NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible CBSB_Digital Sampler | Page 18
16 | Genesis 5:3
them male and female w and blessed them.
And he named them “Mankind” a when
they were created.
3
When Adam had lived 130 years, he
had a son in his own likeness, in his own
image; x and he n
amed him Seth. 4 After
Seth was born, Adam l ived 800 years and
had other sons and daughters. 5 Altogether,
Adam lived a total of 930 y
ears, and then
he died. y
6 When Seth had l ived 105 years, he be
came the father b of Enosh. 7 After he be
came the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807
years and had other sons and daughters.
8 Altogether, Seth lived a total of 912 years,
and then he died.
5:2 w Ge 1:27;
Mt 19:4;
Mk 10:6;
Gal 3:28
5:3 x Ge 1:26;
1Co 15:49
5:5 y Ge 3:19
9 When E
nosh had lived 90 years, he be
came the father of Kenan. 10 After he be
came the father of Kenan, E
nosh l ived 815
years and had other sons and daughters.
11 Altogether, Enosh lived a total of 905
years, and then he died.
12
When Kenan had l ived 70 y
ears, he
became the father of Mahalalel. 13 After
he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan
lived 840 y
ears and had other sons and
daughters. 14 Altogether, Kenan lived a to
tal of 910 y
ears, and then he died.
15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he
became the father of Jared. 16 After he be
a 2 Hebrew adam b 6 Father
in verses 7-26.
may mean ancestor; also
GENESIS 5
M
Genealogies
esopotamian genealogies are mostly royal, mostly linear (one line of descent,
such as Ge 5) as opposed to segmented (containing more than one line of
descent, such as Ge 10), and rarely more than three or four generations deep.
Fluidity occurs primarily in telescoping (i.e., eliminating names), though some rear-
rangement of the order of the ancestors may be detected in the king lists. Egyptian
sources (mostly from the Persian and Hellenistic periods) preserve long linear gene-
alogies, sometimes extending 15 to 20 generations, often connecting to priestly lines.
Fluidity is also evident only in telescoping within these genealogies. Comparing Bib-
lical genealogies to one another shows that often several generations are skipped.
Thus, a genealogy’s purpose is apparently not to represent every generation, as our
modern family trees attempt to do. Genealogies represent continuity and relationship
and are often used for purposes of power and prestige. Genealogies are sometimes
formatted to suit a literary purpose. Thus, e.g., the genealogies between Adam and
Noah, and Noah and Abraham, are each set up to contain ten members with the last
having three sons.
If the long lives in the antediluvian world (cf. Methuselah, 969 years) seem amaz-
ing to us, we will be utterly astounded by the length of reign credited to antediluvian
kings in the Sumerian King List:
Alulim
Alalgar
Enmenluanna
Enmengalanna
Dumuzi
Ensipazianna
Enmeduranna
Uburtutu
28,800 years
36,000 years
43,200 years
28,800 years
36,000 years
28,800 years
21,000 years
18,600 years
Eight kings compile 241,200 years between them. The Sumerian King List uses the
standard Sumerian sexagesimal system. If the notation is read with decimal values
rather than sexagesimal values, the numbers are in the same range as the Biblical
numbers, and the totals of the lists are nearly identical. ◆