Genesis 5:1-32

From Adam to Noah

5:1 This is the record of the family line of Adam.

When God created humankind, he made them in the likeness of God. 5:2 He created them male and female; when they were created, he blessed them and named them “humankind.”

5:3 When Adam had lived 130 years he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and he named him Seth. 5:4 The length of time Adam lived after he became the father of Seth was 800 years; during this time he had other sons and daughters. 5:5 The entire lifetime 10  of Adam was 930 years, and then he died. 11 

5:6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father 12  of Enosh. 5:7 Seth lived 807 years after he became the father of Enosh, and he had 13  other 14  sons and daughters. 5:8 The entire lifetime of Seth was 912 years, and then he died.

5:9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. 5:10 Enosh lived 815 years after he became the father of Kenan, and he had other sons and daughters. 5:11 The entire lifetime of Enosh was 905 years, and then he died.

5:12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. 5:13 Kenan lived 840 years after he became the father of Mahalalel, and he had other sons and daughters. 5:14 The entire lifetime of Kenan was 910 years, and then he died.

5:15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. 5:16 Mahalalel lived 830 years after he became the father of Jared, and he had other sons and daughters. 5:17 The entire lifetime of Mahalalel was 895 years, and then he died.

5:18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. 5:19 Jared lived 800 years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters. 5:20 The entire lifetime of Jared was 962 years, and then he died.

5:21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 5:22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 15  for 300 years, 16  and he had other 17  sons and daughters. 5:23 The entire lifetime of Enoch was 365 years. 5:24 Enoch walked with God, and then he disappeared 18  because God took 19  him away.

5:25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 5:26 Methuselah lived 782 years after he became the father of Lamech, and he had other 20  sons and daughters. 5:27 The entire lifetime of Methuselah was 969 years, and then he died.

5:28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. 5:29 He named him Noah, 21  saying, “This one will bring us comfort 22  from our labor and from the painful toil of our hands because of the ground that the Lord has cursed.” 5:30 Lamech lived 595 years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other 23  sons and daughters. 5:31 The entire lifetime of Lamech was 777 years, and then he died.

5:32 After Noah was 500 years old, he 24  became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis 1:1

The Creation of the World

1:1 In the beginning 25  God 26  created 27  the heavens and the earth. 28 

Jeremiah 50:27

50:27 Kill all her soldiers! 29 

Let them be slaughtered! 30 

They are doomed, 31  for their day of reckoning 32  has come,

the time for them to be punished.”

Jeremiah 51:40

51:40 “I will lead them off to be slaughtered

like lambs, rams, and male goats.” 33 

Ezekiel 39:17-20

39:17 “As for you, son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild beast: ‘Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my slaughter 34  which I am going to make for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel! You will eat flesh and drink blood. 39:18 You will eat the flesh of warriors 35  and drink the blood of the princes of the earth – the rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fattened animals of Bashan. 39:19 You will eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk, 36  at my slaughter 37  which I have made for you. 39:20 You will fill up at my table with horses and charioteers, 38  with warriors and all the soldiers,’ declares the sovereign Lord.

Zephaniah 1:7

1:7 Be silent before the Lord God, 39 

for the Lord’s day of judgment 40  is almost here. 41 

The Lord has prepared a sacrificial meal; 42 

he has ritually purified 43  his guests.

Revelation 19:17-18

19:17 Then 44  I saw one angel standing in 45  the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky: 46 

“Come, gather around for the great banquet 47  of God,

19:18 to eat 48  your fill 49  of the flesh of kings,

the flesh of generals, 50 

the flesh of powerful people,

the flesh of horses and those who ride them,

and the flesh of all people, both free and slave, 51 

and small and great!”


tn Heb “book” or “roll.” Cf. NIV “written account”; NRSV “list.”

tn Heb “generations.” See the note on the phrase “this is the account of” in 2:4.

tn The Hebrew text has אָדָם (’adam).

tn Heb “him.” The Hebrew text uses the third masculine singular pronominal suffix on the accusative sign. The pronoun agrees grammatically with its antecedent אָדָם (’adam). However, the next verse makes it clear that אָדָם is collective here and refers to “humankind,” so it is preferable to translate the pronoun with the English plural.

tn The Hebrew word used here is אָדָם (’adam).

tn Heb “and Adam lived 130 years.” In the translation the verb is subordinated to the following verb, “and he fathered,” and rendered as a temporal clause.

tn Heb “The days of Adam.”

tn Heb “he fathered.”

tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.

10 tn Heb “all the days of Adam which he lived”

11 sn The genealogy traces the line from Adam to Noah and forms a bridge between the earlier accounts and the flood story. Its constant theme of the reign of death in the human race is broken once with the account of Enoch, but the genealogy ends with hope for the future through Noah. See further G. F. Hasel, “The Genealogies of Gen. 5 and 11 and their Alleged Babylonian Background,” AUSS 16 (1978): 361-74; idem, “Genesis 5 and 11,” Origins 7 (1980): 23-37.

12 tn Heb “he fathered.”

13 tn Heb “he fathered.”

14 tn Here and in vv. 10, 13, 16, 19 the word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.

15 sn With the seventh panel there is a digression from the pattern. Instead of simply saying that Enoch lived, the text observes that he “walked with God.” The rare expression “walked with” (the Hitpael form of the verb הָלָךְ, halakh, “to walk” collocated with the preposition אֶת, ’et, “with”) is used in 1 Sam 25:15 to describe how David’s men maintained a cordial and cooperative relationship with Nabal’s men as they worked and lived side by side in the fields. In Gen 5:22 the phrase suggests that Enoch and God “got along.” This may imply that Enoch lived in close fellowship with God, leading a life of devotion and piety. An early Jewish tradition, preserved in 1 En. 1:9 and alluded to in Jude 14, says that Enoch preached about the coming judgment. See F. S. Parnham, “Walking with God,” EvQ 46 (1974): 117-18.

16 tn Heb “and Enoch walked with God, after he became the father of Methuselah, [for] 300 years.”

17 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.

18 tn The Hebrew construction has the negative particle אֵין (’en, “there is not,” “there was not”) with a pronominal suffix, “he was not.” Instead of saying that Enoch died, the text says he no longer was present.

19 sn The text simply states that God took Enoch. Similar language is used of Elijah’s departure from this world (see 2 Kgs 2:10). The text implies that God overruled death for this man who walked with him.

20 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.

21 sn The name Noah appears to be related to the Hebrew word נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”). There are several wordplays on the name “Noah” in the story of the flood.

22 tn The Hebrew verb יְנַחֲמֵנוּ (yÿnakhamenu) is from the root נָחָם (nakham), which means “to comfort” in the Piel verbal stem. The letters נ (nun) and ח (heth) pick up the sounds in the name “Noah,” forming a paronomasia on the name. They are not from the same verbal root, and so the connection is only by sound. Lamech’s sentiment reflects the oppression of living under the curse on the ground, but also expresses the hope for relief in some way through the birth of Noah. His words proved to be ironic but prophetic. The relief would come with a new beginning after the flood. See E. G. Kraeling, “The Interpretations of the Name Noah in Genesis 5:29,” JBL 48 (1929): 138-43.

23 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.

24 tn Heb “Noah.” The pronoun (“he”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.

25 tn The translation assumes that the form translated “beginning” is in the absolute state rather than the construct (“in the beginning of,” or “when God created”). In other words, the clause in v. 1 is a main clause, v. 2 has three clauses that are descriptive and supply background information, and v. 3 begins the narrative sequence proper. The referent of the word “beginning” has to be defined from the context since there is no beginning or ending with God.

26 sn God. This frequently used Hebrew name for God (אֱלֹהִים,’elohim ) is a plural form. When it refers to the one true God, the singular verb is normally used, as here. The plural form indicates majesty; the name stresses God’s sovereignty and incomparability – he is the “God of gods.”

27 tn The English verb “create” captures well the meaning of the Hebrew term in this context. The verb בָּרָא (bara’) always describes the divine activity of fashioning something new, fresh, and perfect. The verb does not necessarily describe creation out of nothing (see, for example, v. 27, where it refers to the creation of man); it often stresses forming anew, reforming, renewing (see Ps 51:10; Isa 43:15, 65:17).

28 tn Or “the entire universe”; or “the sky and the dry land.” This phrase is often interpreted as a merism, referring to the entire ordered universe, including the heavens and the earth and everything in them. The “heavens and the earth” were completed in seven days (see Gen 2:1) and are characterized by fixed laws (see Jer 33:25). “Heavens” refers specifically to the sky, created on the second day (see v. 8), while “earth” refers specifically to the dry land, created on the third day (see v. 10). Both are distinct from the sea/seas (see v. 10 and Exod 20:11).

29 tn Heb “Kill all her young bulls.” Commentators are almost universally agreed that the reference to “young bulls” is figurative here for the princes and warriors (cf. BDB 831 s.v. פַּר 2.f, which compares Isa 34:7 and Ezek 39:18). This is virtually certain because of the reference to the time coming for them to be punished; this would scarcely fit literal bulls. For the verb rendered “kill” here see the translator’s note on v. 21.

30 tn Heb “Let them go down to the slaughter.”

31 tn Or “How terrible it will be for them”; Heb “Woe to them.” See the study note on 22:13 and compare the usage in 23:1; 48:1.

32 tn The words “of reckoning” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

33 tn Heb “I will bring them down like lambs to be slaughtered, like rams and he goats.”

34 tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).

35 sn See Rev 19:17-18.

36 sn Eating the fat and drinking blood were God’s exclusive rights in Israelite sacrifices (Lev 3:17).

37 tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).

38 tn Heb “chariots.”

39 tn Heb “Lord Lord.” The phrase אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה (adonai yÿhvih) is customarily rendered by Jewish tradition as “Lord God.”

40 tn Heb “the day of the Lord.”

41 tn Or “near.”

42 tn Heb “a sacrifice.” This same word also occurs in the following verse.

43 tn Or “consecrated” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

44 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

45 tn The precise significance of ἐν (en) here is difficult to determine.

46 tn On μεσουρανήματι (mesouranhmati) here see L&N 1.10: “high in the sky, midpoint in the sky, directly overhead, straight above in the sky.” The birds mentioned here are carrion birds like vultures, circling high overhead, and now being summoned to feast on the corpses.

47 tn This is the same Greek word (δεῖπνον, deipnon) used in 19:9.

48 tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause, insofar as it is related to the first imperative, has the force of an imperative.

49 tn The idea of eating “your fill” is evident in the context with the use of χορτάζω (cortazw) in v. 21.

50 tn Grk “chiliarchs”; normally a chiliarch was a military officer commanding a thousand soldiers, but here probably used of higher-ranking commanders like generals (see L&N 55.15; cf. Rev 6:15).

51 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.