Genesis 5:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Mahalalel lived after he fathered Jared 830 years and had other sons and daughters.

NIV: After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters.

NASB: Then Mahalalel lived 830 years after he fathered Jared, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

CSB: Mahalalel lived 830 years after he fathered Jared, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

NLT: After the birth of Jared, Mahalalel lived another 830 years, and he had other sons and daughters.

KJV: And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:

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

Mahalalel had more sons and more daughters and lived another 830 years after fathering Jared. The fact that he is listed as having additional children is important for several reasons. First and foremost, it reminds us that the names listed here are not necessarily the firstborn of any of these men. This passage is meant to trace the lineage of Noah, from Adam. As such, it only lists those names which are in that direct line. Some of these might have been firstborn, while some might have been later.

The idea of these man having other children also supports the idea of a rapid growth in human population. In a modern environment, a population where women average 3 to 4 children each is capable of growing very quickly. In a scenario where people can have children over several centuries, rather than two or three decades, this means an incredibly fast explosion in population.

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 5/3/2024 4:16:20 PM