SethNounpropermasculine singular
שֵׁ֗תšêṯSethH8352
√ Shêth — Sheth, third son of AdamNounpropermasculine singular
וַֽיְחִי־way·ḥî-livedH2421
√ châyâh — to live, whether literally or figurativelyConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
וּשְׁמֹנֶ֥הū·šə·mō·neh807H8083
√ shᵉmôneh — a cardinal number, eight (as if a surplus above the 'perfect' seven)Conjunctive wawNumberfeminine singular
מֵא֖וֹתmê·’ō·wṯ. . .H3967
√ mêʼâh — a hundredNumberfeminine plural
שָׁנִ֔יםšā·nîm. . .H8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine plural
שֶׁ֣בַעše·ḇa‘. . .H7651
√ shebaʻ — seven (as the sacred full one)Numberfeminine singular
שָׁנָ֑הšā·nāhyearsH8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
וַיּ֥וֹלֶדway·yō·w·leḏand had [other]H3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
בָּנִ֖יםbā·nîmsonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural
וּבָנֽוֹת׃ū·ḇā·nō·wṯand daughtersH1323
√ bath — a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively)Conjunctive wawNounfeminine plural
8

So Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

šêṯ šə·têm way·yih·yū kāl- yə·mê- ū·ṯə·ša‘ mê·’ō·wṯ šā·nāh ‘eś·rêh šā·nāh way·yā·mōṯ

Word by word11 · parsed
שֵׁ֔תšêṯSo SethH8352
√ Shêth — Sheth, third son of AdamNounpropermasculine singular
Šēṯ · H8352. Seth’s life closes. Around this verse cluster the apocryphal traditions Gill records — Josephus’ tale of Seth’s descendants inscribing their astronomy on two pillars against fire and flood — material the commentators relay but do not treat as Scripture.
שְׁתֵּ֤יםšə·têm. . .H8147
√ shᵉnayim — twoNumberfd
וַיִּֽהְיוּ֙way·yih·yūlivedH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural
כָּל־kāl-a total ofH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
יְמֵי־yə·mê-. . .H3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Nounmasculine plural construct
וּתְשַׁ֥עū·ṯə·ša‘912H8672
√ têshaʻ — nine or (ordinal) ninthConjunctive wawNumberfeminine singular construct
מֵא֖וֹתmê·’ō·wṯ. . .H3967
√ mêʼâh — a hundredNumberfeminine plural
שָׁנָ֔הšā·nāh. . .H8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
עֶשְׂרֵה֙‘eś·rêh. . .H6240
√ ʻâsâr — ten (only in combination), iNumberfeminine singular
שָׁנָ֑הšā·nāhyearsH8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
וַיָּמֹֽת׃סway·yā·mōṯand then he diedH4191
√ mûwth — to die (literally or figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
wayyāmoṯ · H4191. The bell again. Geneva, on the long lives, offers a providential reading: the “main reason for long life in the first age, was the multiplication of mankind, that … the world might be filled with people, who would universally praise him.” Even the death-refrain is set within a purpose for life.
9

When Enosh was 90 years old, he became the father of Kenan.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’ĕ·nō·wōš way·ḥî tiš·‘îm šā·nāh way·yō·w·leḏ ’eṯ- qê·nān

Word by word7 · parsed
אֱנ֖וֹשׁ’ĕ·nō·wōšWhen EnoshH583
√ ʼĔnôwsh — Enosh, a son of SethNounpropermasculine singular
ʾĕnôwš · H583. Enosh now stands as father, not son. His name (man-in-frailty) and Kenan’s (kin to “Cain”) sit one beside the other — the Sethite line is not a roll of demigods but of frail men whose very names recall mortality and the murderous brother-line.
וַֽיְחִ֥יway·ḥîwasH2421
√ châyâh — to live, whether literally or figurativelyConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
תִּשְׁעִ֣יםtiš·‘îm90H8673
√ tishʻîym — ninetyNumbercommon plural
שָׁנָ֑הšā·nāhyears oldH8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
וַיּ֖וֹלֶדway·yō·w·leḏhe became the father ofH3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
קֵינָֽן׃qê·nānKenanH7018
√ Qêynân — Kenan, an antediluvianNounpropermasculine singular
Qênān · H7018. A rare name (6 verses), which makes the verbal thread to 1 Chronicles 1:2 firm. The likely kinship with Qayin is a lexical observation, not a moral verdict on Kenan; Cambridge offers it cautiously (“presumably”).
10

And after he had become the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’a·ḥă·rê hō·w·lî·ḏōw ’eṯ- qê·nān ’ĕ·nō·wōš way·ḥî ḥă·mêš ū·šə·mō·neh mê·’ō·wṯ šā·nāh ‘eś·rêh šā·nāh way·yō·w·leḏ bā·nîm ū·ḇā·nō·wṯ

Word by word15 · parsed
אַֽחֲרֵי֙’a·ḥă·rêAnd afterH310
√ ʼachar — properly, the hind partPreposition
ʾĕnôwš · H583. Enosh’s remainder-years. Henry draws the chapter’s quiet marvel: “All the patriarchs that lived before the flood, except Noah, were born before Adam died” — the overlap of these long lives means the first man could have spoken with most of his named descendants.
הוֹלִיד֣וֹhō·w·lî·ḏōwhe had become the father ofH3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngVerbHifilInfinitive constructthird person masculine singular
way­ḥî · H2421. The living-verb. The chapter’s arithmetic of overlapping lifespans is itself an argument: living memory could carry “the creation, the fall, the promise” down a very few mouths from Adam to the Flood.
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
קֵינָ֔ןqê·nānKenanH7018
√ Qêynân — Kenan, an antediluvianNounpropermasculine singular
אֱנ֗וֹשׁ’ĕ·nō·wōšEnoshH583
√ ʼĔnôwsh — Enosh, a son of SethNounpropermasculine singular
וַֽיְחִ֣יway·ḥîlivedH2421
√ châyâh — to live, whether literally or figurativelyConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
חֲמֵ֤שׁḥă·mêš815H2568
√ châmêsh — fiveNumberfeminine singular construct
וּשְׁמֹנֶ֥הū·šə·mō·neh. . .H8083
√ shᵉmôneh — a cardinal number, eight (as if a surplus above the 'perfect' seven)Conjunctive wawNumberfeminine singular
מֵא֖וֹתmê·’ō·wṯ. . .H3967
√ mêʼâh — a hundredNumberfeminine plural
שָׁנָ֔הšā·nāh. . .H8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
עֶשְׂרֵה֙‘eś·rêh. . .H6240
√ ʻâsâr — ten (only in combination), iNumberfeminine singular
שָׁנָ֑הšā·nāhyearsH8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
וַיּ֥וֹלֶדway·yō·w·leḏand had [other]H3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
בָּנִ֖יםbā·nîmsonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural
וּבָנֽוֹת׃ū·ḇā·nō·wṯand daughtersH1323
√ bath — a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively)Conjunctive wawNounfeminine plural
11

So Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’ĕ·nō·wōš way·yih·yū kāl- yə·mê ū·ṯə·ša‘ mê·’ō·wṯ šā·nîm ḥā·mêš šā·nāh way·yā·mōṯ

Word by word10 · parsed
אֱנ֔וֹשׁ’ĕ·nō·wōšSo EnoshH583
√ ʼĔnôwsh — Enosh, a son of SethNounpropermasculine singular
ʾĕnôwš · H583. Enosh’s death. Gill again gathers Arabic-Christian legend (Enosh as a righteous ruler charging his offspring not to mix with Cain’s line) — relayed as tradition, set apart from the inspired text.
וַיִּֽהְיוּ֙way·yih·yūlivedH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural
כָּל־kāl-a total ofH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
יְמֵ֣יyə·mê. . .H3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Nounmasculine plural construct
וּתְשַׁ֥עū·ṯə·ša‘905H8672
√ têshaʻ — nine or (ordinal) ninthConjunctive wawNumberfeminine singular construct
מֵא֖וֹתmê·’ō·wṯ. . .H3967
√ mêʼâh — a hundredNumberfeminine plural
שָׁנִ֔יםšā·nîm. . .H8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine plural
חָמֵ֣שׁḥā·mêš. . .H2568
√ châmêsh — fiveNumberfeminine singular
שָׁנָ֑הšā·nāhyearsH8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
וַיָּמֹֽת׃סway·yā·mōṯand then he diedH4191
√ mûwth — to die (literally or figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
wayyāmoṯ · H4191. The bell. Henry’s meditation on the long imprisonment of the soul fits here: even nine centuries are “a great while for an immortal soul to be prisoned in a house of clay” — long life is not the same as life’s goal.
12

When Kenan was 70 years old, he became the father of Mahalalel.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

qê·nān way·ḥî šiḇ·‘îm šā·nāh way·yō·w·leḏ ’eṯ- ma·hă·lal·’êl

Word by word7 · parsed
קֵינָ֖ןqê·nānWhen KenanH7018
√ Qêynân — Kenan, an antediluvianNounpropermasculine singular
Qênān · H7018. Kenan as father. Gill records the recurring LXX pattern (“an hundred years” added, “as before”) — a steady reminder that the chapter’s precise-looking arithmetic was not transmitted uniformly.
וַֽיְחִ֥יway·ḥîwasH2421
√ châyâh — to live, whether literally or figurativelyConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
שִׁבְעִ֣יםšiḇ·‘îm70H7657
√ shibʻîym — seventyNumbercommon plural
שָׁנָ֑הšā·nāhyears oldH8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
וַיּ֖וֹלֶדway·yō·w·leḏhe became the father ofH3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
מַֽהֲלַלְאֵֽל׃ma·hă·lal·’êlMahalalelH4111
√ Mahălalʼêl — Mahalalel, the name of an antediluvian patriarch and of an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular
Mahălalʾēl · H4111. A rare name (7 verses), grounding the verbal thread to Nehemiah 11:4 and 1 Chronicles 1:2. Its meaning, “praise of God,” is the one overtly doxological name in the line — a small light in a chapter otherwise marching to the drumbeat of death.
13

And after he had become the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’a·ḥă·rê hō·w·lî·ḏōw ’eṯ- ma·hă·lal·’êl qê·nān way·ḥî ū·šə·mō·neh mê·’ō·wṯ šā·nāh ’ar·bā·‘îm šā·nāh way·yō·w·leḏ bā·nîm ū·ḇā·nō·wṯ

Word by word14 · parsed
אַחֲרֵי֙’a·ḥă·rêAnd afterH310
√ ʼachar — properly, the hind partPreposition
Qênān · H7018. Kenan’s long remainder. Henry draws the chapter’s purpose from these overlapping lives: “Thus God kept up in his church the knowledge of his will” — the spans are a means of transmission, not mere chronicle.
הוֹלִיד֣וֹhō·w·lî·ḏōwhe had become the father ofH3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngVerbHifilInfinitive constructthird person masculine singular
way­ḥî · H2421. “And he lived.” Gill again notes the LXX’s 740-for-840, the lost century restored from the earlier verse — the version-arithmetic is consistent in its inconsistency.
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
מַֽהֲלַלְאֵ֔לma·hă·lal·’êlMahalalelH4111
√ Mahălalʼêl — Mahalalel, the name of an antediluvian patriarch and of an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular
קֵינָ֗ןqê·nānKenanH7018
√ Qêynân — Kenan, an antediluvianNounpropermasculine singular
וַיְחִ֣יway·ḥîlivedH2421
√ châyâh — to live, whether literally or figurativelyConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
וּשְׁמֹנֶ֥הū·šə·mō·neh840H8083
√ shᵉmôneh — a cardinal number, eight (as if a surplus above the 'perfect' seven)Conjunctive wawNumberfeminine singular
מֵא֖וֹתmê·’ō·wṯ. . .H3967
√ mêʼâh — a hundredNumberfeminine plural
שָׁנָ֔הšā·nāh. . .H8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
אַרְבָּעִ֣ים’ar·bā·‘îm. . .H705
√ ʼarbâʻîym — fortyNumbercommon plural
שָׁנָ֑הšā·nāhyearsH8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
וַיּ֥וֹלֶדway·yō·w·leḏand had [other]H3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
בָּנִ֖יםbā·nîmsonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural
וּבָנֽוֹת׃ū·ḇā·nō·wṯand daughtersH1323
√ bath — a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively)Conjunctive wawNounfeminine plural
14

So Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

qê·nān way·yih·yū kāl- yə·mê ū·ṯə·ša‘ mê·’ō·wṯ šā·nîm ‘e·śer šā·nāh way·yā·mōṯ

Word by word10 · parsed
קֵינָ֔ןqê·nānSo KenanH7018
√ Qêynân — Kenan, an antediluvianNounpropermasculine singular
Qênān · H7018. Kenan’s death. As before, Gill relays the Arabic-Christian legend (Kenan charging his people not to desert the holy mountain) — colorful tradition, explicitly not Scripture.
וַיִּֽהְיוּ֙way·yih·yūlivedH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural
כָּל־kāl-a total ofH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
יְמֵ֣יyə·mê. . .H3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Nounmasculine plural construct
וּתְשַׁ֥עū·ṯə·ša‘910H8672
√ têshaʻ — nine or (ordinal) ninthConjunctive wawNumberfeminine singular construct
מֵא֖וֹתmê·’ō·wṯ. . .H3967
√ mêʼâh — a hundredNumberfeminine plural
שָׁנִ֔יםšā·nîm. . .H8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine plural
עֶ֣שֶׂר‘e·śer. . .H6235
√ ʻeser — ten (as an accumulation to the extent of the digits)Numberfeminine singular
שָׁנָ֑הšā·nāhyearsH8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
וַיָּמֹֽת׃סway·yā·mōṯand then he diedH4191
√ mûwth — to die (literally or figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
wayyāmoṯ · H4191. The bell tolls for the fourth named patriarch. Barnes notes the single exception that proves the rule: every life but Enoch’s ends “and he died.” The chapter is building, by sheer repetition, toward the man who will not die (vv. 21–24, the next unit) — death’s dominion stated so it can be broken.
15

When Mahalalel was 65 years old, he became the father of Jared.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ma·hă·lal·’êl way·ḥî wə·šiš·šîm šā·nîm ḥā·mêš šā·nāh way·yō·w·leḏ ’eṯ- yā·reḏ

Word by word9 · parsed
מַֽהֲלַלְאֵ֔לma·hă·lal·’êlWhen MahalalelH4111
√ Mahălalʼêl — Mahalalel, the name of an antediluvian patriarch and of an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular
Mahălalʾēl · H4111. Mahalalel (“praise of God”) now becomes father. The doxological name passes its season; the line moves to Jared, “descent” — and the next generation (Enoch, the next unit) will be the one who is taken up.
וַֽיְחִ֣יway·ḥîwasH2421
√ châyâh — to live, whether literally or figurativelyConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
וְשִׁשִּׁ֣יםwə·šiš·šîm65H8346
√ shishshîym — sixtyConjunctive wawNumbercommon plural
שָׁנִ֖יםšā·nîm. . .H8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine plural
חָמֵ֥שׁḥā·mêš. . .H2568
√ châmêsh — fiveNumberfeminine singular
שָׁנָ֑הšā·nāhyears oldH8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
וַיּ֖וֹלֶדway·yō·w·leḏhe became the father ofH3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
יָֽרֶד׃yā·reḏJaredH3382
√ Yered — Jered, the name of an antediluvian, and of an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular
Yāreḏ · H3382. A rare name (7 verses), securing the verbal thread to 1 Chronicles 1:2. Cambridge wisely resists pressing the etymology into a moral (“deterioration”) reading: a name’s meaning is not a verdict on its bearer.
16

And after he had become the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’a·ḥă·rê hō·w·lî·ḏōw ’eṯ- ye·reḏ ma·hă·lal·’êl way·ḥî ū·šə·mō·neh mê·’ō·wṯ šā·nāh šə·lō·šîm šā·nāh way·yō·w·leḏ bā·nîm ū·ḇā·nō·wṯ

Word by word14 · parsed
אַֽחֲרֵי֙’a·ḥă·rêAnd afterH310
√ ʼachar — properly, the hind partPreposition
Mahălalʾēl · H4111. Mahalalel’s remainder-years. Henry’s reflection on the wearying length of these lives belongs here: “The present life surely was not to them such a burden as it commonly is now, else they would have been weary of it.”
הוֹלִיד֣וֹhō·w·lî·ḏōwhe had become the father ofH3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngVerbHifilInfinitive constructthird person masculine singular
way­ḥî · H2421. The living-verb. Gill again notes the LXX’s 730-for-830 — “still making the same mistake” — a candid acknowledgment that the figures the chapter repeats were unstable in transmission.
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
יֶ֔רֶדye·reḏJaredH3382
√ Yered — Jered, the name of an antediluvian, and of an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular
מַֽהֲלַלְאֵ֗לma·hă·lal·’êlMahalalelH4111
√ Mahălalʼêl — Mahalalel, the name of an antediluvian patriarch and of an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular
וַֽיְחִ֣יway·ḥîlivedH2421
√ châyâh — to live, whether literally or figurativelyConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
וּשְׁמֹנֶ֥הū·šə·mō·neh830H8083
√ shᵉmôneh — a cardinal number, eight (as if a surplus above the 'perfect' seven)Conjunctive wawNumberfeminine singular
מֵא֖וֹתmê·’ō·wṯ. . .H3967
√ mêʼâh — a hundredNumberfeminine plural
שָׁנָ֔הšā·nāh. . .H8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
שְׁלֹשִׁ֣יםšə·lō·šîm. . .H7970
√ shᵉlôwshîym — thirtyNumbercommon plural
שָׁנָ֑הšā·nāhyearsH8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
וַיּ֥וֹלֶדway·yō·w·leḏand had [other]H3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
בָּנִ֖יםbā·nîmsonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural
וּבָנֽוֹת׃ū·ḇā·nō·wṯand daughtersH1323
√ bath — a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively)Conjunctive wawNounfeminine plural
17

So Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ma·hă·lal·’êl way·yih·yū kāl- yə·mê ū·šə·mō·neh mê·’ō·wṯ šā·nāh wə·ṯiš·‘îm ḥā·mêš šā·nāh way·yā·mōṯ

Word by word11 · parsed
מַהֲלַלְאֵ֔לma·hă·lal·’êlSo MahalalelH4111
√ Mahălalʼêl — Mahalalel, the name of an antediluvian patriarch and of an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular
Mahălalʾēl · H4111. The last death of this unit. Barnes restates the governing law of the chapter’s shape: “after the same model the lines of all his lineal descendants in this chapter are drawn up” — a single template, repeated, that the reader is meant to learn by heart and then feel break.
וַיִּהְיוּ֙way·yih·yūlivedH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural
כָּל־kāl-a total ofH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
יְמֵ֣יyə·mê. . .H3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Nounmasculine plural construct
וּשְׁמֹנֶ֥הū·šə·mō·neh895H8083
√ shᵉmôneh — a cardinal number, eight (as if a surplus above the 'perfect' seven)Conjunctive wawNumberfeminine singular
מֵא֖וֹתmê·’ō·wṯ. . .H3967
√ mêʼâh — a hundredNumberfeminine plural
שָׁנָ֔הšā·nāh. . .H8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
וְתִשְׁעִים֙wə·ṯiš·‘îm. . .H8673
√ tishʻîym — ninetyConjunctive wawNumbercommon plural
חָמֵ֤שׁḥā·mêš. . .H2568
√ châmêsh — fiveNumberfeminine singular
שָׁנָ֑הšā·nāhyearsH8141
√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular
וַיָּמֹֽת׃סway·yā·mōṯand then he diedH4191
√ mûwth — to die (literally or figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
wayyāmoṯ · H4191. The fifth and final toll of the unit. The drumbeat is deliberate: by the time the next section reaches Enoch, the absence of these two words will speak louder than any sentence — the man who “walked with God” and “was not, for God took him” (5:24).

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The likeness, kept and cracked — vv. 1–3

The chapter opens by quoting itself back to creation. “In the day God created (bᵉrōʾ, H1254) man, He made (ʿāśāh, H6213) him in the likeness (dᵉmûṯ, H1823) of God” (v. 1) — the very vocabulary of Genesis 1:26, deliberately repeated. Ellicott reads the repetition as a doctrine: “Man is now a fallen being, but these words are repeated to show that the Divine likeness was not therefore lost, nor the primæval blessing bestowed at his creation revoked.” The image is not erased by the Fall. But v. 3 sets a second likeness beside the first, and the two do not match. Adam “begot in his own likeness, after his own image” — the same two nouns (dᵉmûṯ, tselem), the same two prepositions (bᵉ-, kᵉ-), but now the possessive has slid from God to fallen man. Matthew Henry draws the line hard: “Adam was made in the image of God; but when fallen he begat a son in his own image, sinful and defiled, frail, wretched, and mortal, like himself.” Keil states it with more precision — Adam “transmitted the image of God … not in the purity in which it came direct from God, but in the form given to it by his own self-determination, modified and corrupted by sin.” The likeness is kept (Ellicott) and cracked (Henry, Keil) in the same three verses; this study holds both, because the text holds both — the image of God remains, and it is inherited damaged.

ii. The book and the name — vv. 1–2

Two small words in the heading carry weight. The first is sêp̄er (H5612), “book.” Cambridge warns against over-reading it: “Our word ‘book’ gives rather too much the meaning of a piece of literature” — the same word names a bill of divorce and a deed of sale. Yet the Pulpit Commentary presses the inference the other way: “The expression presupposes the invention of the art of writing,” and Barnes sees in it “some ground in the text for supposing the insertion by Moses of an authentic document, handed down from the olden time.” The second word is šēm (H8034): God “called their name (šᵉmām) Adam” (v. 2) — one name, plural suffix, laid over the man and the woman together. Geneva: “By giving them both one name, he notes the inseparable conjunction of man and wife.” Barnes adds the downward direction of the naming: “God, as the maker, names the race, and thereby marks its character and purpose.” In Eden the man named the creatures; here the Maker names the man, and the name is the species — ʾāḏām, the human, the earth-creature, the whole line about to be counted.

iii. The toll: “and he died” — vv. 4–17

From v. 4 the chapter becomes a machine: lived-X-years, begot-the-heir, lived-Y-more, begot sons and daughters, and — five times in this unit — wayyāmoṯ (H4191), “and he died.” The monotony is the message. Barnes: “The stated formula, ‘and he died,’ at the close of each life except that of Henok, is a standing demonstration of the effect of disobedience.” Henry hears the same toll and turns it inward: even nine centuries are “a great while for an immortal soul to be prisoned in a house of clay.” Yet against the death-refrain a counter-current runs. Keil notes that each father “did not die till he had propagated life, so that in the midst of the death of individuals the life of the race was preserved, and the hope of the seed sustained, by which the author of death should be overcome.” The names themselves murmur it: Enosh (H583), “frail mortal,” and yet Mahalalel (H4111), which Cambridge glosses “the praise of God.” The longevity, JFB and Ellicott both insist, must be held with restraint — JFB: “it is wise to resolve the fact into the sovereign will of God”; Ellicott: “we must not use these genealogies for chronological purposes,” given the divergent Hebrew, Samaritan, and LXX totals. The chapter is not a clock. It is a drumbeat — five deaths, building toward the one name in the next section where the drum, for once, does not sound.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

Read under the rule that Scripture alone is the final authority — and offered here as a fallible reading to be tested, not a verdict to be trusted — this unit does its deepest work by what it repeats. First, the two likenesses are the spine of the chapter. Genesis 5:1 says man was made in the likeness of God; Genesis 5:3 says Adam begot a son in the likeness of himself. The same words (dᵉmûṯ, tselem) with the possessive moved one step down. The text does not say the image of God was lost — it pointedly re-asserts it in v. 1 — but it does say that what Adam now hands on is his likeness, the image as he had remade it. The honest reading is that both are true at once: the divine image endures in the race, and it descends through a fallen father, marked by his fall. The New Testament will name this exactly when Paul writes that “in Adam all die” and that “death reigned from Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:22; Romans 5:14) — and the chapter’s own five-fold “and he died” is the data Paul is reading. Second, the genealogy is selective, not exhaustive. Daughters are born in every generation and never named; sons in the rejected lines are passed over; even the numbers differ across the Hebrew, Samaritan, and Greek witnesses. Benson’s instinct is sound — this is “the holy seed, from whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came,” not a census. Third, restraint is the right posture toward the ages. The text affirms the longevity as part of its substance, but does not explain it; with JFB, the wisest course is to “resolve the fact into the sovereign will of God” rather than build chronologies the genealogy was never drawn to bear. What the chapter is certain of, it repeats: a likeness given, a likeness inherited and broken, and a death at the end of every name but One yet to come.

Five times this passage says ‘and he died’ — and the whole chapter is quietly leaning toward the one name where it will not.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The same list, re-sung — Chronicles’ roll of Adam to Jared verbal / quotation — confirmed

Israel’s post-exilic chronicler opens his entire history by reciting this exact line: “Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared …” (1 Chronicles 1:1–2). It is not allusion but re-publication — the same proper names in the same order, the genealogy of Genesis 5 lifted whole into the foundation of Chronicles. The verbal link is firm because it rests on rare proper-noun lexemes, not common vocabulary.

Genesis 5:1 · Genesis 5:3 · 1 Chronicles 1:1 · 1 Chronicles 1:2

basis: Verifier-computed shared rare lexemes between Genesis 5 and 1 Chronicles 1:1–2: H121 ʼÂdâm (11 vv), H8352 Shêth (8 vv), H7018 Qêynân (6 vv) — all low-frequency proper nouns. Chronicles re-lists the Genesis 5 names verbatim; the rarity of these names warrants the verbal/quotation tier.

Where the line was set in motion — Seth and Enosh born (Genesis 4:25–26) verbal / quotation — confirmed

Genesis 5 picks up the thread Genesis 4 had just laid down. There Eve names Seth — “God has appointed (šāṯ) me another seed” (4:25) — and there “men began to call upon the name of the LORD” at the birth of Enosh (4:26). Genesis 5:3, 6 re-name the same two men, now inside the formal register. The shared lexemes are the proper nouns themselves (ʾÂḏām, Šēṯ), tying the narrative of 4:25–26 to the genealogy of ch. 5.

Genesis 5:3 · Genesis 5:6 · Genesis 4:25 · Genesis 4:26

basis: Verifier-computed shared rare lexemes H8352 Shêth (8 vv) and H121 ʼÂdâm (11 vv) link Genesis 5:3/5:6 ↔ Genesis 4:25/4:26. Both are low-frequency proper nouns naming the same persons; the link is verbal/quotation rather than merely thematic.

Rare names that resurface — Mahalalel and Jared in the later registers verbal / quotation — confirmed

Two of the antediluvian names are scarce enough that their later appearances form genuine verbal threads. Mahalalel (H4111, only 7 verses) returns in the post-exilic list of Judahites in Nehemiah 11:4; Jared/Yered (H3382, only 7 verses) recurs in the Judahite genealogy of 1 Chronicles 4:18. Whether or not the same individuals are meant, the rarity of the lexemes makes the verbal connection real and traceable.

Genesis 5:12 · Genesis 5:15 · Nehemiah 11:4 · 1 Chronicles 4:18

basis: Verifier-computed shared rare lexemes: H4111 Mahălalʼêl (7 vv) links Genesis 5:12 ↔ Nehemiah 11:4; H3382 Yered (7 vv) links Genesis 5:15 ↔ 1 Chronicles 4:18. Both lexemes are low-frequency, supporting the verbal tier; the study does not claim the later bearers are the same persons.

“Like Adam they transgressed” — Hosea 6:7 (provenance check) flagged — verify source

Hosea 6:7 reads, “But like ʾāḏām they have transgressed the covenant.” The verse shares the lexeme H121 with Genesis 5, and many read it as Hosea pointing back to Adam’s own covenant-breaking — making Genesis 5’s opening (man in God’s likeness) the dark backdrop. But the Hebrew kᵉʾāḏām is genuinely ambiguous: it can mean “like Adam (the man),” “like men (generically),” or “at Adam (the place)” — a town named in Joshua 3:16. The verbal link is real; the referent is contested, so the thread is flagged rather than asserted.

Genesis 5:1 · Hosea 6:7 · Joshua 3:16

basis: Verifier reports shared lexeme H121 ʼÂdâm (11 vv) between Genesis 5:1 and Hosea 6:7 (and Joshua 3:16). The lexeme is shared, but the referent of Hosea’s kᵉʾāḏām is disputed among interpreters (the man Adam / mankind / the place Adam, cf. Joshua 3:16); the typological reading back to Genesis 5 is therefore flagged for verification, not confirmed.

The death-sentence executed — Genesis 3:17–19 → the refrain “and he died” structural / thematic — confirmed

The chapter’s five-fold wayyāmoṯ (H4191, “and he died”) is the slow keeping of a sentence pronounced two chapters earlier: “for dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19; cf. the cursed ground of 3:17). Genesis 5 shares the proper noun ʾÂḏām with 3:17, and Henry reads the link directly: Adam died “according to the sentence passed upon him, To dust thou shalt return.” The connection is a structural/thematic outworking of the curse across a genealogy, not a quoted phrase — the verb of dying (mûṯ) is not the shared lexeme; the shared term is the name Adam.

Genesis 5:5 · Genesis 3:17 · Genesis 3:19

basis: Verifier-computed shared lexeme H121 ʼÂdâm (11 vv) links Genesis 5 ↔ Genesis 3:17; the connection between the death-refrain and the curse of 3:17–19 is a thematic outworking (the sentence of death executed across the genealogy), not a quotation — so it is tiered structural/thematic, downgraded from the Verifier’s default, since the shared term is the name, not the verb of dying.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The line of the promised Seed, traced to Christ ancient/widely-held

Genesis 5 is the spine of the genealogy the Gospels run to Jesus. Luke carries the line backward through Jared, Mahalalel, Kenan, Enosh, Seth “the son of Adam, the son of God” (Luke 3:36–38); Matthew opens his Gospel with the very phrase that heads this chapter, biblos geneseōs — “the book of the generation” (Matthew 1:1). The commentators saw it: Benson reads the whole register as “the holy seed, from whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came,” and Gill says Seth is recorded “because it carried the lineage and descent directly from Adam to Noah … and from whom the Messiah was to spring.” These are the chapter’s own expositors reading it Christward — an ancient and widely-held reading. (Note: the link to the Greek genealogies is cross-Testament and cannot rest on a shared Strong’s number; it is a redemptive-historical line, traced by the Gospel writers themselves, not a Hebrew↔Greek verbal match.)

Genesis 5:1 · Genesis 5:3 · Luke 3:36 · Luke 3:38 · Matthew 1:1

The first Adam’s likeness, the last Adam’s image ancient/widely-held

This chapter sets the terms Paul will use for the gospel. Genesis 5:3 says fallen Adam begot a son “in his own likeness, after his own image” — and Paul answers, “As we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:49), for “as in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). The five deaths of Genesis 5 are exactly the dominion Paul says “reigned from Adam” (Romans 5:14) and that the last Adam reverses. Keil already reaches for it on this passage: the life of the race is preserved through the begetting “by which the author of death should be overcome.” The reading is ancient and widely held; like the genealogy above, the tie to Paul’s Greek is redemptive-historical and thematic, not a shared-lexeme verbal link.

Genesis 5:3 · Genesis 5:5 · 1 Corinthians 15:22 · 1 Corinthians 15:49 · Romans 5:14

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Keil & Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1860s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Honesty notes specific to this unit. (1) The two likenesses are read in tension, on purpose. Ellicott emphasizes that the divine image was not lost (v. 1); Henry and Keil emphasize that what Adam transmitted in v. 3 was the image corrupted. This study does not force a choice — the text re-asserts the image and then shows it inherited damaged, and both voices are kept. (2) The longevity is affirmed but not explained. The commentators offer natural causes (diet, climate, vigor — JFB, Benson, the Pulpit Commentary) and then withdraw them; this study follows JFB’s restraint (“resolve the fact into the sovereign will of God”) and Ellicott’s caution against chronological use, noting the divergent Hebrew (1656 yrs to the Flood), Samaritan (1307), and LXX (2262) totals. We under-claim: the figures are reported, not harmonized. (3) The numbers themselves are text-critically unstable. Gill flags at nearly every verse that the LXX adds a century before fatherhood and subtracts it after; this is recorded as a transmission fact, not smoothed over. (4) Extra-biblical traditions are quarantined. Gill’s reports from Josephus (Seth’s two pillars) and the Arabic Christian writers (the patriarchs as righteous rulers of a holy mountain) are relayed because they are part of the verbatim commentary, but they are explicitly marked as legend, not Scripture. (5) The Christ-threads are cross-Testament. The Verifier confirms that links from this Hebrew genealogy to the Greek genealogies of Luke 3 and Matthew 1 share no original-language lexeme; those ties are redemptive-historical lines drawn by the Gospel writers, tiered as thematic/typological reading, never as verbal quotation. (6) Hosea 6:7 is flagged. Its kᵉʾāḏām shares the lexeme H121 but its referent (the man Adam / mankind / the place Adam, cf. Joshua 3:16) is genuinely disputed, so the typological pull back to Genesis 5 is flagged, not confirmed.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)