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Generations of Adam
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The generations of Adam are the two lines of descent from Adam, both ending in the name Lamech, which are
given in Genesis. Lamech, the descendant of Cain, is at the end of one line, and the Lamech at the end of the other
is described as the father of Noah.

Contents
1 The lines
2 The names and ages
2.1 Interpretations
3 Comparison between the lines
4 Comparison with the Sumerian king
list

[edit] The lines

One line goes from Adam's son Cain, and the other goes via a son of Adam named Seth. The lines are:

Cain

Enoch
Irad
Mehujael
Methusael
Lamech

Seth

Enos
Cainan
Mehalaleel
Jared
Enoch
Methuselah
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Lamech
Noah

From Adam to Noah Adam - Seth - Enosh - Kenan - Mahalalel - Jared - Enoch - Methuselah - Lamech - Noah

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[edit] The names and ages

The names, as they appear in the Masoretic text, are traditionally given certain translations:

Name Traditional translation

Cain Metal-Worker
Cainan Metal-Worker
Enoch Initiated/Disciplined
Enos Mortal/Sick
Irad Wild ass/dragon
Jared Ruler
Lamech Pauper
Mehalaleel Praise of god
Mehujael Smitten by god
Methusael Champion of god
Methuselah Man of the javelin
Seth Substitute

The Sethite line also gives ages, and dates of birth. These are given, in the ancient manner of dating, in terms of the
age of their predecessor. From these details, a rough chronology can be constructed, taking the birth of Adam as
year 1. The Masoretic text varies in this from the Septuagint, which mostly presents the same age at death, but as
having been born 100 years later into their parent's life, except for Enoch, who is unchanged in this matter, and for
Lamech, who dies 24 years younger, and whose father is presented as being 20 years younger when Lamech was
born:

Masoretic text Septuagint

Name Year of birth Year of Death Age of Death Year of birth Year of Death Age of Death
Adam 1 (by definition) 930 930 1 (by definition) 930 930
Seth 130 1042 912 230 1142 912
Enos 235 1140 905 435 1340 905
Cainan 325 1235 910 625 1535 910
Mahalaleel 395 1290 895 795 1690 895

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Jared 460 1422 962 960 1922 962

Enoch 622 987 365 1122 1487 365
Methuselah 687 1656 969 1287 2256 969
Lamech 874 1651 777 1454 2207 753

The second century BC Book of Jubilees, regarded as non-canonical except by Coptic Christianity, additionally
gives wives for the Sethite line:

Husband Wife
Seth Azura
Enos Noam
Cainan Mualaleth
Mahalaleel Dinah
Jared Baraka
Enoch Edna
Methuselah Edna
Lamech Betenos

[edit] Interpretations

Aside from Cain, and Lamech, his descendant, two other names in the lists are traditionally given significance.
Firstly, Methuselah has the oldest age appearing in the bible, and so the name of Methuselah has become a general
reference to longevity. Most traditional translations interpret the name as man of the dart or man of the javelin;
however, some critical scholars have proposed it should simply be read as man of Selah, since Selah is the title of
the Mesopotamian moon god Sin (also known as Nanna). The question of the correct interpretation of his name is
further complicated, as the Septuagint renders Methuselah and Methusael with exactly the same name, the latter
meaning champion of God, and by the fact that Methuselah is a very northern (Kingdom of Israel), or Babylonian,
style name for an otherwise southern (kingdom of Judah) set of names. The age given in the Septuagint for
Methusaleh implies that he must have survived the Great Flood, despite not being on Noah's ark.

The enigmatic description given to Enoch in one of the lines, that he ...walked with God, and was not, has led to
the extensive esoteric mythology surrounding him, particularly dating from the 2nd century BC, such as the Book
of Enoch, which is canonical in Coptic Christianity. The age of Enoch that is given in the Masoretic text, 365
years, is noticeably similar to the number of days in the solar year, and so some critical scholars have suggested
Enoch originally represented the deified sun.

Other interpretations of the names of the Sethite line from the traditional English renderings may better convey the
words meaning from their etymological derivations.

Name Etymological translation

Adam Man - human, seems to relate to blood
Seth Appointed - Gen 4:25, from the Hebrew "shiyth"
Enos Mortal/Sick - from "anash" meaning "sick", "frail" or "wicked"

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Qenan Habitation/Possession/Lot - from a primitive root "qen" originally referring to birds nests
Mehalaleel Glorious God - from a primitive root for "shining forth" and the word for "God"
Will Descend (tense uncertain, but difficult to render accurately in English without implying one) -
Jared
from a primitive verb meaning "to come down" or "prostrate"
Enoch Discipling - from a primitive root meaning "to train up"
His Death Shall Bring - This translation disagrees with the traditional in taking the first root from
"mûth"="death" rather than "m@th"="man" neither is definitive since vowels are implied in
Methuselah
ancient Hebrew, "shelach" comes from a root meaning "to send forth" which came to refer to
ballistic weapons in later Hebrew but more basically referred to any sending forth
Captive - this word is difficult to translate, rabbinic literature indicates origin as being the opposite
Lamech
of "Melech" meaning 'king'
Noah Comfort - from a primitive root meaning "to rest"

[edit] Comparison between the lines

Taking the septuagint rendering of Methusael and Methuselah, and taking the Cainite line back two generations to
make up the same numbers as the Sethite line, the following comparison is reached:

Sethite line Cainite line

Seth Yahweh
Enos (mortal) Adam (mankind)
Cainan Cain
Mehalaleel Enoch
Jared Irad
Enoch Mehujael
Methuselah Methuselah (Septuagint)
Lamech Lamech

The similarity seen in the lines has been noted since ancient times. Traditionally, this is explained by intermarriage
between the lines, such as by the daughter of the Cainite Lamech marrying Methuselah, and naming her child after
her father. The names of the Sethite line are traditionally interpreted as being more positive than those of the
Cainite line, reflecting a negative attitude towards Cain, for example Jared being ruler compared with Irad being
dragon, and Mehalaleel being praise of God compared to Mehujael being smitten by God.

In modern critical scholarship, it is explained more simply as the lines being copies of one another, the Cainite line
being ascribed to the Yahwist, and the Sethite line being ascribed to the Book of Generations, the only differences
being corruption of a few names, and the reversal of the position of Enoch and Mehujael/Mehalaleel. A moderate
proportion of critical scholars also believe that the Sethite line was inserted into the torah in such a way as to
deliberately attempt to distance Noah, traditionally seen as a hero, from Cain, traditionally seen as a villain, and
consequently separating Lamech into two different people.

Some biblical critics have drawn the conclusion that, since Seth appears in the same place that Yahweh takes in the
Cainite line, Seth must originally have been a god, with the biblical etymology given for his name (substitute)
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being a later folk etymology. Taking into account the Sumerian king list, the a prominent candidate is identifying
the name Seth as a transliteration of Shitti (more obvious in the Hebrew alphabet), which was an epithet of Marduk,
the Babylonian chief deity (c.f. the Elamite prince Shitti-Marduk who fought with Nebuchadrezzar).

[edit] Comparison with the Sumerian king list

While, in the story of Cain and Abel, Cain is presented as being forever condemned to being a nomad, in the
Cainite line, he is described as being a city builder. This has led biblical critics to suggest the two accounts of Cain
derive from different sources, and even though the documentary hypothesis still places them both as the Jahwist
source, it is nevertheless believed that the Jahwist inserted the list into his work from another source.

Upon the discovery of the antediluvian portion of the Sumerian king list, its striking similarities with the Sethite
line have been noted by critical scholarship. Several surviving inscriptions of this list predate the biblical text by at
least a millennium. On the Sumerian king list, identical to the biblical manner, the kings have significantly larger
reigns before the deluge than after it, roughly by a factor of 20. The Sumerian list in fact measures the reigns of the
kings in sars, units of 3,600 years (the Sumerians primarily used base 60, so this is merely the next unit up -
60x60).

There are several different copies of the list, each mostly listing the same antediluvian kings, in the same order, but
with differing amounts of sars for their reigns. Over time the names became more corrupted, resembling the
originals only vaguely by the time of Berossus' 3rd Century BC copy of the list. The significant feature of the list,
as far as the biblical Sethite genealogy goes, is in the translation of the names and attributes of the kings it lists:

Berossus' Ancient
Interpretation during the late Original interpretation (where
version of Sumerian
second millennium BC varying)
the name name
First ruler, appointed by the chief
God, and counseled by Adapa, who
Aloros Alulim had knowledge of good and evil, but
was thrown out of heaven for trying
to attain immortality
Very little is known about Alalgar, not
Alaparos Alalgar
even the meaning of his name
Folk etymology regarded the name as
Amelon Enmenluana This may be an accurate translation
Amelu, meaning Man
Folk etymology regarded the name as Actually a corruption, and repetition, of
Ammenon Enmenana
Ummannu, meaning Workman Enmenluana
Megalaros Enmengalana Translates as heaven is exalted
Another name for Tammuz, the
Sumerian god of nature, supposed to be
Daonos Dumuzi a shepherd, and, by the late second
millennium BC, seen as an annually
dying and resurrecting ruler
Folk etymology regarded the name as
The folk etymology was only possible
Amempsinos Ensipadzidana Amelu-Sin, meaning Man of Sin, the
after the name became corrupted
deity
Euedorachos Enmendurana A mythological hero, who associated
with the god utu, and was summoned
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to the heavens by the gods Shamash

and Adad, in order to learn its
secrets.
Otiartes Ubaru-Tutu A mythological priest of Marduk See below
Actually a repetition of Ubaru-Tutu,
Xisouthros Ziusudra King during the deluge
just a different epithet

Many of the connections are readily apparent, but two require non-traditional etymologies for the two
corresponding Sethite names. The first is Methuselah, which as mentioned before can be interpreted as Man of
Selah, a reference to the moon god, Sin. The second is Lamech, which linguists who specialise in ancient
Akkadian, have proposed is derived from the Akkadian Lamaga, meaning priest. This would accord with the
greater likelihood of association with the Akkadian version of the king list, which mostly used 10 names, than an
association with the original Sumerian list of 8. The correspondence then appearing are:

Relative
Relative
position
position in Sumerian Correspondence during the late second millennium
Sethite in
Sumerian King BC
Sethite
list
list
First ruler, appointed by God, spoken to by a person
1 Alulim who had knowledge of good and evil, and who was Adam 1
thrown out of heaven before obtaining immortality
not enough information is known about Alalgar to make
2 Alalgar
an association
3 Enmenluana Name means Man Enos 3
Folk etymology regarded the name as meaning some
4 Enmenana Cainan 4
kind of Workman
5 Enmengalana Name is praise of God Mahalaleel 5
6 Dumuzi Especially named as a ruler Jared 6
Associated himself with (a) god, and was taken to
7/8 Enmendurana Enoch 7
heaven by the god(s)
Folk etymology regarded the name as a reference to Sin,
8/7 Ensipadzidana Methuselah 8
the moon god
9 Ubaru-Tutu Especially named as a priest Lamech 9
10 Ziusudra Hero during the deluge Noah 10

As the Sumerian king list has several correspondences with the Sethite line, even featuring the matching names in
the same order, it is possible to tentatively associate the missing connection to Alalgar with Seth, the only missing
name, though the interpretation of such an association would currently be a mystery. The alternative order between
of Enmendurana and Ensipadzidana, present in some versions of the Sumerian king list, also accords with the order
of the Cainite line, though the mystery surrounding Alalgar is unhelpful in explaining how the Cainite line can
correspond to the first two positions of the Sumerian list.he:‫מחויאל‬

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