How does Genesis 5:20 fit into the genealogy of the Bible? Verse Text “So all the days of Jared came to 962 years, and then he died.” (Genesis 5:20) Immediate Literary Setting Genesis 5 records the ten patriarchs from Adam to Noah. Each entry follows a set pattern: name, age at fathering the named son, years lived afterward, total years, and the notice of death. Genesis 5:20 is the sixth occurrence of that formula, capping the biography of Jared, father of Enoch and grandfather of Methuselah. Who Was Jared? • Hebrew Name: יָרֶד (Yāred), “descent” or “one who comes down,” likely alluding to the descent of humankind deeper into fallenness or, as some early interpreters suggested, the descent of angelic beings alluded to in Genesis 6:1–4. • Birth Order: Sixth generation from Adam (Adam → Seth → Enosh → Kenan → Mahalalel → Jared). • Family Links: Father of Enoch (Genesis 5:19) and part of the ancestral line carried forward in 1 Chronicles 1:1–3 and Luke 3:37 on the way to Christ. Chronological Significance All dates are calculated from the Masoretic text, accepting the precise figures as literal history. • Year of Birth: Anno Mundi 460 (Ussher: 3544 BC). • Year of Death: Anno Mundi 1422 (Ussher: 2582 BC), 600 years before the Flood (Amos 1656). • Overlap Chart: – Jared was born 460 years after Adam’s creation and lived 362 years contemporaneously with Adam, Seth, and Enosh, providing eyewitness continuity of Creation history. – He died 234 years before Noah was born, yet his son Enoch’s translation (Genesis 5:24) offered a living testimony to his contemporaries that death is not the final word. Function in the Antediluvian Genealogy • Numerical Precision: The combined fathering ages and lifespans create an unbroken chronological chain allowing one to reckon the age of the earth to the Flood at 1,656 years. • Refrain of Mortality: “And then he died” recurs eight times in Genesis 5, stressing the curse of Genesis 2:17; 3:19. Jared’s record continues that theme while highlighting its lone exception—Enoch (vv. 22–24). • Bridge Generation: Jared links the mundane (long lives ending in death) with a miraculous hope (his son’s translation). This prepares the theological stage for the ultimate defeat of death in Christ’s resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20–22). Cross-Biblical Genealogical Connections • 1 Chronicles 1:2 treats Jared as historical, embedding him in Israel’s tribal memory. • Luke 3:37 assigns Jared a place in the Messianic line, underscoring that the incarnation of Jesus rests on real human ancestry, not myth. The New Testament thus ratifies Genesis 5 as reliable history. Ancient Near-Eastern Parallels and Contrast Sumerian King Lists feature legendary lifespans in the tens of thousands of years. Genesis 5 employs extraordinarily long—but finitely bounded—lifespans and consistently concludes with death, anchoring its record in the moral realism of sin’s consequences rather than mythic exaggeration. Theological Implications • Universality of Death: Jared, though righteous lineage, still died, showing that sin’s penalty is inherited (Romans 5:12). • Hope Foreshadowed: The next verse begins Enoch’s story, signaling a break in the death motif. Jared’s placement, therefore, highlights both judgment and hope—fulfilled ultimately when Christ “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10). Practical and Devotional Takeaways • Life’s Brevity Versus Eternity: Even 962 years evaporate next to eternity; wisdom is “to number our days” (Psalm 90:12). • Generational Faithfulness: Jared’s life reminds believers that fidelity in one generation can influence the next—his son walked with God, his descendant Noah found favor, and, in the fullness of time, Christ was born to redeem. Summary Genesis 5:20 stands as a meticulously preserved data point within a larger inspired framework. It certifies Jared’s historicity, anchors the chronology from Creation to the Flood, sustains the theological narrative of sin and mortality, and contributes indispensably to the genealogical pathway that culminates in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. |
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