Genesis 4: 16- 24
Genesis 5: 1 - 32
A Message In Names
16 Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. 17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech. 19 Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 20 And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute. 22 And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.23 Then Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, even a young man for hurting me. 24 if Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
1 This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. 3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. 4 After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. 5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died. 6 Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot Enosh. 7 After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters. 8 So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died. 9 Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan. 10 After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters. 11 So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died. 12 Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel. 13 After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters. 14 So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died. 15 Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared. 16 After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters. 17 So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died. 18 Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. 19 After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 20 So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died. 21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. 25 Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. 26 After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. 27 So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died. 28 Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. 29 And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.” 30 After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters. 31 So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died. 32 And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Have you ever wondered why our Holy God made a list of the names of different people? You might think that our Holy God recorded the names of those godly and evil individuals for us to remember. I mean we do take this to heart. How many couples name their son’s Lucifer or Judas? How many daughters are named Jezebel? We do see throughout our country the use of apostle and Godly saints used to name children. My question though is what about the other people who just pop in the bible without much information. Why are their names recorded? To my amazement I found that our Amazing Holy Creator placed a message for all who would go gold mine exploring. We find in today’s scripture two such messages.
I want to first cover chapter 5. It describes the lineage of Adam through Seth. While in chapter 4 we see the lineage from Adam through Cain. To make it easy for our understanding Seth’s line describes hope and redemption for mankind, while Cain’s line show the downward spiral of man attempting to live on earth without God.
Adam
The first name, Adam, comes from adomah, and means "man." As the first man, that seems straightforward enough.
Seth
Adam's son was named Seth, which means "appointed." When he was born Eve said, "For God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew."
Enosh
Seth's son was called Enosh, which means "mortal," "frail," or "miserable." It is from the root anash: to be incurable; used of a wound, grief, woe, sickness, or wickedness. (It was in the days of Enosh that men began to defile the name of the Living God.1 )
Kenan
Enosh's son was named Kenan, from which can mean "sorrow," dirge," or "elegy." (The precise denotation is somewhat elusive; some study aids unfortunately presume an Aramaic root synonymous with "Cainan.") Balaam, looking down from the heights of Moab, employed a pun upon the name of the Kenites when he prophesied their destruction.2
Mahalalel
Kenan's son was Mahalalel, from mahalal, which means "blessed" or "praise"; and El, the name for God. Thus, Mahalalel means "the Blessed God." Often Hebrew names included El, the name of God, as Dani-el, "God is my Judge," Nathani-el, "Gift of God," etc.
Jared
Mahalalel's son was named Jared, from the verb yaradh, meaning "shall come down." Some authorities suggest that this might have been an allusion to the "Sons of God" who "came down" to corrupt the daughters of men, resulting in the Nephilim ("Fallen Ones") of Genesis 6.3
Enoch
Jared's son was named Enoch, which means "teaching," or "commencement." He was the first of four generations of preachers. In fact, the earliest recorded prophecy was by Enoch, which amazingly enough deals with the Second Coming of Christ.4
Methuselah
The Flood of Noah did not come as a surprise. It had been preached on for four generations. But something strange happened when Enoch was 65, from which time "he walked with God." Enoch was given a prophecy that as long as his son was alive, the judgment of the flood would be withheld; but as soon as he died, the flood would be sent forth.
Enoch named his son to reflect this prophecy. The name Methuselah comes from two roots: muth, a root that means "death"5 ; and from shalach, which means "to bring," or "to send forth." Thus, the name Methuselah signifies, "his death shall bring."6 And, indeed, in the year that Methuselah died, the flood came. Methuselah was 187 when he had Lamech, and lived 782 years more. Lamech had Noah when he was 182.7 The Flood came in Noah's 600th year.8 187 + 182 + 600 = 969, Methuselah's age when he died.9
It is interesting that Methuselah's life was, in effect, a symbol of God's mercy in forestalling the coming judgment of the flood. It is therefore fitting that his lifetime is the oldest in the Bible, symbolizing the extreme extensiveness of God's mercy.
Lamech
Methuselah's son was named Lamech, a root still evident today in our own English word, "lament" or "lamentation." Lamech suggests "despairing."
Noah
Lamech, of course, is the father of Noah, which is derived from nacham , "to bring relief" or "comfort," as Lamech himself explains. 11
The Composite List
Now let's see this list in order:
Hebrew English
Adam Man
Seth Appointed
Enosh Mortal
Kenan Sorrows
Mahalelel The Blessed God
Jared Shall come down
Enoch Teaching
Methuselah His death shall bring
Lamech Despairing
Noah - Rest or comfort
So when we put this all together we get, ‘Man [is] appointed mortal sorrow – The Blessed God shall come down teaching [that] His death shall bring the despairing rest.’
Here is a summary of God's plan of redemption, hidden here within a genealogy in Genesis! You will never convince me that a group of Jewish rabbis deliberately "contrived" to hide the "Christian Gospel" right here in a genealogy within their venerated Torah!
The implications of this discovery are far more deeply significant than may be evident at first glance. It demonstrates that in the earliest chapters of the Book of Genesis, God had already laid out His plan of redemption for the predicament of mankind. It is the beginning of a love story, ultimately written in blood on a wooden cross which was erected in Judea almost 2,000 years ago.
This is also one of many evidences that the Bible is an integrated message system, the product of supernatural engineering. This punctures the presumptions of many who view the Bible as a record of an evolving cultural tradition, noble though it may be. It claims to be authored by the One who alone knows the end from the beginning,12 despite the fact that it is composed of 66 separate books, penned by some 40 authors, spanning several thousand years.13
So, now I hope you are excited what message does chapter 4 reveal?
Adam – means man
1. Cain means spear" or acquirer, or get
2. Enoch. meaning “dedication” or “commencement,” probably signifying the beginning of a new manner of life.
3. Irad means citizen; Townsman, citizen,
4. Mehujael, smitten of God
5. Methusael, man of the sword or of increase.
6. Lamech, meaning despair The similarity of some of the names to those in the Sethitic line, as well as their religious “-el” endings, probably indicates that the two families kept in touch with each other and that the Cainitic line continued to believe in God as long as Adam remained alive to exercise some degree of patriarchal leadership.
In the bible as you know numbers reveal some significant points. For example, the number 7 means ‘Perfection’. The number 6 by the way refers to ‘mankind’. No matter how hard a human will try he or she will never be able to obtain – ‘7’ or ‘perfection’. Here in the downward spiral starting from the Adam the six generation leads to Lamech who as we see in verse 19 has totally rebelled against the Creator.
4:19 two wives. Lamech is the first recorded rebel against the divine command of monogamous marriage. It is probable that Adam died during Lamech’s time (by comparison with the chronological data in the Sethitic line) and the Cainites thenceforth became more openly rebellious against God.
Jabal” seems to mean “wanderer,” “
Jubal” means ‘bring along’
“Tubal-cain” is associated etymologically with the Roman God Vulcan =the "higher man or exalted .
So let us list the names and see what is spelled out!
Adam - Mankind
Cain = Acquired or received
Enoch.= meaning “beginning or start.
Irad means earthly citizen; Townsman
Mehujael, smitten of God
Methusael, man of the sword or of increase.
Lamech, meaning “despairing or laments”
Jabal” means “wanderer,” “
Jubal” means ‘bring along’ or bring around
“Tubal-cain” is associated etymologically with the Roman God Vulcan =the "higher or exalted. the elevation of a person (as to the status of a god)
*Mankind receives [the] beginning [of his earthly citizenship [are] smitten of God. While increasing]in the earth] he laments & wanders [to] bring around his exaltation.’
