There are at least three purposes for the inclusion of this genealogy, which contains 10 paragraphs (vv. 1-5, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14, 15-17, 18-20, 21-24, 25-27, 28-31, and 32).
1. It shows the development of the human race from Adam to Noah and bridges the gap in time between these two major individuals.263
"The genealogies [in chapters 5 and 11] are exclusionist in function, indicating by linear descent the one through whom the promissory blessing will be channeled."264
2. It demonstrates the veracity of God's word when He said that people would die as a result of sin (cf. 2:17). Note the recurrence of the phrase "and he died"(vv. 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27, and 31).
3. It contrasts the progress of the godly line of Seth culminating in Enoch who walked with God and experienced translation (5:6-24) with the development of the ungodly line of Cain. Cain's branch of the human race culminated in Lamech who was a brutal bigamist (4:16-24).
"The author's return to the theme of God's blessing' man (cf. v. 2) is also a part of his overall scheme to cast God's purposes for man in terms that will recall a father's care for his children. Throughout the remainder of the Book of Genesis, a recurring theme is that of the father's blessing his children (9:26-27; 27:27; 48:15; 49:1-28). In keeping with such a theme, the author shows at each crucial turning point in the narrative that God himself renewed his blessing to the next generation of sons (1:28; 5:2; 9:1; 12:3; 24:11). Seen as a whole, the picture that emerges is that of a loving father insuring the future well-being of his children through the provision of an inherited blessing. In this way the author has laid a theological foundation for the rest of Scripture. God's original plan of blessing for all humanity, though thwarted by human folly, will nevertheless be restored through the seed of the woman (3:15), the seed of Abraham (12:3), and the Lion of the tribe of Judah' (49:8-12; cf. Rev 5:5-13). It is on this same foundation that the apostle Paul built his view of Jesus as the one through whom God has blessed us' (Eph 1:3) and adopted us as his sons' (v. 5) so that we have obtained an inheritance' (v. 11, KJV) from the one we may call Abba, Father' (Rom 8:15)."265
Some commentators have seen evidence in the text that this genealogy is not complete.266
1. The word "father"can just as accurately be translated "ancestor"(v. 3, et al.). It does not require a literal father-son relationship.267
2. The fact that Lamech, the sixth name in Cain's list (4:16-24), corresponds to Enoch, the sixth name in Seth's list (5:6-24), is suggestive. It indicates that God wanted to point out the contrast between the generations of these two sons of Adam. One was ungodly and the other godly. This purpose seems to some writers more dominant than that God wanted simply to preserve a complete record of all the generations between Adam and Noah. Lamech and Enoch were each the seventh generation, as recorded in this list, from Adam (cf. Jude 14). Matthew 1:1-17 contains another genealogy in which 14 men from each of three historical periods appear and it, too, may not be complete.
3. The writer did not list Noah's sons in the order of their birth (cf. 5:32 and 9:24).
4. The genealogy in chapter 11 may not be complete.268
The careful recording of the age of each man when he fathered the next man in the list strongly suggests that this list is complete. Furthermore the genealogies in 1 Chronicles 1:1-4 and Luke 3:36-38 are identical to the one in Genesis 5. There are probably no missing generations.269
"The genealogy of Seth in Genesis 5 is thus intended to take up the creation story which had reached its first climax in the creation, as we would now read it, of Adam. The elemental orderliness of the genealogy continues the order begun at creation; indeed, it reaffirms that order after the threatened slide back into chaos narrated in the intervening chapters. But the genealogy does more; it imparts movement to creation. The Genesis 1 creation story is essentially static. When God rests on the seventh day, all phyla of creation are in their proper order and the earth is at rest. There is little suggestion of movement or further development, no story to be traced. The sole dynamic elements lie in God's command to newly created humanity to be fruitful and multiply' and subdue the earth.' The genealogies document the fruitfulness of humanity and thus become the expression of the fulfillment of God's mandate, providing movement away from the steady state of creation but at the same time preserving its orderliness. Creation's order advanced through the genealogy.
"Connection of the genealogy to creation also exerts a reciprocal influence on our understanding of this and subsequent genealogies. The genealogies represent the continuation of creation's fundamental order through time. As a result, they assume theological significance. The organic and orderly succession of generations is not an expression of thematically empty biological necessity but of God's initial creative activity. Birth awakens not neutral destiny but enrollment in the continuing order of creation ordained by God. The genealogies become bearers of the creation theme and, by their elemental, organic nature, its fit expression."270
Even though the death motif is strong in this chapter there is even more emphasis on God's grace. We see this in the references to life, fertility (sons and daughters), Enoch's translation, and other blessings. The enjoyment of God's blessings depends on walking with God. "Walk"is a biblical figure for fellowship and obedience that results in divine blessing.
"Enoch is pictured as one who did not suffer the fate of Adam (you shall surely die') because, unlike the others, he walked with God.'
"The sense of the author is clear. Enoch is an example of one who found life amid the curse of death. In Enoch the author is able to show that the pronouncement of death is not the last word that need be said about a person's life. One can find life if one walks with God.'"271
"Walked with God' is metaphorical and indicates that Enoch had a lifestyle characterized by his devotion to God. The sense of walk' (halak) in its verbal stem indicates a communion or intimacy with God."272
"The double repetition of the phrase walked with God' indicates Enoch was outstanding in this pious family."273
The central lesson of the section appears to be that the godly can experience victory over the effects of the curse by walking with God.274
"The finality of death caused by sin, and so powerfully demonstrated in the genealogy of Genesis, is in fact not so final. Man was not born to die; he was born to live, and that life comes by walking with God. . . . Walking with God is the key to the chains of the curse."275
"Within the time-scale of Genesis, this chapter [5] covers the longest period in world history."276
As the story of Cain and Abel (4:3-24) interrupted the genealogy of Adam in 4:1-2 and 25-26, so the story of the Flood (6:1-9:27) interrupts the genealogy of Noah in 5:32 and 9:28-29.
