Posted By Joe on March 1, 2010

I really enjoying finding those precious Biblical gems in scripture like the last post on "Of Cords and Ropes." I wish they would witness to unbelievers that they provide undeniable evidence to the God-breathed truths of the Bible. They clearly demonstrate such skillful design that is undeniable.

Another one of these wonderful gems is found in Genesis. There are some folks that wish they could skim through the seemingly endless genealogies found in the books of Genesis and Numbers. Don't make this mistake! Can it be tedious? Sure. But when you find yourself feeling like this, search deeper!

The Genealogy of Noah

Some of you may have seen this before. It's been covered by different Bible scholars. My goal here is to present it in the hopes that maybe someone hasn't seen this before and will find it a blessing.

Noah's family tree consists of the following gentlemen (and their ages):

1. Adam - 930 years
2. Seth - 912 years
3. Enosh - 905 years
4. Kenan - 910 years
5. Mahalalel - 895 years
6. Jared - 962 years
7. Enoch - 365 years (Did not die. More on this later.)
8. Methuselah - 969 years
9. Lamech - 777 years
10. Noah - 950 years

Let's look at what each of their names mean.

Adam

Adam, as probably everyone knows, was the first man, the first human being. So it will probably come as no surprise that "Adam" means "man."

Seth

Seth was the third child of Adam and Eve. You probably remember the story of Cain and Abel, their first two sons. Cain killed Abel. When Seth was born, Eve said:

"God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him." --Genesis 4:25.

The root word of Seth's name means "to put, to lay upon." If we take that an apply it to what Eve said, it means "appointed."

Enosh

Seth had a son and named him Enosh. His name means "man" but also means "mortal man."

Kenan

Next is Kenan, the son of Enosh. The meaning of his name is somewhat obscure. There are commentaries that say it means "nest" and others that say it means "sorrow" or "dirge." You will see that this apparent ambiguity doesn't matter for our purposes here.

Mahalalel

Kenan had a son named Mahalalel. His name means "blessed" or "praise of God." You get this from the two parts of his name. The "El" is the name of God. You see this in such names as Dani-el which means "God is my Judge."

Jared

Jared is next. His name means "descent." It means "to go or come down."

Enoch

Enoch is an interesting character. His name means "dedicated." The root means "to train, to train up." In other words "teaching."

Enoch was the father of Methuselah, the oldest person in the Bible at 969 years old when he died. But Enoch didn't die. One of the interesting passages in Genesis is found in chapter five, describing Enoch:

Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. --Genesis 5:24.

The Hebrew word used for the passage "and he was not, for God took him" is "לָקַח" which is transliterated "laqach." It's a fascinating word that is full of meaning: "to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away."

There are commentators that believe and suggest that Enoch being "snatched up" to heaven is symbolic of the rapture of the church. It's a model of the rapture, in other words. I think it's no accident that the word "laqach" has meanings that include "marry" and to "take a wife." Who is the believer's bridegroom? Christ! Who is the church is relation to Christ? His bride!

Methuselah

Enoch's son was named Methuselah. His name means "man of the dart." It comes from two roots. One is "muth" which means "death" and "shalach" which means "to bring" or "to send forth." So, his name means "his death shall bring."

Like Enoch his father, Methuselah is an interesting guy. Enoch gave him a prophetic name.

And, indeed, in the year that Methuselah died, the flood came. Methuselah was 187 when he had Lamech, and lived 782 years more. Lamech had Noah when he was 182. The Flood came in Noah's 600th year. 187+182+600=969, the year Methuselah died. --Chuck Missler, Hidden Treasures.

Lamech

Lamech was the son of Methuselah and the father of Noah. His name means "powerful" but also means "lament" or "lamentation." His name is also somewhat obscure. Again, for the purposes of our study, we will go with "lamentation" or "despairing."

Noah

Finally we reach Noah. Noah's name means "rest." How picturesque. The man at the head of the only family that was spared the flood, was named "rest," or "to bring relief" or "comfort."

Putting all the names together

Do you see anything remarkable yet? Let's write out the meanings in a sentence:

"Man is appointed mortal sorrow. (But the) blessed God (shall) come down, teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest."

I was stunned when I first encountered this. This is the gospel message that is found in the Old Testament! There is no way that a bunch of Jewish rabbis would have or could have conspired to hide the message of salvation in the Biblical text. There is no way the human mind could have conceived this. This was conceived in the mind of the Creator and King of the Universe.

He is worthy of our praise! Praise you, Father, for your wondrous works!

May He Increase!

Categories: Genesis, Prophecy
Tags: adam, enoch, enosh, jared, kenan, lamech, mahalalel, methuselah, noah, Prophecy, salvation, seth