Genesis 5:4
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And after he had become the father of Seth, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
And the days of Adam, after he had begotten Seth, were eight hundred years,.... The Septuagint version is seven hundred; for having added one hundred years more the should be, to the years of his life before the birth of Seth, here they are taken away to make the number of his years complete: and he begat sons and daughters; not only after the birth of Seth, but before, though we have no account of any, unless of Cain's wife; but what their number was is not certain, either before or after; some say he had thirty children, besides Cain, Abel, and Seth; and others a hundred (c). Josephus says the number of children, according to the old tradition, was thirty three sons and twenty three daughters. (d)(These families had at least five children, for one son is named as well as other sons and daughters. Therefore there must be at least three sons and two daughters in each family. For a family to have at least three sons and two daughters, according to the laws of chance, a family must on the average have nine children for this to be a near certainty. Hence the families listed in this chapter must have been large by today's standards. Given their long life, this is not at all unusual. However even today, the Old Order Mennonites of Waterloo County in Ontario and Lancaster County in Pennsylvannia, have many families this large. Ed.) (c) Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 74. 2. (d) Joseph. Antiqu. l. 1. c. 1. footnote on point 3.
Open source ↗This chapter is the only authentic history extant of the first age of the world from the creation to the flood, containing (according to the verity of the Hebrew text) 1656 years, as may easily be computed by the ages of the patriarchs, before they begat that son through whom the line went down to Noah. This is one of those which the apostle calls "endless genealogies" (Ti1 1:4), for Christ, who was the end of the Old Testament law, was also the end of the Old Testament genealogies; towards him they looked, and in him they centered. The genealogy here recorded in inserted briefly in the pedigree of our Saviour (Luk 3:36-38), and is of great use to show that Christ was the "seed of the woman" that was promised. We have here an account, I. Concerning Adam (Gen 5:1-5). II. Seth (Gen 5:6-8). III. Enos (Gen 5:9-11). Cainan (Gen 5:12-14). V. Mahalaleel (Gen 5:15-17). VI. Jared (Gen 5:18-20). VII. Enoch (Gen 5:21-24). VIII. Methuselah (Gen 5:25-27). IX. Lamech and his son Noah (Gen 5:28-32). All scripture, being given by inspiration of God, is profitable, though not all alike profitable.
Open source ↗Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
And after he had become the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters.
And after he had become the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters.
And after he had become the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.
And after he had become the father of Noah, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters.
And after he had become the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters.
And after he had become the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters.
And after he had become the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.
Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
But as for you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out across the earth and multiply upon it.”
When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah.