Genesis 5:22 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters.

NIV: After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.

NASB: Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he fathered Methuselah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

CSB: And after he fathered Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and fathered other sons and daughters.

NLT: After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters.

KJV: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

NKJV: After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters.

This verse is the first to break with the pattern seen so far. As usual, we are given the number of years that a man lived after fathering the son who would lead to Noah and his children. This time, though, we're told something about that man: Enoch "walked with God," a fact that will be repeated in the surprising verses to follow. In the Bible, the expression "walked with God" refers to someone who is obedient and devoted to the Lord, resulting in His favor. In Enoch's case, this was so vital a point that it's mentioned twice: both here and in verse 24.

This passage is primarily intended to explain the family tree from Adam to Noah, so there are few other details given. We really don't know much about Enoch. However, we do know that God chose to remove him from earth prior to his natural death. Enoch is the first of the men listed in this chapter whose story does not end with the phrase "and he died." This was probably an event similar to the end of Elijah's ministry, when he was taken bodily by God into heaven (2 Kings 2:9–12).

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.

Accessed 11/21/2024 11:14:18 PM