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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 Onkelos Genesis 5:24

Hebrew Bible · Targum

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Summary

Genesis says Enoch was taken by God, and later writings expand this into traditions of him gaining divine wisdom or becoming divine. Targum Onkelos instead says God caused him to die, which may reflect a rejection of those later Enochic traditions.

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

Onkelos Genesis 5:24

Targum
22 And Enoch lived in reverence for the Lord, after he had fathered Methuselah, three hundred years, and fathered sons and daughters. 23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch lived in reverence for the Lord; and he was no longer there; for the Lord took him and put him to death. 25 And Methuselah lived a hundred and eighty-seven years, and fathered Lamech. 26 And Methuselah lived after he had fathered Lamech seven hundred and eighty-two years, and fathered sons and daughters.
50–500 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Onkelos Genesis

References

"... The material that now appears in the Book of the Watchers is the earliest preserved instance in which Genesis 5:21-24 and 6:1-13 are combined or closely related to one another. And, though the LXX of Genesis 5:21-24 (and of 6:1-13) is much more closely tied to the biblical text, it, too, engages in some reinterpretation ... Of course, the process of reinterpretation continued into the targumim; Targum Onkelos says that God killed Enoch ..."
James C. VanderKam, From Revelation to Canon: Studies in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism (Leiden: Brill, 2002), 307.

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 Onkelos Genesis 5:24

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