This post contains additional information which coincides with a video, Why I am Affirming #5: Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. The genealogies of Genesis 4 & 5 have been debated and scrutinized for the age of the earth, but their similarities suggest a far deeper theological meaning. When taken in their original Hebrew form without vowels, the similarities cannot be denied, but the trajectory of these two lines is very different. Both start with a generic name for man or mankind and conclude with flood imagery, but one ends in destruction and the other in rest and salvation.
| Genesis 4 The eldest line | Genesis 5 The younger “appointed” line of Seth |
| ADM (Adam – Mankind) | ENOSH (Enosh – Man) |
| QYN (Cain – Acquired) | QYNN (Kenon – Acquired) |
| CHNOHK (Enoch – Dedicated) | CHNOHK (Enoch – Dedicated)1 |
| IJRD (Irad – Swift) | JRD (Jared – Descend) |
| MCHUJAL (Mahujael – Struck by God) | MHLLAL (Mahallel – Praise God)1 |
| MTUSHAL (Methushael – Man who [is?] God) | MTUSHLCH (Methuselah – Man of sending) |
| LMHK (Lamech) | LMHK (Lamech) |
| Forms of JBL – Carry or carried suggesting captivity. Jabal can also mean “stream of water”. | NCH (Noah – Rest). Noah was delivered from the flood. |
| Result: Man’s oppression and destruction | Result: Man’s rest and God’s salvation |
1 The order of Enoch and Mahallel have been flipped for this comparison
Questioning God 