Genealogies of Genesis

The genealogies of Genesis provide the framework around which the Book of Genesis is structured.^[1] Beginning with Adam, genealogical material in Genesis 4, 5, 10, 11, 22, 25, 29–30, 35–36, and 46 moves the narrative forward from the creation to the beginnings of the Israelites' existence as a people.^{[citation needed]}

Adam's lineage in Genesis contains two branches: Chapter 4 giving the descendants of Cain, and Chapter 5 that for Seth that is then continued in later chapters. Chapter 10 gives the Generations of Noah (also called the Table of Nations) that records the populating of the Earth by Noah's descendants, and is not strictly a genealogy but an ethnography.^{[citation needed]}

Genesis 5 and Genesis 11 include the age at which each patriarch had the progeny named as well as the number of years he lived thereafter. Many of the ages given in the text are long, but could have been considered modest in comparison to the ages given in other works (for instance, the Sumerian King List).^[2]

The ages include patterns surrounding the numbers five and seven, for instance the 365 year life of Enoch (the same as the number of full calendar days in a solar year) and the 777 year life of Lamech (repetitional emphasis of the number seven).^[3] Overall, the ages display clear mathematical patterns, leading some people to conclude that number symbolism was used to construct them.^[4] Nevertheless, since Genesis 5 and 11 provide the age of each patriarch at the birth of his named descendant, it also appears to present a gapless chronology from Adam to Abraham, even if the named descendant is not always a first-generation son.^[5]

^ Craig A. Evans; Joel N. Lohr; David L. Petersen (2012). The Book of Genesis: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation. BRILL. p. 281. ISBN 978-90-04-22657-9.
^ Cassuto, Umberto (1972). A Commentary on the Book of Genesis Part I From Adam to Noah. Translated by Israel Abrahams. Jerusalem: Magnes Press. p. 264. ISBN 978-965-223-480-3. Although the ages in our section may appear high compared with the normal human life-span, yet if we bear in mind the notions prevailing in the environment in which the Torah was written, and the impression that the reading of this section must have left on its ancient readers, they will seem, on the contrary, low and modest.
^ Cassuto, Umberto (1972). A Commentary on the Book of Genesis Part I From Adam to Noah. Translated by Israel Abrahams. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press. pp. 261–262. ISBN 978-965-223-480-3. {...}the numbers five and seven are specially stressed in the text, in a way calculated to attract the reader's attention.{...}In the enumeration of Lamech's years-seven and seventy years, and seven hundred years (v.31)- the emphasis given to the number seven is even more manifest.{...} Possibly the number 365 in v.23 is intended by Scripture to provide us with the key to the understanding of our subject, as though to say: Pray do not forget that every year has 365 days.
^ Johnson, Richard (2004). "Patriarchal Ages in Genesis" (PDF). Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith. 56: 152–153.
^ Sexton, Jeremy (2015). "Who Was Born When Enosh Was 90? A Semantic Reevaluation of William Henry Green's Chronological Gaps". Westminster Theological Journal. 77: 193–218. Archived from the original on 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2016-03-26.

[EvansLohr2012-1] Craig A. Evans; Joel N. Lohr; David L. Petersen (2012). The Book of Genesis: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation. BRILL. p. 281. ISBN 978-90-04-22657-9.

[2] Cassuto, Umberto (1972). A Commentary on the Book of Genesis Part I From Adam to Noah. Translated by Israel Abrahams. Jerusalem: Magnes Press. p. 264. ISBN 978-965-223-480-3. Although the ages in our section may appear high compared with the normal human life-span, yet if we bear in mind the notions prevailing in the environment in which the Torah was written, and the impression that the reading of this section must have left on its ancient readers, they will seem, on the contrary, low and modest.

[3] Cassuto, Umberto (1972). A Commentary on the Book of Genesis Part I From Adam to Noah. Translated by Israel Abrahams. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press. pp. 261–262. ISBN 978-965-223-480-3. {...}the numbers five and seven are specially stressed in the text, in a way calculated to attract the reader's attention.{...}In the enumeration of Lamech's years-seven and seventy years, and seven hundred years (v.31)- the emphasis given to the number seven is even more manifest.{...} Possibly the number 365 in v.23 is intended by Scripture to provide us with the key to the understanding of our subject, as though to say: Pray do not forget that every year has 365 days.

[4] Johnson, Richard (2004). "Patriarchal Ages in Genesis" (PDF). Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith. 56: 152–153.

[5] Sexton, Jeremy (2015). "Who Was Born When Enosh Was 90? A Semantic Reevaluation of William Henry Green's Chronological Gaps". Westminster Theological Journal. 77: 193–218. Archived from the original on 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2016-03-26.

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