Genesis 5: And then he died
Ten generations from Adam to Noah end in death, except Enoch, who walked with God and was taken.
Where Genesis 5 sits
- In the story
- Act II, Fall: Genesis 3–11
- In the Bible
- Old Testament · The Law · chapter 5 of 50 in Genesis
- In Genesis
- Adam's line: death reigns, 5:1–6:8 · part of All humanity
- Before
- Genesis 4: Cain, Abel and Seth
- After
- Genesis 6: Corruption and the ark
Genesis 5 summary
The book of Adam's generations restates man's creation in God's likeness and then traces ten generations of Seth's line to Noah in a steady rhythm: lived, fathered, lived on, died. Enoch walks with God and then is no more, because God takes him away. Methuselah's long life still ends in death, and Lamech names his son Noah, hoping he will bring relief from the ground the LORD has cursed.
Genesis 5 in context
- Speaking
- Moses, narrating; Lamech speaks the one recorded hope (5:29)
- Written for
- Israel, learning that death came through sin and that God kept a line of faith alive through it
- Around it
- Follows Cain's line and Seth's birth (ch. 4); the corruption before the flood follows (6:1–8)
How Genesis 5 points to Christ
Luke traces Jesus back through these very names to Adam, “the son of God” (Luke 3:36–38); Enoch's being taken points to life beyond death for those who walk with God (Heb 11:5)
The sections of Genesis 5
- In the likeness of God5:1–2
The heading recalls that God made man in His likeness, male and female, blessed them and named them.
- Adam to Jared5:3–20
Adam fathers Seth in his own likeness, and each in the line lives long, fathers sons, and dies.
- Enoch walked with God5:21–24
Enoch walks with God three hundred years, and then he is no more, because God takes him away.
- Methuselah5:25–27
Methuselah lives 969 years, the longest life recorded, and still dies.
- Noah, the comfort5:28–32
Lamech names Noah, hoping he will bring comfort from the cursed ground; Noah fathers Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Read Genesis 5
The Descendants of Adam
1This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in His own likeness. 2Male and female He created them, and He blessed them. And in the day they were created, He called them “man.”
3When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son in his own likeness, after his own image; and he named him Seth. 4And after he had become the father of Seth, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5So Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.
6When Seth was 105 years old, he became the father of Enosh. 7And after he had become the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8So Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died.
9When Enosh was 90 years old, he became the father of Kenan. 10And after he had become the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. 11So Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died.
12When Kenan was 70 years old, he became the father of Mahalalel. 13And after he had become the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14So Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died.
15When Mahalalel was 65 years old, he became the father of Jared. 16And after he had become the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17So Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died.
God Takes Up Enoch
18When Jared was 162 years old, he became the father of Enoch. 19And after he had become the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20So Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.
21When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah. 22And after he had become the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23So Enoch lived a total of 365 years.
24Enoch walked with God, and then he was no more, because God had taken him away.
From Methuselah to Noah
25When Methuselah was 187 years old, he became the father of Lamech. 26And after he had become the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27So Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.
28When Lamech was 182 years old, he had a son. 29And he named him Noah, saying, “May this one comfort us in the labor and toil of our hands caused by the ground that the LORD has cursed.” 30And after he had become the father of Noah, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31So Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died.
32After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Berean Standard Bible, 32 verses. The BSB is in the public domain.
Around Genesis 5
Read alongside
- Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death.
- Romans 5:14 Death reigned from Adam until Moses.
- Luke 3:36–38 Jesus' line traced through Noah, Methuselah and Seth to Adam.
- Jude 1:14–15 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, warned of the Lord's coming in judgment.
Chapters that point here
How Genesis 5 connects
- The Seed Line · Genesis 5:3–32 · Seth's line carries the hope of 3:15 to Noah; Luke runs Jesus' genealogy back through it. (Luke 3:36–38)
- Rest · Genesis 5:29 · Noah's name sounds like rest and comfort; the flood story plays on it (8:4, 9, 21).
- Faith · Genesis 5:22–24 (Hebrews 11:5–6)
Doctrines Genesis 5 teaches
- Saving faith · Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5–6
How Genesis 5 is shaped
“And then he died” Gen 5:3–31
- Adam 5:5 and then he died
- Seth 5:8 and then he died
- Enosh 5:11 and then he died
- Kenan 5:14 and then he died
- Mahalalel 5:17 and then he died
- Jared 5:20 and then he died
- Enoch 5:24 and then he was no more, because God had taken him away
- Methuselah 5:27 and then he died
- Lamech 5:31 and then he died
Eight times the entry closes with death, the sentence of 2:17 carried out; Enoch alone breaks the pattern. The ten-member list is matched by Shem's ten in 11:10–26.
Questions on Genesis 5
What phrase closes almost every entry in Genesis 5, and who breaks the pattern?
Show the answer
“And then he died” closes entry after entry, eight times in all, carrying out the sentence of 2:17 (5:5). Enoch breaks the pattern: he walked with God, and then he was no more, because God took him away (5:24).
What did Lamech hope Noah would bring (5:29)?
Show the answer
Comfort: Lamech hoped Noah would bring them relief in the labor and toil of their hands caused by the ground that the LORD had cursed (5:29), the curse spoken in 3:17.
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