What does Genesis 5:3 mean?
This verse begins a pattern repeated for the remainder of this chapter. In each of these verses, the next notable member of the generation is listed, along with his age when the next son of Noah's line was born, and his age when he died.Adam was 130 when Seth was born. This verse connects to the previous two verses in noting that Adam fathered Seth in his own likeness and after his image. In this way, humans continue the pattern established by God when He made man in His own image. The likeness of God continues to be passed down from one generation to the next. The long lifespans described here would have also served another important purpose: keeping witnesses to history alive to personally teach future generations. Looking at numbers given in this chapter, we see that Seth dies only 14 years before the birth of Noah—an extraordinary preservation of the past for the human race prior to the flood.
As we have seen, Seth was not Adam's firstborn son. Both Cain and Abel were born, grew up, and began their professions before Cain murdered Abel. It is likely Adam and Eve had many, many other children before Seth was born as a replacement for the murdered Abel (Genesis 4:25). Seth's line, however, is the one that leads to Noah and, through him, to the rest of the human race as we know it today.
Genesis 5:1-32 is a bridge of genealogy connecting the time of Adam and his son Seth to the time of Noah. This brings the Bible's historical record to the era of the flood. It provides a small, but helpful set of details: early humans lived a long time, had many children, and all died as a result of ubiquitous human sin. Enoch is the exception that proves the rule, commended for walking with God and seemingly taken away before his physical death. Despite the presence of early God-worshippers such as Adam and Seth, man will quickly descend into extraordinary wickedness, as seen in chapter 6. The coming of Noah at the end of this chapter prepares us for God's response to the sins of humankind.
Chapter 5 uses a simple genealogy of Adam's descendants through Seth to link the earliest humans with the time of Noah and the flood. In the generations after the garden, human beings live extraordinarily long lives, have great numbers of children, and continue to be in relationship with God though separated from Him physically and spiritually. The description of Enoch being ''taken'' by God is the exception that proves the rule: No matter how long a person lives, sin always leads to death.