Genesis 5:1-20
The Generations of Adam
Read the passage
1This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in His own likeness.
2Male and female He created them, and He blessed them. And in the day they were created, He called them “man.”
3When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son in his own likeness, after his own image; and he named him Seth.
4And after he had become the father of Seth, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.
5So Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.
6When Seth was 105 years old, he became the father of Enosh.
7And after he had become the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters.
8So Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died.
9When Enosh was 90 years old, he became the father of Kenan.
10And after he had become the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters.
11So Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died.
12When Kenan was 70 years old, he became the father of Mahalalel.
13And after he had become the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters.
14So Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died.
15When Mahalalel was 65 years old, he became the father of Jared.
16And after he had become the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters.
17So Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died.
18When Jared was 162 years old, he became the father of Enoch.
19And after he had become the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.
20So Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Genesis 5 returns to the family of Adam and begins a record of generations. It reminds us that God made humankind in his likeness, created them male and female, blessed them, and called them humankind. Adam has a son in his likeness and names him Seth. The family line then moves from Seth through Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, and Enoch.
The repeated pattern is easy to overlook: a man lives, has sons and daughters, and dies. The words “and he died” return again and again. The genealogy is not trying to make death feel ordinary or harmless. It gives the consequence spoken in the garden a steady rhythm through human history. Every generation receives life as a gift, and every generation is also mortal.
The ages in this genealogy are stated plainly by the text. Christians understand the relationship between these numbers and questions about the age of the earth in different ways. This reading does not need to settle that debate. It does need to attend to what the text actually says: God blesses human life, families continue, and death remains an enemy rather than the goal of creation.
Adam has a son in his own likeness, after the chapter has recalled that God made Adam in his likeness. Life and family continue beyond Eden, even as death reaches each generation. The list does not describe each person's character. It shows that God's blessing of human life continues in a world that also bears the consequence of sin.
Questions
1 In whose likeness were human beings made?
AnswerGod makes humankind in His likeness and blesses them. The genealogy begins by remembering human dignity before repeating the story of generations.
2 Whom did Adam name as his son?
AnswerAdam names his son Seth, and Seth becomes the line through which the family continues after Abel's death and Cain's departure.
3 What phrase repeats through the genealogy?
AnswerThe record repeatedly says that each person lived and then died. The repeated ending acknowledges mortality without suggesting that ordinary lives are meaningless.
4 What does the opening blessing help us see alongside the repeated deaths?
AnswerGod made and blessed human life, and new generations continue to be born. Death is real, but it has not ended the passing on of life.
What This Means for Us
Your family does not have to be famous to matter. God sees the people whose names never appear in a history book, and he works through ordinary faithfulness passed from one generation to another. Receive life as a gift, grieve its limits honestly, and consider what trust, kindness, and wisdom you are handing to those who come after you.
Prayer
Faithful God, thank you for the generations who carried life and faith before us. Help us honor the people whose names we know and remember those whose stories are quiet. Give us grace to live faithfully in our own time and to pass wisdom and love to the next generation. Amen.