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Genesis

About this book

Adam's Descendants

Chapter 5

1 This is the record of the family line of Adam.⁠ When God created humankind, he made them in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female; when they were created, he blessed them and named them “humankind.” 3 When Adam had lived 130 years he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image,⁠ and he named him Seth. 4 The length of time Adam lived after he became the father of Seth was 800 years; during this time he had other sons and daughters. 5 The entire lifetime of Adam was 930 years, and then he died.⁠ 6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh.⁠ 7 Seth lived 807 years after he became the father of Enosh, and he had other sons and daughters. 8 The entire lifetime of Seth was 912 years, and then he died. 9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. 10 Enosh lived 815 years after he became the father of Kenan, and he had other sons and daughters. 11 The entire lifetime of Enosh was 905 years, and then he died. 12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. 13 Kenan lived 840 years after he became the father of Mahalalel, and he had other sons and daughters. 14 The entire lifetime of Kenan was 910 years, and then he died. 15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. 16 Mahalalel lived 830 years after he became the father of Jared, and he had other sons and daughters. 17 The entire lifetime of Mahalalel was 895 years, and then he died. 18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. 19 Jared lived 800 years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters. 20 The entire lifetime of Jared was 962 years, and then he died. 21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah.⁠ 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God for 300 years,⁠ and he had other sons and daughters. 23 The entire lifetime of Enoch was 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and then he disappeared because God took him away.⁠ 25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 26 Methuselah lived 782 years after he became the father of Lamech, and he had other sons and daughters.⁠ 27 The entire lifetime of Methuselah was 969 years, and then he died.⁠ 28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son.⁠ 29 He named him Noah, saying, “This one will bring us comfort from our labor and from the painful toil of our hands because of the ground that the Lord has cursed.” 30 Lamech lived 595 years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other sons and daughters. 31 The entire lifetime of Lamech was 777 years, and then he died. 32 After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 5:24 and 1 Enoch 70:2

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

Genesis 5 says that God took Enoch away, with no means, destination, or reason. 1 Enoch expands this into a full narrative with his ascent on chariots of the wind, carrying Enoch to the heavenly Garden of Eden where the earliest righteous already live.

Passages

Genesis 5:24

Hebrew Bible
22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God for 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. 23 The entire lifetime of Enoch was 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and then he disappeared because God took him away. 25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 26 Methuselah lived 782 years after he became the father of Lamech, and he had other sons and daughters.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

1 Enoch 70:2

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 After that, his name was exalted to the Son of Man and to the Lord of Spirits among those who live on the earth during his lifetime. 2 He was lifted up on the chariots of the spirit, and his name disappeared among them. 3 From that day, I was no longer counted among them; he placed me between the North and the West winds, where the angels measured a place for the chosen and the righteous. 4 There, I saw the earliest ancestors and the righteous who have lived in that place since the beginning.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

References

“... 1 Enoch 70.1-2 is also a midrash of Genesis 5.24, “And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him,” because there is the suggestion in what follows in the Book of Parables that this is Enoch’s final ascent to heaven. After Enoch was raised on the chariots of the wind “and his name departed from among them” (1 Enoch 70.2), the following verse states it plainly: “And from that day, I was not reckoned among them” (1 Enoch 70.3). All of the Book of Parables may be read as a midrash on Genesis 5.24. Enoch’s entire earthly existence, summarized by the phrase in Genesis 5:24a, “Enoch walked with God,” is midrashed in 1 Enoch 37–69. The following phrase, “and he was not,” is midrashed by 1 Enoch 70.3-4: “And from that day, I was not reckoned among them.” ...”
James A. Waddell, “The Messiah in the Parables of Enoch and the Letters of Paul: A Comparative Analysis” (PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2010), 59–60.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Genesis 5:24 and 1 Enoch 70:2

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