3.1.5 Gen. 5: Genealogy from Adam to Noah

This genealogy twdlwt (toledoth) is attributed to the priestly writing P  and could have been the beginning of a whole book of genealogies.  Fragments of it will still meet us in the further reading of Genesis. 

Lifetime of fathers: 

from Adam to Noah           700- 1000 years 

from Noah to Abraham    200-600 

Patriarchs                            100-200 

Present                                 70-80 

The high ages are unusual and have been variously explained: 

• they could be meant as exact numbers and point to the greater life  energy of the beginning, which was closer to God 
• they could have a lost symbolic meaning that is no longer recognizable  to us today (see below on Gen. 6, 3) 
• they could be related in particular to the dimensions of the tabernacle  or the temple building 

Enoch (No.7) and Noah (No.10) are particularly highlighted. 

Extraordinary is the remark about Enoch’s “walk with God” (5, 22) and his  rapture to him. Both will play a major role later in the apocalyptic.