Meanings Of The Names In Genesis 5

Q & A: Where did you find the meanings of the names in Genesis 5?

The background behind the genealogy in Genesis 5 is one of our most frequently asked questions.

Since the ten Hebrew names are proper names, they are not translated but only transliterated to approximate the way they were pronounced.   The meaning of proper names can be a difficult pursuit since direct translations are not readily available.  Many study aids, such as conventional lexicons, can prove superficial when dealing with proper names.   Even a conventional Hebrew lexicon can prove disappointing.  A study of the original roots, however, can yield some fascinating insights.  (It should be recognized, however, that the views concerning the meaning and significance of the original roots are not free of controversy and are subject to variant readings.  This is why we receive so many questions or comments on variations.)

Adam
 
The first name, Adam, comes from adomah, and means "man."  As the first man, that seems straightforward enough.

Seth

Adam's son was named Seth, which means "appointed."  When he was born Eve said, "For God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew."

Enosh

Seth's son was called Enosh, which means "mortal," "frail," or "miserable."  It is from the root anash: to be incurable; used of a wound, grief, woe, sickness, or wickedness.  (It was in the days of Enosh that men began to defile the name of the Living God.¹ )

Kenan

Enosh's son was named Kenan, from which can mean "sorrow," dirge," or "elegy."  (The precise denotation is somewhat elusive; some study aids unfortunately presume an Aramaic root synonymous with "Cainan.")  Balaam, looking down from the heights of Moab, employed a pun upon the name of the Kenites when he prophesied their destruction.²

Mahalalel

Kenan's son was Mahalalel, from mahalal, which means "blessed" or "praise"; and El, the name for God.  Thus, Mahalalel means "the Blessed God."  Often Hebrew names included El, the name of God, as Dani-el, "God is my Judge," Nathani-el, "Gift of God," etc.

Jared

Mahalalel's son was named Jared, from the verb yaradh, meaning "shall come down."  Some authorities suggest that this might have been an allusion to the "Sons of God" who "came down" to corrupt the daughters of men, resulting in the Nephilim ("Fallen Ones") of Genesis 6.³

Enoch

Jared's son was named Enoch, which means "teaching," or "commencement."  He was the first of four generations of preachers.  In fact, the earliest recorded prophecy was by Enoch, which amazingly enough deals with the Second Coming of Christ.⁴

Methuselah

The Flood of Noah did not come as a surprise.  It had been preached on for four generations.  But something strange happened when Enoch was 65, from which time "he walked with God."  Enoch was given a prophecy that as long as his son was alive, the judgment of the flood would be withheld; but as soon as he died, the flood would be sent forth. 

Enoch named his son to reflect this prophecy.  The name Methuselah comes from two roots: muth, a root that means "death"⁵ ; and from shalach, which means "to bring," or "to send forth."  Thus, the name Methuselah signifies, "his death shall bring."⁶

And, indeed, in the year that Methuselah died, the flood came.   Methuselah was 187 when he had Lamech, and lived 782 years more.  Lamech had Noah when he was 182.⁷   The Flood came in Noah's 600th year.⁸   187 + 182 + 600 = 969, Methuselah's age when he died.⁹

It is interesting that Methuselah's life was, in effect, a symbol of God's mercy in forestalling the coming judgment of the flood.  It is therefore fitting that his lifetime is the oldest in the Bible, symbolizing the extreme extensiveness of God's mercy.

Lamech

Methuselah's son was named Lamech, a root still evident today in our own English word, "lament" or "lamentation."  Lamech suggests "despairing."  (This name is also linked to the Lamech in Cain's line who inadvertently killed his son Tubal-Cain in a hunting incident. ¹⁰ )

Noah

Lamech, of course, is the father of Noah, which is derived from nacham , "to bring relief" or "comfort," as Lamech himself explains. ¹¹

The Composite List

Now let's put it all together:

Evidences of Design

The implications of this discovery are far more deeply significant than may be evident at first glance.  It demonstrates that in the earliest chapters of the Book of Genesis, God had already laid out His plan of redemption for the predicament of mankind.  It is the beginning of a love story, ultimately written in blood on a wooden cross which was erected in Judea almost 2,000 years ago.

This is also one of many evidences that the Bible is an integrated message system, the product of supernatural engineering.  This punctures the presumptions of many who view the Bible as a record of an evolving cultural tradition, noble though it may be.  It claims to be authored by the One who alone knows the end from the beginning,¹²  despite the fact that it is composed of 66 separate books, penned by some 40 authors, spanning several thousand years.¹³

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Sources:

• Missler Chuck, Cosmic Codes: Hidden Messages from the Edge of Eternity, Koinonia  House, 1999.
• Jones, Alfred, Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1990.
• Kaplan, Rabbi Aryeh, The Living Torah, Maznaim Publishing Corporation, Jerusalem, 1981.
• Pink, Arthur W., Gleanings in Genesis, Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, IL, 1922.
• Rosenbaum, M., and Silbermann, A., Pentateuch with Onkelos's Translation (into Aramaic) and Rashi's Commentary, Silbermann Family Publishers, Jerusalem, 1973.
• Stedman, Ray C., The Beginnings, Word Books, Waco, TX, 1978.