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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 5:26 and LXX Genesis 5:26

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

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Summary

The Greek Septuagint translation of Genesis presents very different lifespans in its genealogies, including Methuselah’s in Genesis 5, which contribute to a longer span from creation to the flood, 2,242 years in total compared to 1,656 in the Masoretic.

Passages

Genesis 5:26

Hebrew Bible
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.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

LXX Genesis 5:26

Septuagint
24 And Enoch was well-pleasing to God, and was not found, because God translated him. 25 And Methuselah lived one hundred and sixty and seven years, and fathered Lamech. 26 And Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech eight hundred and two years, and fathered sons and daughters. 27 And all the days of Methuselah which he lived, were nine hundred and sixty and nine years, and he died. 28 And Lamech lived one hundred and eighty and eight years, and fathered a son.
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Genesis

References

"... The genealogy in the Septuagint makes the same points as its Masoretic counterpart, but its details are quite different. Whereas the time from creation to the flood covered 1,656 years in the Masoretic text, it covers 2,242 years in LXX-G. The same period between creation and flood in the Samaritan Pentateuch is only 1,307 years (Wevers 1993, 68). The first point at which LXX-G differs from the Masoretic is Adam’s age when he fathered Seth: The Masoretic text reports that he was 130 years old; LXX-G reports that he was 230 years old. Although neither the Masoretic nor Septuagint has an explicit direct object for the verb ‘father’, it is obvious that it is Seth whom Adam fathered in his ‘form’ and image. Here LXX-G departs from the earlier ‘likeness’ (1:26) that, along with ‘image’, characterized the similarity between God and humans. In so doing, it also differs from the Masoretic text that repeats the two features of 1:26 here. The word, as Wevers maintains, “was clearly chosen to indicate that the generation took place in accordance with the ‘outward appearance’ or ‘form’ of Adam” (1993, 69). LXX-G again differs from the Masoretic text in the amount of time that Adam lived after fathering Seth. LXX-G reports that he lived 700 more years, while the Masoretic text reports that he lived 800 additional years. Both, however, agree that Adam lived a total of 930 years before he died ..."
Susan Brayford, Septuagint Commentary Series: Genesis (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 258.

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 5:26 and LXX Genesis 5:26

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