Genesis 5:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel 840 years and had other sons and daughters.

NIV: After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters.

NASB: Then Kenan lived 840 years after he fathered Mahalalel, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

CSB: Kenan lived 840 years after he fathered Mahalalel, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

NLT: After the birth of Mahalalel, Kenan lived another 840 years, and he had other sons and daughters.

KJV: And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:

NKJV: After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters.

During Kenan's 840 years after fathering Mahalalel, he could have fathered many, many other sons and daughters. The long lifespans and extended fertility of this era would have resulted in explosive population growth. Those lifespans were most likely the result of near-perfect food, air, and water, and our brand-new genes. Over time, genetic disease and the effects of the fall would make it less and less likely for man to live more than a few years.

Beyond that, God seems to have instituted a deliberate shortening of man's average lifespan, seen just after the flood (Genesis 6:3).

Interestingly, Kenan's life overlaps that of Adam by nearly 600 years. This is an important point to keep in mind when reading the early chapters of Genesis. The history of the world, to that point, was not something lost to dozens of prior generations. It was alive in first-hand, or at worst, second-hand form, right up to the moment of the flood.

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 5/18/2024 10:01:01 PM