The Gospel in the Genealogy of Noah
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Adam means "Man" Adam's son, was named Seth, which means "appointed." Eve said, "For God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew." (Gen. 4:25) Seth's son was named 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. Enosh's son was named Kenan, which can mean "sorrow," or "wandering nomad." (The precise denotation is somewhat elusive; some study aids even assume that Kenan is synonymous with "Cainan.") Balaam, looking down from the heights of Moab, puns upon the name of the Kenites when he prophesizes their destruction. (Numbers 24:21, 23) Kenan's son was Mahalalel, which means "The Blessed God." (Often Hebrew names include El, one of the names of God, as Dan-iel, "God is my Judge," etc.) Mahalalel's son was named Jared, from a verb yaradh, meaning "shall come down." (Some authorities also tie this to the "Sons of God" corrupting the daughters of men, resulting in the Nephilim of Genesis 6.) Jared's son was named Enoch, which means "teaching." He was the first of four generations of preachers. In fact, the earliest recorded prophecy was by Enoch, and which, amazingly enough, dealt with the Second Coming of Christ (although it is quoted in Jude 15, 15 in the New Testament). Methuselah comes from Muth, a root that means "death"; and from shalak, which means "to bring." The name Methuselah means "his death shall bring." (See Pink, Arthur W., Gleanings in Geneses, Moody Bible Institute, Chicago IL, 1922) Methuselah's father was given a prophecy of the coming Great Flood, and was apparently told that as long as his son was alive, the judgement of the flood would be withheld. The year that Methuselah died, the flood came. Methuselah's son was named Lamech, which means "desparing." This same root also seems to lie behind our English word, lamentation. Lamech, of course, was the father of Noah, which is linked with nacham, "to bring relief" of "comfort." This is highlighted in Genesis 5:29.
"Man (is) appointed mortal; sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest." Here is the "gospel" hidden within a genealogy in Genesis! |
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