Genesis 5:1

Genesis 5:1 . The book of the generations of Adam — That is, a list or catalogue of his posterity, not of all, but only of the holy seed, from whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came; of the names, ages, and deaths of those that were the successors of the first Adam in preserving the promise, and the ancestors of the second, at whose coming the promise was accomplished.

V.PATRIARCHAL GENEALOGY FROM ADAM TO NOAH.(1) This is the book of the generations of Adam.—See on Genesis 2:4, and Excursus on the Books of Generations.In the likeness of God.—Man is now a fallen being, but these words are repeated to show that the Divine likeness was not therefore lost, nor the primæval blessing bestowed at his creation revoked. As man’s likeness to God does not mainly consist in moral innocence (see on Genesis 1:26), it was not affected by the entrance into the world of sin, except so far as sin corrupted the vessel in which this great gift was deposited. (Comp. 2Corinthians 4:7.)Benson CommentaryGenesis 5:1. The book of the generations of Adam — That is, a list or catalogue of his posterity, not of all, but only of the holy seed, from whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came; of the names, ages, and deaths of those that were the successors of the first Adam in preserving the promise, and the ancestors of the second, at whose coming the promise was accomplished.Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary5:1-5 Adam was made in the image of God; but when fallen he begat a son in his own image, sinful and defiled, frail, wretched, and mortal, like himself. Not only a man like himself, consisting of body and soul, but a sinner like himself. This was the reverse of that Divine likeness in which Adam was made; having lost it, he could not convey it to his seed.

Adam lived, in all, 930 years; and then died, according to the sentence passed upon him, To dust thou shalt return. Though he did not die in the day he ate forbidden fruit, yet in that very day he became mortal. Then he began to die; his whole life after was but a reprieve, a forfeited, condemned life; it was a wasting, dying life. Man's life is but dying by degrees.Barnes' Notes on the Bible - Section V - The Line to Noah - The Line of Sheth1. ספר sepher "writing, a writing, a book."9. קינן qēynān, Qenan, "possessor, or spearsman."12. <מהללאל mahelal'ēl, Mahalalel, "praise of 'El."15. ירד yerĕd, Jered, "going down."21. מתוּשׁלה metûshālach, Methushelach, "man of the missile."29. נה noach, Noach, "rest," נחם nācham "sigh; repent; pity; comfort oneself; be revenged."32. שׁם shēm, Shem, "name, fame; related: be high." חם chām Cham, "hot." יפת yāpet, Japheth, "spreading; related: spread out."We now enter upon the third of the larger documents contained in Genesis. The first is a diary, the second is a history, the third a genealogy. The first employs the name אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym exclusively; the second uses אלהים יהוה yehovâh'ĕlohı̂ym in the second and third chapters, and יהוה yehovâh usually in the fourth; the third has אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym in the first part, and יהוה yehovâh in the second part.

1 . This is the book , &c.] The word rendered “book” (Heb. sêpher ) is used of any written document. Our word “book” gives rather too much the meaning of a piece of literature. The word is often used in a much more general sense, e.g. Isaiah 50:1 , “where is the bill (Heb. sêpher ) of your mother’s divorcement?” Jeremiah 32:10 , “and I subscribed the deed (Heb. sêpher ), and sealed it”; 2 Samuel 11:14 , “David wrote a letter (Heb. sêpher ) to Joab.” Here it is equivalent to “a written list.” the generations ] See note on Genesis 2:4 , “The generations of Adam,” i.e. the genealogy from Adam to Noah. LXX γενέσεως , Vulg. “generationis,” regarded the Hebrew word as singular. Adam ] The proper name, Adam , not ha-adam = “the man” or “mankind.” God created man ] The words “God” ( Elohim ), “created” ( bara ), “in the likeness,” reproduce the distinctive language of Genesis 1:26-28 .

CHAPTER 5 Ge 5:1-32. Genealogy of the Patriarchs. 1. book of the generations—(See Ge 11:4). Adam—used here either as the name of the first man, or of the human race generally.4004 The manner of man’s creation repeated, Genesis 5:1-2. The genealogy, age, and death of the fathers from Adam to Noah, in the line of Seth. Seth begotten of Adam after his image, Genesis 5:3. The piety and translation of Enoch, Genesis 5:24. Lamech’s prophecy of his son Noah, Genesis 5:29. Sons born to Noah, Genesis 5:32. This is the book, i.e. the list or catalogue, as this word is taken, Nehemiah 7:5 Matthew 1:1, as it is also put for any short writing, as for a bill of divorce, as Deu 24:1-2. The generations of Adam, i.e. his posterity begotten by him; the word being passively used. But he doth not here give a complete list of all Adam’s children, but only of his godly seed, which preserved true religion and the worship of God from Adam to the Flood, and from whose loins Christ came, Luke 3:1-38. God created man. This is here repeated to note the different way of the production of Adam, and of his posterity; his was by creation from God, theirs by generation from their parents. See Genesis 1:26.

Verses 1, 2. - This is the book . Sepher , a register, a complete writing of any kind, a book, whether consisting of a pair of leaves or of only a single leaf ( Deuteronomy 24:1, 3 ; "a bill of divorcement;" LXX., βίβλος ; cf. Matthew 1:1 ; Luke 3:36, 38 ). The expression presupposes the invention of the art of writing. If, therefore, we may conjecture that the original compiler of this ancient document was Noah, than whom no one would be more likely or better qualified than he to preserve some memorial of the lost race of which he and his family were the sole survivors, it affords an additional corroboration of the intelligence and culture of the antediluvian men. It is too frequently taken for granted that the people who could build cities, invent musical instruments, and make songs were unacquainted with the art of writing; and though certainly we cannot affirm that the transmission of such a family register as is here recorded was beyond the capabilities of oral tradition, it is obvious that its preservation would be much more readily secured by some kind of documentary notation. Of the generations - i.e. evolutions ( tol'doth ; cf. Genesis 2:4 ) - of Adam . In the preceding section the tol'doth of the heavens and the earth were exhibited, and accordingly the narrative commenced with the creative labors of the third day.

Here the historian designs to trace the fortunes of the holy seed, and finds the point of his departure in the day that God (Elohim) created man (Adam), i.e. the sixth of the creative days. More particularly he calls attention to the great truths which had been previously included in his teaching concerning man; viz ., the dignity of his nature, implied in the fact that in the likeness of Elohim made he him; his sexual distinction - male and female created he them ; their Divine benediction - and blessed them (cf. Genesis 1:27, 28 ); at the same time adding a fourth circumstance, which in the first document was not narrated, that their Maker gave to them a suitable and specific appellation - and called their name Adam ( vide Genesis 1:26 ), in the day when they were created. Genesis 5:1