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Please read the Introductory Notes to this commentary.
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The Center for Messianic Learning Unashamedly Pro-Israel Irrevocably Zionist |
ב״ה |
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“… out of Tziyon will go forth Torah,
the word of ADONAI from Yerushalayim.” (Isaiah 2:3) |
The summary of the entire Torah is as simple as this:
Love what HaShem loves; hate what HaShem hates. All else is commentary.
בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית • B'resheet
(“In Beginning” or “At First”)
The First Book of Moses,
Commonly Called
Genesis
Parashah 1: B'resheet (continued)
(In the Beginning, Gen. 1:1-6:8)
I. Adam’s Decendants to Noach (5:1-32)
1. Record of Mankind (5:1-2)
Shishi (Sixth) 1This is the bookHebrew סֵ֔פֶר, sefer, book, scroll, legal document of the generations of AdamHebrew: אדם, adam“man” or “mankind” or the first man’s name. In the day that Elohim[GN] created manHebrew: אדם, adam“man” or “mankind” or the first man’s name, He made him in Elohim’s likeness. 2He created them male and female, and He blessed them. On the day they were created, He named them man.[2]
2. Seth (5:3-5) [3845 BCE]
3When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Shetשֵֽׁת (šêṯ), Seth. 4After he became the father of Shet, Adam lived another 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5So Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.[5] [3045 BCE]
3. Enosh (5:6-8) [3740 BCE]
6When Shet was 105 years old he became the father of Enoshאֱנֽוֹשׁ, Enos, “man”. 7After he had become the father of Enosh, Shet lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8So Shet lived a total of 912 years, and then he died. [2933 BCE]
4. Kenan (5:9-11) [3650 BCE]
9When Enosh was 90 years old, he became the father of Kenanקֵינָֽן (qê·nān), Cainan, “possession”. 10And after he had become the father of Kenan, Enosh lived a another 815 years and had other sons and daughters. 11So Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died. [2835 BCE]
5. Mahalel (5:12-14) [3580 BCE]
12When Kenan was 70 years old, he became the father of Mahalal'elמַֽהֲלַלְאֵֽל, Mahalaleel, “praise of God”.
13After he had become the father of Mahalal'el, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14So Kenan lived a total of 910 years and then he died. [2740 BCE]
6. Jared (5:15-17) [3515 BCE]
15When Mahalal'el was 65 years old, he became the father of Yeredיָֽרֶד, Jared, “descent”. 16And after he had become the fathere of Yared, Mahalal'el lived 830 and had other sons and daughters. 17So Mahalal'el lived a total of 895 years and then he died. [2685 BCE]
7. Enoch (5:18-20) [3353 BCE]
18When Yered was 162 years old, he became the father of Hanokhחֲנֽוֹךְ, Enoch, “dedicated”. 19And after he had become the father of Hanokh, Yared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20So Yered lived a total of 962 years, and then he died. [2553 BCE]
8. Methuselah (5:21-24) [3288 BCE]
21Whe Hanokh was 65 years old, he became the father of Metushelachמְתוּשָֽׁלַח, Methuselah, “man of the dart”".[21] 22And after he had become the father of Metushelach, Hanokh walked with Elohim for 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23So Hanokh lived a total of 365 years. 24Hanokh walked with Elohim, and then he was no more, because Elohim had taken him.[24] [2988 BCE]
9. Lamech (5:25-27) [3101 BCE]
Shvi'i [Seventh] 25When Metushelach was 187 years old he became the father of Lemekhלָֽמֶךְ, Lamech, “powerful”. 26And after he had became the father of Lemekh, Metushelach lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27So Metushelach lived a total of 969 years, and then he died. [April 2319 BCE]
10. Noach (5:28-31) [2919 BCE]
28When Lemekh was 182 years old, he had a son. 29He named him Noachנֹ֖חַ, Noah, “rest” or “restful”, saying, “May this one comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, caused by the ground which Yehovah has cursed.” 30After he had become the father of Noach, Lemekh lived 595 and had other sons and daughters. 31So Lemekh lived a total of 777 years, and then he died. [2324 BCE]
11. Shem, Ham, and Japeth (5:32)
32After Noach was 500 he became the father of father of Shemשֵׁ֖ם, “name” [2417 BCE], Hamחָ֥ם,“hot” [ca 2416 BCE], and Yefetיָֽפֶת, Japheth, “opened” [2419 BCE].[32]
2. “Adam” and “Man” are spelled with the exact same consonants in Hebrew (אָדָ֔ם, adam) so this can be correctly translated either way. Because of the context, here it needs to be translated as “man,” meaning “mankind” or “humanity.” [RETURN]
5. We cannot be sure that 930 was Adam’s literal age when he died. We don’t know what his apparent age was when he was created. Many assume that he was created with an apparent age of 30, but it may as welll have been 15 or 16. We don’t know how long he lived in the garden before his expulsion; it may have been just a few days, a few years, or a few centuries. We are sure, however that he was created to be an eternal creature and that he was created, not born. So did the counting of “930” years begin at his creation or at his expulsion? One theory for the longevity of mankind before the flood is that when HaShem “separated the waters from the waters” (Gen. 1:6-8), the water “above the expanse” (firmament in the KJV) was literally suspended as vapor, or possibly ice, in the atmosphere. Remember, before the Flood it did not rain on earth (Gen. 2:5-6). All that water vapor (or ice) served as a filter to block harmful radiation, which, as science currently tells us, is the primary cause of aging. [RETURN]
21. Methuselah, xlXwtm, M'thuwshelach. The NAS Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon says “man of the dart [spear or javelin], son of Enoch, 6th in descent from Seth, and father of Lamech.” Other commentators say the name means “He dieth, and the sending forth” (JF&B [Jamieson, Fausset & Brown]).
A leading Hebrew scholar of the 1700s, Dr. John Gill said:
… and that Enoch had a son, whose name was Methuselah, is affirmed by Eupolemus{r}, an Heathen writer; and Enoch being a prophet gave him this name under a spirit of prophecy, foretelling by it when the flood should be; for his name, according to Bochart{s}, signifies, “when he dies there shall be an emission,” or sending forth of waters upon the earth, to destroy it.… [Notes by Gill: {r} Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 9. c. 17. p. 419. {s} Thaleg. l. 2. c. 13. col. 88. so Ainsworth.]
However, this interpretation that some have suggested does not come from merely the Hebrew. The transliterated name in Greek as used in Jesus's genealogy in Luke 3:37 is: “the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan,…” The Greek from Μαθουσαλά or Mathousala, according to the New Testament Greek Lexicon literally means: “when he dies, there shall be an emission.”
However, a closer look at the Hebrew reveals that Methuselah's name may not mean this. Hebrew Scholar Dr. Ben Shaw at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary points out:
… it is extremely unlikely that the name Methuselah has the significance that Gill and others give to it. It is unlikely for the following reasons. The name is made up of two parts: Methu and shelah. The methu part does not come from the word for death, because that would require a long u vowel between the m and the t. [It should be noted, however, that there are no vowels in the original, Spirit-inspired Hebrew text. They were added between the 6th and 10th centuries of the Common Era (see here). ~Ari] As it is, if this part of the name has any significance, it may come from a rare noun meaning “man.” The second part of the name cannot mean “it is sent” or “there is an emission.” Even supposing that the root meaning of the word is send (which is doubtful); it would have to be in a passive form, producing something like “shahluh.” In order to produce the meaning, “when he dies, it is sent,” the Hebrew would have to be something like bematoshahluh. Again, if the name means anything in Hebrew (which is at best doubtful), it is probably something like "man of a spear.”
So it may not be wise to continue to use Methuselah’s name to mean “when he dies it shall come” or any variation of that. Regardless, the year Methuselah died was the same year as the Flood. (Source: Answers in Genesis, “Methuselah: When Did He Die?” accessed 22 October 2019)
All that aside, Methuselah was the longest-lived man in human history, living 969 years. See the article “Who was Methuselah in the Bible?” According to Jewish tradition, “Methuselah, the longest-lived human being of all time, died at the age of 969 years on the 11th of Cheshvan of the year 1656 from creation (2105 BCE) — exactly seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood.” (Chabad.org, accessed 22 October 2019)
The following two article is mirrored without permission from AnswersInGenesis.org solely for the purpose of education within the “Fair Use” provisions of 17USC107. If you are the copyright owner and want this material removed, please contact me and I will immediately remove it.
The Great Ages
Source https://answersingenesis.org/bible-characters/ancient-patriarchs-in-genesis/ accessed 22 October 2019
Many of the ancient people listed in the Bible’s genealogies lived very long lives. Methuselah holds the title of oldest-known man at 969 years old. After he died, the Flood came. After the Flood, we see the ages of these men declining. For example, Noah lived to be 950 years old, Shem to 600, Shelah to 433, and Abraham to 175.
| Patriarch | Age | Bible reference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam | 930 | Genesis 5:4 |
| 2 | Seth | 912 | Genesis 5:8 |
| 3 | Enosh | 905 | Genesis 5:11 |
| 4 | Cainan | 910 | Genesis 5:14 |
| 5 | Mahalalel | 895 | Genesis 5:17 |
| 6 | Jared | 962 | Genesis 5:20 |
| 7 | Enoch | 365 (translated?) | Genesis 5:23 |
| 8 | Methuselah | 969 | Genesis 5:27 |
| 9 | Lamech | 777 | Genesis 5:31 |
| 10 | Noah | 950 | Genesis 9:29 |
| 11 | Shem | 600 | Genesis 11:10–11 |
| 12 | Arphaxad | 438 | Genesis 11:12–13 |
| 13 | Shelah | 433 | Genesis 11:14–15 |
| 14 | Eber | 464 | Genesis 11:16–17 |
| 15 | Peleg | 239 | Genesis 11:18–19 |
| 16 | Reu | 239 | Genesis 11:20–21 |
| 17 | Serug | 230 | Genesis 11:22–23 |
| 18 | Nahor | 148 | Genesis 11:24–25 |
| 19 | Terah | 205 | Genesis 11:32 |
| 20 | Abram (Abraham) | 175 | Genesis 25:7 |
| 21 | Isaac | 180 | Genesis 35:28–29 |
| 22 | Jacob (Israel) | 147 | Genesis 47:28 |
| Ages of the Patriarchs from Adam to Jacob (Israel) | |||
Until the Flood (Noah’s day), living to about 900 years old was the
norm … unless you were Enoch or Lamech. Like Elijah, Enoch was translated without dying (Genesis 5:23; Hebrews 11:5).
Lamech, it seems, was a bit unusual by being about a quarter of a century away from making 800.
RETURN]
24. Because Hanokh (Enoch) is thought to have been taken alive by HaShem, he is said to never have died. Hebrews 9:27 says, “… human beings have to die once, but after this comes judgment…”, so many think that Hanokh (since he supposedly has never died) might be one of the two witnesses of Revelation 11:1-14. We must be careful to not read into the text here, however; the Scripture does not say that Hanokh was “translated” alive to “heaven,” but only that “he was not found, for Elohim took him.” [RETURN]
32. After the flood, Shem became the progenitor of all the Semitic tribes; Ham was the father of Kena'an and of various peoples which were inhabitants of southern lands, including the Egyptians; Yafet’s descendants settled on the coastal lands of the Mediterranean, spreading north into Europe and parts of Asia. See the Table of Nations in Genesis 10. [RETURN]
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