What does Genesis 5:26 mean?

Methuselah is an important and poignant aspect of this part of the Genesis story line. Methuselah will survive until the very same year as the flood. In fact, at the time Methuselah was born, every one of his paternal ancestors was still alive! According to the ages given in this passage, Adam did not die until Methuselah was more than 200 years old. And, his son, Lamech, was also born just prior to the death of Adam. This means that there was an unbroken line of eyewitness history still thriving in the world. The wicked, evil world of Noah's day knew exactly what their history was. There were men and women walking the earth who had lived in direct contact with Adam himself.

Methuselah lives another 782 years after fathering Lamech, giving him time to father many, many other sons and daughters. This is also important, for a much sadder reason. It speaks to how widespread the corruption of man was by the time of Noah's birth. Cain's descendants celebrated their own sin (Genesis 4:23–24). Seth's line walked with God (Genesis 5:22–24), and grieved the state of the fallen world (Genesis 5:29). Sadly, at this point in the history of man, most people are not walking with God. The vast majority of Methuselah's family line are going to reject their Creator, and be destroyed in judgment.

Methuselah's name, in fact, might have been a prophecy. It can be translated either as "man of the dart," or as "his death brings judgment." Using calculations from this chapter, the flood occurs in the same year as Methuselah's death.