Genesis 5:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared.

NIV: When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared.

NASB: Now Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and fathered Jared.

CSB: Mahalalel was 65 years old when he fathered Jared.

NLT: When Mahalalel was 65 years old, he became the father of Jared.

KJV: And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:

NKJV: Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared.

Mahalalel fathered Jared at the relatively spritely age of 65 years old. Jared becomes the sixth in line from Adam. Of the nine patriarchs preceding Noah, Jared will be the last who dies well in advance of the flood. Enoch will be taken by God in some way, prior to his natural death (Genesis 5:24), while Methuselah and Lamech will die immediately prior to the near-total-destruction of mankind.

Along with Enosh and Kenan, Mahalalel and Jared will also live many years concurrently with Noah. It's critical to notice that all four of these men lived hundreds of years in parallel with Adam. In fact, according to this passage, the first patriarch born after Adam's death is Noah himself. The eyewitness testimony of God, and His relationship to mankind, was still alive up to the moment of the flood.

The long life spans in this chapter are attributed to various factors. Cleaner food, water, and air would contribute greatly to longer lives. In addition, human genes had not been as effected by the corruption of the fallen world. Particularly after the flood, life expectancies will drop off dramatically. This change also reflects a deliberate act by God, as explained in Genesis 6:3.

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.

Genesis 4 ends with the birth of Seth's son Enosh, and a statement that people had begun to call on the Lord's name. Chapter 5 details the generations from Adam through Seth to Noah, connecting the time of Adam and Seth with the time of Noah and his sons as described in chapter 6. This sets the stage for God's judgment of mankind's pervasive sin in the flood.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.