Genesis 5:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.

NIV: When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.

NASB: When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.

CSB: Adam was 130 years old when he fathered a son in his likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.

NLT: When Adam was 130 years old, he became the father of a son who was just like him — in his very image. He named his son Seth.

KJV: And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

NKJV: And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.

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.

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.