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LXX Genesis

Septuagint

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Chapter 5

1 This is the genealogy of men in the day in which God made Adam; in the image of God he made him: 2 male and female he made them, and blessed them; and he called their name Adam, in the day in which he made them. 3 And Adam lived two hundred and thirty years, and fathered [a son] after his own form, and after his own image, and he called his name Seth. 4 And the days of Adam, which he lived after he fathered Seth, were seven hundred years; and he fathered sons and daughters. 5 And all the days of Adam which he lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died. 6 Now Seth lived two hundred and five years, and fathered Enosh.⁠ 7 And Seth lived after he fathered Enosh, seven hundred and seven years, and he fathered sons and daughters. 8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died. 9 And Enosh lived one hundred and ninety years, and fathered Kenan. 10 And Enosh lived after he fathered Kenan, seven hundred and fifteen years, and he fathered sons and daughters. 11 And all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died. 12 And Kenan lived one hundred and seventy years, and he fathered Mahalalel. 13 And Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel, seven hundred and forty years, and he fathered sons and daughters. 14 And all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died. 15 And Mahalalel lived one hundred and sixty and five years, and he fathered Jared. 16 And Mahalalel lived after he fathered Jared, seven hundred and thirty years, and he fathered sons and daughters. 17 And all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety and five years, and he died. 18 And Jared lived one hundred and sixty and two years, and fathered Enoch: 19 and Jared lived after he fathered Enoch, eight hundred years, and he fathered sons and daughters. 20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty and two years, and he died. 21 And Enoch lived one hundred and sixty and five years, and became the father of Methuselah. 22 And Enoch was well-pleasing to God after he fathered Methuselah, two hundred years, and he fathered sons and daughters. 23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty and five years. 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. 29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This one will cause us to cease from our works, and from the toils of our hands, and from the earth, which the Lord God has cursed. 30 And Lamech lived after he fathered Noah, five hundred and sixty and five years, and fathered sons and daughters. 31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and fifty-three years, and he died. 32 And Noah was five hundred years old, and he fathered three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Texts in conversation

Compare LXX Genesis 5:24 and Hebrews 11:5

Septuagint · New Testament

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Summary

In the Greek Septuagint translation of Genesis 5, Enoch pleases God and is not found because God has moved him, leaving his death unclear. Hebrews follows this reading, saying God moved Enoch so that he did not see death.

Passages

LXX Genesis 5:24

Septuagint
22 And Enoch was well-pleasing to God after he fathered Methuselah, two hundred years, and he fathered sons and daughters. 23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty and five years. 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.
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Genesis

Hebrews 11:5

New Testament
4 By faith Abel offered God a greater sacrifice than Cain, and through his faith he was commended as righteous because God commended him for his offerings. And through his faith he still speaks, though he is dead. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death, and he was not to be found because God took him up. For before his removal he had been commended as having pleased God. 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Hebrews

References

“... the verse regarding Enoch differs: “Enoch walked with God after he begot Methuselah 300 years,” and instead of the usual “then he died,” we find: “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, for God took him” (verses 22, 24). It appears that the Pentateuch responds here, with an ambiguous, partial concession, to a tradition of Enoch’s immortality. The avoidance of any explicit and unambiguous statement in Enoch’s story, this hesitancy, bears witness to the Pentateuch’s effort to silence the tradition of Enoch’s ascendance to heaven. But it did not eradicate it—it could not, due to the tradition’s widespread popularity. Instead, it enshrouds the tradition in ambiguity, leaving exposed only brief and equivocal references. Despite these efforts, the tradition that Enoch didn’t die continued to be told, and it found its way to the rich literature about Enoch that emerged during the Second Temple period and even to the New Testament (“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death” [Hebrews 11:5]) ...”
Avigdor Shinan and Yair Zakovitch, From Gods to God: How the Bible Debunked, Suppressed, or Changed Ancient Myths and Legends, trans. Valerie Zakovitch (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska, 2012), 179–180.

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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LXX Genesis 5:24 and Hebrews 11:5

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