This is the book of the generations of Adam. On the day God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.
KJV This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
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Translator Notes
'Book of the generations' (sefer toledot, סֵפֶר תּוֹלְדוֹת) — this is the second toledot heading in Genesis (cf. 2:4). The addition of sefer ('book, written record, document') makes this the most formal genealogical introduction in Genesis. It suggests a written source or an authoritative record.
'Adam' here functions both as the proper name of the first man and as the word for 'man/humanity.' The dual meaning is deliberate — the genealogy connects the individual Adam to the human race.
'In the likeness of God' (bidmut Elohim, בִּדְמוּת אֱלֹהִים) echoes 1:26 but uses only demut ('likeness') without tselem ('image'). The concept of the divine image is reaffirmed at the beginning of this genealogy, establishing that the image of God persists through the generations despite the fall.
Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and called their name 'mankind' on the day they were created.
KJV Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
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Translator Notes
'Called their name Adam' (vayyiqra et-shemam Adam) — God named both the man and the woman 'Adam.' The name is applied collectively to both, reinforcing that adam is a term for humanity as a whole, not exclusively the male. The rendering uses 'mankind' here to capture the collective sense, though the Hebrew word is simply adam.
This verse summarizes 1:27–28 in compressed form, reconnecting the genealogy to the original creation account.
When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him 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:
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Translator Notes
'In his own likeness, according to his image' (bidmuto ketsalmo, בִּדְמוּתוֹ כְּצַלְמוֹ) — the terms demut ('likeness') and tselem ('image') from 1:26 are now applied to Adam's relationship with Seth. The word order is reversed (1:26 has 'image... likeness'; here 'likeness... image'), but the pairing is deliberate: as God made Adam in God's image, so Adam fathers Seth in Adam's image. The divine image is transmitted through human generation.
This verse establishes the genealogical formula that will repeat through the chapter: age at fathering → son's name → years after → total years → death.
The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years, and he fathered sons and daughters.
KJV And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:
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Translator Notes
'Sons and daughters' — the genealogy acknowledges the existence of other children beyond the named son, though they are not listed. This formula recurs for each patriarch and confirms that the named son is selected for the genealogical line, not as the only child.
All the days of Adam's life were 930 years, and he died.
KJV And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
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Translator Notes
'And he died' (vayyamot, וַיָּמֹת) — this refrain closes each entry in the genealogy (with the notable exception of Enoch, v. 24). The repeated 'and he died' functions as a drumbeat throughout the chapter, underscoring the reality of the death sentence pronounced in 2:17 and 3:19. Despite extraordinary lifespans, death claims each generation.
The ages recorded in this genealogy are extraordinarily long by modern standards. Various explanations have been proposed: (1) literal years, reflecting a different era of human longevity; (2) symbolic or schematic numbers; (3) a different calculation system. The Masoretic, Septuagint, and Samaritan Pentateuch each preserve different numbers for many of these lifespans. The rendering follows the MT numbers without interpretive comment.
KJV And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:
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The genealogy now follows Seth's line — the line through which the story of God's people will continue. Cain's line, traced in 4:17–24, is left behind.
KJV And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:
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Translator Notes
'Kenan' (Qenan, קֵינָן) — the name resembles 'Cain' (Qayin), which has prompted scholarly discussion about whether this is a variant of the same name appearing in Seth's line. The rendering uses the standard English form.
When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel.
KJV And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:
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Translator Notes
'Mahalalel' (מַהֲלַלְאֵל) means 'praise of God' — from mahalal ('praise') and El ('God'). The name embeds a declaration of praise within the genealogy.
When Jared had lived 162 years, he fathered Enoch.
KJV And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:
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Translator Notes
'Enoch' (Chanokh, חֲנוֹךְ) — the same name as Cain's son in 4:17 ('dedicated'). This Enoch, in Seth's line, will be distinguished by his extraordinary fate (vv. 22–24).
When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah.
KJV And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
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Translator Notes
'Methuselah' (Metushelach, מְתוּשֶׁלַח) — the name's meaning is debated. Possible interpretations include 'man of the javelin' (from mat, 'man,' and shelach, 'weapon/missile') or 'his death shall bring' (from mut, 'death,' and shalach, 'to send'). If the latter, the name may be prophetic: according to the chronology, Methuselah dies in the year of the flood.
Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and fathered sons and daughters.
KJV And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
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Translator Notes
'Walked with God' (vayyithallekh Chanokh et-ha'Elohim, וַיִּתְהַלֵּךְ חֲנוֹךְ אֶת הָאֱלֹהִים) — a unique expression in this chapter that breaks the genealogical formula. Where every other patriarch simply 'lived,' Enoch 'walked with God.' The hitpael of halakh ('to walk') is the same form used for God's walking in the garden (3:8). It implies a sustained, intimate companionship — a habitual way of life in God's presence. The same phrase is later used of Noah (6:9).
The preposition et ('with') indicates accompaniment — Enoch and God walked together, as companions. This is the most compressed and powerful character description in Genesis.
KJV And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
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Translator Notes
Enoch's lifespan of 365 years is by far the shortest in this chapter — yet the narrative presents it not as a truncation but as a distinction. The number 365 corresponds to the days in a solar year, which some scholars see as significant, though the text does not draw this connection explicitly.
Crucially, this verse omits the expected refrain 'and he died.' The absence is deafening in a chapter built on the drumbeat of death. What happened instead is stated in the next verse.
Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
KJV And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
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Translator Notes
'He was not' (ve'einennu, וְאֵינֶנּוּ) — instead of 'and he died,' the text says 'and he was not.' The phrase means 'he was no longer' or 'he was gone' — he was no longer present in the earthly realm. This terse statement, unique in the chapter, has fascinated readers for millennia.
'God took him' (laqach oto Elohim, לָקַח אֹתוֹ אֱלֹהִים) — the verb laqach ('to take') here implies divine removal from earth. The text does not say where God took him or what form this taking assumed. Later tradition understood it as bodily translation to heaven (cf. Hebrews 11:5; Sirach 44:16; 49:14). The only other person described as being 'taken' by God is Elijah (2 Kings 2:1–11).
In a genealogy dominated by death, Enoch's entry stands as a dramatic exception. The pattern of 'and he died... and he died... and he died' is broken by a life so characterized by walking with God that death is bypassed entirely. The contrast gives the chapter a theological dimension beyond mere record-keeping.
All the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.
KJV And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
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Translator Notes
Methuselah's 969 years make him the longest-lived person recorded in the Bible. According to the MT chronology, Methuselah dies in the year of the flood (his birth year + his age at death = the year of the flood in 7:6). Whether this is coincidental or intentional is debated; if intentional, it suggests he died in the flood or immediately before it.
When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son.
KJV And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:
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Translator Notes
Lamech's entry breaks the formula by not immediately naming his son. Instead, the naming and its explanation are given in the next verse — the most theologically significant naming in the genealogy.
He named him Noah, saying, "This one will bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands, from the ground that the LORD has cursed."
KJV And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
נֹחַNoach
"Noah"—rest, comfort, relief
The name derives from nuach ('to rest') but is explained with nacham ('to comfort/relieve'). Noah represents a hope for respite from the curse — a hope that will be fulfilled through catastrophe and renewal.
Translator Notes
'Noah' (Noach, נֹחַ) — the name is explained with a wordplay, though it is not a direct etymological match. Noach is related to nuach (נוּחַ, 'to rest'), but Lamech's explanation uses the verb nacham (נָחַם, 'to comfort, to bring relief'). The sound connection (noach/yenachamenu) creates the wordplay even though the roots differ: Noah ('rest') will 'comfort/relieve' (nacham) them. 'Relief' is used to capture the nuach/nacham overlap.
'Painful toil of our hands' (itstsevon yadenu, עִצְּבוֹן יָדֵינוּ) — the word itstsavon is the same root used for the woman's pain in childbearing (3:16) and the man's painful toil with the ground (3:17). Lamech's lament explicitly references the curse of 3:17 ('the ground that the LORD has cursed') — the consequences of the fall are still felt and still lamented generations later.
Lamech's hope that Noah will bring relief from the curse anticipates Noah's role in the flood narrative — though the 'relief' comes in a way no one expected.
All the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.
KJV And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.
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Lamech's lifespan of 777 years contains the number seven three times. Whether this is numerically significant or coincidental is debated. In light of Lamech of Cain's line claiming 'seventy-sevenfold' vengeance (4:24), the sevens in this Lamech's lifespan may create an intentional contrast between the line of violence and the line of faith.
After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
KJV And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
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Translator Notes
The genealogy ends without the formula 'and he died' for Noah — his story continues in the following chapters. Noah's entry lacks the closure that every other patriarch receives (except Enoch, for a different reason). Noah's death is not recorded until 9:29.
'Shem, Ham, and Japheth' — the three sons of Noah who will become the ancestors of all post-flood humanity (chapters 9–10). 'Shem' (שֵׁם) means 'name' or 'renown'; 'Ham' (חָם) means 'hot' or 'warm'; 'Japheth' (יָפֶת) may mean 'enlarged' or 'beautiful,' related to the root y-p-h ('beauty') or p-t-h ('to enlarge'). Though listed in this order, Shem may not be the eldest (cf. 10:21, which is ambiguous).