Posted on 12/18/2008 9:00:30 AM PST by chevydude26
Q & A: Where did you find the meanings of the names in Genesis 5?
The background behind the genealogy in Genesis 5 is one of our most frequently asked questions.
Since the ten Hebrew names are proper names, they are not translated but only transliterated to approximate the way they were pronounced. The meaning of proper names can be a difficult pursuit since direct translations are not readily available. Many study aids, such as conventional lexicons, can prove superficial when dealing with proper names. Even a conventional Hebrew lexicon can prove disappointing. A study of the original roots, however, can yield some fascinating insights. (It should be recognized, however, that the views concerning the meaning and significance of the original roots are not free of controversy and are subject to variant readings. This is why we receive so many questions or comments on variations.)
Adam
The first name, Adam, comes from adomah, and means "man." As the first man, that seems straightforward enough.
Seth
Adam's son was named Seth, which means "appointed." When he was born Eve said, "For God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew."
Enosh
Seth's son was called 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. (It was in the days of Enosh that men began to defile the name of the Living God.1 )
Kenan
Enosh's son was named Kenan, from which can mean "sorrow," dirge," or "elegy." (The precise denotation is somewhat elusive; some study aids unfortunately presume an Aramaic root synonymous with "Cainan.") Balaam, looking down from the heights of Moab, employed a pun upon the name of the Kenites when he prophesied their destruction.2
Mahalalel
Kenan's son was Mahalalel, from mahalal, which means "blessed" or "praise"; and El, the name for God. Thus, Mahalalel means "the Blessed God." Often Hebrew names included El, the name of God, as Dani-el, "God is my Judge," Nathani-el, "Gift of God," etc.
Jared
Mahalalel's son was named Jared, from the verb yaradh, meaning "shall come down." Some authorities suggest that this might have been an allusion to the "Sons of God" who "came down" to corrupt the daughters of men, resulting in the Nephilim ("Fallen Ones") of Genesis 6.3
Enoch
Jared's son was named Enoch, which means "teaching," or "commencement." He was the first of four generations of preachers. In fact, the earliest recorded prophecy was by Enoch, which amazingly enough deals with the Second Coming of Christ.4
Methuselah
The Flood of Noah did not come as a surprise. It had been preached on for four generations. But something strange happened when Enoch was 65, from which time "he walked with God." Enoch was given a prophecy that as long as his son was alive, the judgment of the flood would be withheld; but as soon as he died, the flood would be sent forth.
Enoch named his son to reflect this prophecy. The name Methuselah comes from two roots: muth, a root that means "death"5 ; and from shalach, which means "to bring," or "to send forth." Thus, the name Methuselah signifies, "his death shall bring."6
And, indeed, in the year that Methuselah died, the flood came. Methuselah was 187 when he had Lamech, and lived 782 years more. Lamech had Noah when he was 182.7 The Flood came in Noah's 600th year.8 187 + 182 + 600 = 969, Methuselah's age when he died.9
It is interesting that Methuselah's life was, in effect, a symbol of God's mercy in forestalling the coming judgment of the flood. It is therefore fitting that his lifetime is the oldest in the Bible, symbolizing the extreme extensiveness of God's mercy.
Lamech
Methuselah's son was named Lamech, a root still evident today in our own English word, "lament" or "lamentation." Lamech suggests "despairing." (This name is also linked to the Lamech in Cain's line who inadvertently killed his son Tubal-Cain in a hunting incident. 10 )
Noah
Lamech, of course, is the father of Noah, which is derived from nacham , "to bring relief" or "comfort," as Lamech himself explains. 11
The Composite List
Now let's put it all together:
Hebrew
English
Adam Man Seth Appointed Enosh Mortal Kenan Sorrow Mahalalel The Blessed God Jared
Shall come down Enoch Teaching Methuselah His death shall bring Lamech The despairing Noah Rest, or comfort
Here is a summary of God's plan of redemption, hidden here within a genealogy in Genesis! You will never convince me that a group of Jewish rabbis deliberately "contrived" to hide the "Christian Gospel" right here in a genealogy within their venerated Torah!
Evidences of Design
The implications of this discovery are far more deeply significant than may be evident at first glance. It demonstrates that in the earliest chapters of the Book of Genesis, God had already laid out His plan of redemption for the predicament of mankind. It is the beginning of a love story, ultimately written in blood on a wooden cross which was erected in Judea almost 2,000 years ago.
This is also one of many evidences that the Bible is an integrated message system, the product of supernatural engineering. This punctures the presumptions of many who view the Bible as a record of an evolving cultural tradition, noble though it may be. It claims to be authored by the One who alone knows the end from the beginning,12 despite the fact that it is composed of 66 separate books, penned by some 40 authors, spanning several thousand years.13
very interesting indeed...
I like Chuck Missler.
Merry Christmas!
The whole thing fascinated me. I was flipping through channels and the title of his presentation with the aliens and the bible got me to flip to the God channel
his findings are amazing and your absolutely right
Never been a fan of Bible Codes or similar ideas but this is very interesting. I wonder how the names could be interpreted to NOT say what is said here. It doesn’t seem as though they could be.
I like Chuck Missler.
Listening to Missler (I catch his podcast occasionally, have heard other stuff), and others like him, is the motivation behind my current tagline: "Dispensational exegesis not supported by an a-, post- or historic pre-mil scholar will be ignored."
In other words, sometimes interesting, often just whacky.
Excellent Study! Thank you!
Many year ago one of our senior elders reminded us: “You can never exaust the Word of God.” Every word is profitable, especially when you study it one word at a time: For example, the word FAITH, or GRACE, or REDEMPTION,
or HIMSELF, even SIN, and even the little word ALL.
WOW! you and I will not live long enough to scratch the surface, and I’m nearly 75 (and have been studying for 45 years).
Chuck is also into Bible codes, Equidistand Letter Sequences, and other human contrivances to "prove" the Bible’s "supernatural engineering".
The gospel is so plain on the pages of the Bible that such contrivances are not necessary. Neither Jesus nor His apostles resorted to this alleged name scheme in Genesis 5 to prove His Messiahship. Stephen does not mention it in Acts 6&7.
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. (1 Cor. 15)
hidden here within a genealogy in Genesis
There is no Christian Kabbalah. If some other group came along and used the same technique to show something at odds with Missler theology, they would no doubt be accused of spiritualizing or allegorizing the Bible.
bump for later...
Yes, I’ve heard that before (from Missler) and it’s very interesting....
I came across this issue addressed by Missler a couple of years ago and thought it was really astounding. I really wish I could locate a separate resource that confirms the root meaning of each name, rather than just taking Missler’s word for it. Not that I mistrust him, I’d just like independent confirmation of the root Hebrew meaning of each name.
Look at the Holy Word of G-d as literal and as metaphors !
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach Adonai
bump for later read
Are you talking to me? That's what I have consistently said. The hard work involves knowing which is which.
Bible codes, etc are not metaphors.
God created a man... and his name was..... man.
Later God talked to an honored father... and his name was...honored father.
He told this honored father that he would be the ‘father of many nations’ and so he changed his name to ‘father of many nations’.
Not that I mistrust him, (Missler)
Why not? I do.
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