Genesis 5:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

As is the root, so are the branches; as the father, so the children. Cain served as a model of evil for his offspring, being the first to claim territory, engage in theft, pillage, and accumulate wealth not through honest labor, but through violence. Thus arose wars among the people. Just as Cain was a leader in wickedness, Seth, the righteous, became a guiding light for his descendants in virtue, serving as their teacher and counselor. Through him, his children and their descendants learned about God, faith in Him, and living with reverence for God. Seth instructed them to love and honor their Creator with sacrifices, to pray earnestly, and to love their neighbors as themselves, ensuring that no one was offended. This original commandment of natural law was faithfully upheld among them, which Christ the Lord later highlighted in the Gospel: ‘As you will, let men do unto you, and you do the same unto them’ (Matthew 7:12). Consequently, the lineage of Seth lived for a prolonged period like angels, exhibiting righteousness, chastity, temperance, meekness, and honesty for as long as a thousand years. It is noted that Seth, partially due to the glorification he received when an angel transported him, and partly because of his wisdom and ability to navigate celestial phenomena, was regarded by other tribes as divine, and his lineage was called ‘sons of God’: ‘Having seen,’ it is stated, ‘the sons of God (i.e., Seth's) saw the daughters of men (i.e., Cain's), how good they are’ (Gen. 6:2). When 532 years had passed since the world's creation, the first synchronization of the heavenly circles occurred, restoring their original rotational order. During those 532 years, the solar cycle, lasting 28 years, completed 19 rotations, and the lunar cycle, lasting 19 years, completed 28 rotations; thus, the sun and moon once more aligned after fulfilling their cycles, just as they were at their creation. Each celestial body continued its cycle until the completion of 532 years, marking the foundation for the key to Paschalia within the Slavonic alphabet. This initial period of 532 years coincided with the 302nd year of Seth's life and the 98th year of Enos’. In our present reckoning of these celestial cycles, the fourteenth revolution since creation is noted according to the Eastern calendar. The exact number of future cycles until the Day of Divine Judgment remains a mystery, as our Lord proclaimed in the Gospel: ‘Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven’ (Matthew 24:36).

Let us reflect on this: Over the course of seven thousand years and beyond, as well as up to our current days, countless individuals, cities, and kingdoms have risen, changed, vanished, or faded into nothingness; they existed and now are no more, perished ‘as the sap of the rising’ (Psalm 72:20)! How long will the age following the end of this visible world be? This age will have no end, which Saint David often recalls, stating: ‘I have thought of the first days and remembered the eternal summers’ (Psalm 76:6). In his remembrance, he reflects on the past years and the eternity that is encompassed in everlasting life! It is not in vain for us to contemplate the years that have passed, while also recognizing the immeasurable eternity and the brevity of our fleeting existence, which quickly transforms. What, then, is eternity without end? And what is our life that perishes after a brief moment? Jesus of Sirach, in discussing eternity versus temporal life, declares: ‘The number of days of a man is as many as a drop of sea water’ (Sirach 18:8). We marvel when we hear of someone reaching a hundred years and exclaim: ‘This man has lived long!’ According to the Psalmist, ‘the days of our years, in them are seventy years; but if we are able, then we are eighty years’ (Psalm 89:10), with only a few achieving a hundred years. But even a century of life, when juxtaposed with eternity (as Sirach illustrates), is as minuscule as a drop of water compared to the great ocean. What is more immense than the sea? And what is smaller than a single drop? What endures longer than eternity? And what is shorter than genuine life? ‘What is our life?’ asks the Apostle James. ‘It is a puff of air that appears for a little while and then vanishes’ (James 4:14). Not only a century, but even a millennium compared to eternity is insignificant, like a drop in the ocean. St. John Chrysostom accurately notes: ‘Consider this: if someone dreams a pleasant dream for a single night and then awakes to endure a hundred years of torment, can you possibly equate that one night of joy with a hundred years? Absolutely not. In the same manner, think of our current life as merely a fleeting sleep within a hundred-year span compared to the enduring future life; it is even more trivial, akin to a tiny drop set against the vast expanse; such is the millennium relative to the forthcoming endless age.’ Nevertheless, the entirety of time and seasons in this visible world, from Adam until the terrifying Day of Judgment, stands in contrast to eternity like a drop against the vast ocean. Who can tally the drops of water in the sea? And who can grasp the totality of eternal years? Who can drain the entire sea with a mere handful? And who can fully comprehend the infinite eternity we will inhabit after this transient existence? Yet, woe to us for our negligence, as we often favor our temporary, fleeting, and trivial lives over the boundless eternity; neglecting everlasting life, we immerse ourselves deeply into this short existence as if we were to reside within it indefinitely! We cherish the transient, shun the eternal; we pursue the temporal while disregarding the eternal; we confuse bitterness for sweetness, all the while neglecting and lacking a yearning for the true sweetness of heaven, which will bring us perpetual delight! Sirach’s wisdom reminds us that he compares a hundred years of human life to a drop of seawater—not from a sweet and refreshing river but a drop of bitter, undrinkable seawater. Through this, he depicts not only the brevity of life but also its burden of sorrow and troubles. Our existence is rife with anguish, grief, trials, and afflictions; marked by enmity, conflict, persecution, bitterness, envy, and hatred, both from our own and those beyond us; filled with poverty, scarcity, hunger, nakedness, and relentless toil. Even those wealthy in possessions find no respite, day or night, from the cares of this life, unable to rest peacefully—even on the finest bed or under luxurious garments, their hearts are riddled with thorns. Should anyone believe they can relish the pleasures of this world, they often find that such delights accompany grief; the sweetness of sin ultimately leads to unbearable sorrow. For what is enjoyed today is temporal and can lead to eternal torment. If one holds high rank, they must constantly remain vigilant, fearing rivals who might usurp their power. There is no joy in the world that does not carry the weight of uncertainty and risk; no happiness that does not bear the shadow of sorrow; no comfort that lacks the specter of grief; no laughter that does not eventually lead to weeping and sighing. All of earthly existence is a singular bitterness; it is as troubling as the sea and as minimal as a drop: why then do we prefer it over eternity and the joy that God has prepared for those who love Him?

Seth lived for 205 years before Enos was born; Enos was 190 years before Cainan came into being; Cainan was 170 years before Maleel was born; Maleel lived 165 years until Jared was born; Jared was 162 years old when Enoch was born; and Enoch was 165 years old when Methuselah was born. Adding these figures results in a total of 1287 years. Additionally, if we extend beyond this genealogy, we must include the 969 years before the Flood (Gen. 5:26-32; Gen. 7:6). Consequently, from creation to the Flood totals 2256 years, as aligned with the chronology found in the Greek and Church Slavonic versions of Scripture, corroborated by the ancient Samaritan texts and Josephus Flavius. The Greek chronology indicates that the pre-Flood period accounts for nearly 600 more years than the Hebrew text, wherein each of the first six patriarchs is recorded as a father a hundred years earlier than in the Hebrew account. The challenge of satisfactorily elucidating this difference does not detract from the essential truths conveyed in the Holy Scriptures.

Some have expressed skepticism regarding the extensive lifetimes of the patriarchs prior to the Flood, and even those who lived until Abraham, when human longevity began to wane. They found it hard to believe that individuals could live for 900, 800, or even 600 years, theorizing that Moses might have referred to years as months, similarly to the ancient Egyptians. Nonetheless, such assumptions lack any basis in Moses' narrative. Instead, he differentiates between a year and a month clearly in the account of the Flood, stating, "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life… on the seventeenth day of the month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth" (Gen. 7:11). Moreover, one cannot compress Noah's flood year into a span of three months prior and eight months following it. Moses explicitly states that the duration of the Flood encompasses approximately 12 months, initiating on the 17th day of the second month (presumably November) of Noah’s 600th year, and concluding on the 27th day of the second month in his 601st year (Gen. 8:13-14). Between these markers, he details 150 days (five months) of the Flood's intensification, noting the gradual recession of the waters beginning on the 17th day of the seventh month in April, then on the 1st day of the tenth month in July, and finally the earth being set free from water on the first day of the first month. Should we consider the years assigned to the patriarchs as analogous to our months, it would imply that some became fathers at implausibly young ages. For example, Arphaxad, who lived 500 years, would have had to father Salah at an improbably young age of 12 (the text states he became a father at 135 years) (Gen. 11:12-13), and Terah, Abraham's father, lived for 205 years but had a son at merely six years of age (Gen. 11:26-32). Another contradiction arises with Jacob, who at 130 years old laments to Pharaoh about the briefness of his life, claiming that his days did not match the length of his ancestors' lives (Gen 47:9). If the lives of his forebears were only hundreds of months, what significance could this complaint hold? He would not only have surpassed his immediate fathers but also the patriarchs from before the Flood. In the lifespans of these patriarchs, we can discern the evident hand of God's Providence: their extended lives allowed for greater population growth, enriched life experiences, and wisdom, subsequently offering greater guidance to succeeding generations. This was especially necessary in humanity's early, rudimentary state, ensuring a reliable preservation of divine truths and sacred traditions among those who worship the one true God. In a time when the written Word of God was absent, these patriarchs served as living embodiments of divine revelations. An individual could hear ancient truths communicated consistently over centuries. For instance, Noah, who lived roughly 600 years before the Flood, could relay knowledge to Maleel, who in turn communicated with Adam. Likewise, Methuselah, who passed away in the year of the Flood, could share what he learned directly from Enos, Seth’s son. Therefore, both later revelations and the original teachings given to Adam in Eden were conveyed into the post-Flood world, preserved in their prime state. Additionally, natural factors contributed to the patriarchs’ longevity: the abundance of nature's resources, less affected by sin at that time, a straightforward lifestyle closely connected to the earth, and the human body’s retaining more primitive qualities, which minimized genetic deterioration, all these elements illustrate the advantages of primitive eras.

The historian, in enumerating the pre-Flood patriarchs, records their birth, their life span until the birth of their respective sons who would carry on the lineage of faith, and concludes with each: “and he died.” This serves as an unwavering principle! Humanity does not face extinction; rather, life is continuously renewed through new generations. The lineage that nurtured the holy seed for the spiritual restoration of all humanity persisted. Yet Adam received judgment: “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return,” which must be executed upon individuals, despite their not having “sinned in the likeness of Adam’s transgression” (Rom 5:14). There was, however, one individual among this lineage who escaped this universal decree: Enoch. Scripture reveals, “And Enoch pleased God; and he was not found, because God took him” (Gen. 5:24). “And Enoch pleased God” can be more accurately translated as “Enoch walked with God,” indicating a profound spiritual intimacy with Him (1 Kings 25:15), characterized by faith and love and drawing God’s special favor—perhaps he was privileged to experience divine manifestations akin to those Adam enjoyed in Eden. “He was not found,” means he was no longer present, as “God took him” signifies a transformation. The Apostle attests, “By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death; and he was not found because God translated him” (Heb. 11:5) into a state of blessedness. Enoch’s experience parallels that of Elijah, who was taken from the earth alive (2 Kings 2:10), and foreshadows what will occur to many at Christ’s return: they will not die but will be transformed along with the resurrected at the last trumpet, becoming imperishable (1 Cor. 15:21-22). Enoch was elevated into glory without facing death or illness. What is the purpose of such a miracle? To inspire others amidst the prevalent suffering and decay, fostering belief in eternal life and the hope of immortality. Furthermore, the son of Sirach notes, “Enoch was taken as an example of repentance for his contemporaries” (Sir. 44:15). This signifies that witnessing Enoch’s reward for a life dedicated to repentance and battling sin inspired his peers to embrace repentance themselves. Enoch served as a model to his contemporaries not solely through his example and outcome but also via his prophetic voice. The Apostle Jude cites his prophecy: “Behold, the Lord comes with thousands of His holy ones to execute judgment upon all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 1:14-15). A similar prophecy appears in a dubious apocryphal text attributed to Enoch, replete with errant notions and fanciful theories regarding stars and the marriages of angels with human women. Nevertheless, the prophetic declarations of Enoch referenced by the Apostle surely reached him through oral tradition rather than being derived from that spurious account, which mixes truth with various falsehoods.