425 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.
51 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth: And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
6 And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos: And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
9 And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan: And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.
12 And Cainan lived seventy years and begat Mahalaleel: And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
15 And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared: And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.
18 And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch: And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
25 And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech. And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
28 And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed. And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.
32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
With he prowess of Lamech established, we return to ’adam and Eve* and the birth of Seth—a granted gift different from Eve*’s construction of Cain and his subsequent lineage that includes an Enoch… and Methusael and Lamech. Seth is seen as a replacement for Abel and through whom the storyline will continue.
A question lingers on as to whether YHWH is introduced in the third generation of Seth’s line with Enosh or much later with Moses. Both claims are made.
With a formal genealogy of ’adam we now follow Seth (Note: begotten by ’adam, not made by Eve*). The report of the generations is formulaic in reporting deaths until we get to Enoch. This is a different Enoch than Cain’s son and the namesake of the first city. The difference is in a claim of independence from G*D and a friendship with G*D.
Seth’s descendent, Enoch, begot Methuselah who begot another Lamech. These name links between the stories of Cain and Seth remind us how connected we still are from that first ’adam in G*D’s image, male and female, and another whose rib revealed ’ishah and ’ish.
Cain’s Enoch is city oriented, separated from G*D. Seth’s Enoch is not recorded as having died, but continuing to “walk” with G*D. This walking is the same descriptor used of what G*D did in Eden’s evenings. Seth’s Enoch is intimate with G*D and lives 365 years, a full solar year of years. There are echoes here of the seventh generation after ’adam with the seventh Mesopotamian king before the flood also being taken up with his gods. This Enoch begets Methuselah who lives 995 years, as close to an ideal millennium as anyone gets.
Cain’s Lamech is the end of a line of selfish independence. Seth’s Lamech lived a numerically significant 777 years and begot Noah. When looked at as a name, we see how Noah rounds out this post-Eden genealogy. Noah’s name means he will console or comfort us in, literally, “our work and the pain of our hands.” This word about pain only appears three times—with Eve*, ’adam, and, now, Noah. We will need all the consolation we can get as, after this genealogy, we hear the death consequences of tilling and laboring. Noah will be a new ’adam, and as frailly innocent as the first ’adam. With Noah, both Eden and East of Eden will be lost track of in the reprise of watery chaos with a small protected space in its midst. Mountain tops and rainbows will lead us onward. We will have to put down any expectation of return to a fantasized innocence.