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Why Genesis 5 Resembles the Sumerian King List

Ancient Near East, Sumerian · Hebrew Bible

Summary

The Sumerian King List records eight rulers before the flood with reign lengths totaling 241,200 years. Genesis 5 follows a similar pattern, listing ten patriarchs with lifespans in the hundreds of years before the flood destroys the earth.

Passages

Sumerian King List 1:1

Ancient Near East, Sumerian

When kingship had come down from heaven, kingship was at Eridu. At Eridu, Alulim was king; he reigned 28,800 years. Alalgar reigned 36,000 years. At Bad-tibira, Enmenluanna reigned 43,200 years. Enmengalanna reigned 28,800 years. The divine Dumuzi, the shepherd, reigned 36,000 years. At Larak, Ensipaziana reigned 28,800 years. At Sippar, Enmenduranna was king; he reigned 21,000 years. At Suruppak, Ubartutu was king; he reigned 18,600 years. Five cities; eight kings ruled 241,200 years.

2100 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Sumerian King List

Genesis 5:5

Hebrew Bible

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.

750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

References

“… The only occurrence of suspected borrowing between historiographic sources is found in the close relationship between Genesis 5 and the antediluvian section of the Sumerian King List. Genesis 5 presents a list of ten patriarchs in genealogical format that bridges the gap from creation to the flood; i.e., Adam to Noah. The ages attributed to these men are unusually high, many being in the 900s. The Sumerian King List preserves the names and length of reign of eight Mesopotamian kings bridging a similar gap—from the time “kingship descended from heaven” until the flood. If the length of life in Genesis 5 is unusual, the length of reign in the Sumerian King List is incredible, ranging from 18,600 to 43,200. …”

John H. Walton, Ancient Israelite Literature in Its Cultural Context: A Survey of Parallels between Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Literature (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989), 127–130.

“… Now, it is quite clear that there is a superficial parallel between the Sumerian King List and Genesis 5–11. This parallel consists in a list of pre-Flood individuals who lived amazingly long lives. Then the Flood brings civilization to a halt. Next there appears a line of post-Flood persons whose life spans are considerably shorter. (In Genesis 11 the range is from 600 years for Shem to 148 years for Nahor.) The existence of such genealogical inscriptions as the Sumerian King List, plus others like it, demonstrates that the Sumerians and Semitic tribes west of the Euphrates had evolved and elaborated genealogical traditions no later than the turn of the 3rd millennium B.C. …”

Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 1-17 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1990), 157.

“… One of the significant details found in the List is that Mesopotamian kings, similar to the patriarchs from the Genesis account, had extraordinarily long reigns, ranging from 3,600 to 72,000 years. Another important feature is that the two versions of the List account for ten kings, the last of whom is designated as the hero of the flood. This fact recalls the role of Noah who occupies the tenth place in the list of Genesis 5. James VanderKam notes that “in the literature on Genesis 5 there is a well-established tradition which holds that P modeled his pre-flood genealogy on a Mesopotamian list of antediluvian kings, the so-called Sumerian King List.” …”

Andrei Orlov, The Enoch-Metatron Tradition (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005), 26.

“… the Sumerian king list certainly does present a similar sequence to that attested in Genesis 5, 6–9, 11, viz.: list of very long-lived antediluvians, flood, list of shorter-lived postdiluvians. In particular, the marked resemblances between Genesis 5, with its list of ten generations from Adam to Noah and the eight, nine, or ten (depending on the version) kings of the Sumerian king list …”

Gordon J. Wenham, Word Biblical Commentary: Genesis 1-15 (Word, 1987), 168.

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Why Genesis 5 Resembles the Sumerian King List

Summary

Passages

Sumerian King List 1:1

Genesis 5:5

References

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