NOTES for Gen 5:1-32 — January 6, 2022

NOTES for Gen 5:1-32

This genealogy of the forefathers from the creation of the world to the flood should be regarded as symbolic, in other words, as a kind of theological scheme. For each of the ten forefathers, except Enoch and Noah, the following are given: the name, the age at the birth of the eldest son, and the number of years that passed from that birth until the forefather's death. The purpose of compiling the genealogy was evidently to show that humanity is a family of beings related by blood. For the ancient world this idea was new. The Egyptians, for example, considered foreigners to be creations of an evil spirit. The long life of the forefathers testifies that God's blessing still rests on them to some degree. As some of the Holy Fathers believe, longevity helped preserve religious tradition better. Later, because of the growth of sinfulness, the span of human life is shortened.