Commentary - Genesis 5:15-17

Bird's-eye view

In these three verses, we have another link forged in the great chain of redemption. This chapter, which can seem to the modern reader like a dry and repetitive list, is in fact one of the most crucial documents in Scripture. It is the record of God's faithfulness to His promise in Genesis 3:15 to preserve the seed of the woman. After the catastrophic failure of Adam and the murderous rebellion of Cain, God is patiently, meticulously, generation by generation, carrying His chosen line forward. The entry for Mahalalel follows the established pattern: birth, fatherhood, a long life, and the inevitable conclusion of death. It is a testament to both the stubborn grace of God in continuing the human race and the terrible reality of the curse of sin that hangs over it. Each name is a victory of grace; each death is a reminder of the need for a greater victory to come.

This is not a mere list of names; it is a holy lineage. It is the story of how God kept the light of the promise from being extinguished in a world sinking ever deeper into darkness. Mahalalel, whose name means "Praise of God," takes his place in this line, lives for nearly nine centuries, and passes the baton to his son Jared. And through it all, the steady, somber drumbeat continues: "...and he died." This refrain is the essential backdrop against which the gospel will one day shine with unimaginable brightness.

Outline

Context In Genesis

Genesis 5 provides the genealogy of the godly line of Seth, and it stands in stark contrast to the genealogy of the ungodly line of Cain in Genesis 4. Cain's line is characterized by worldly achievement, violence, and rebellion (e.g., building cities, polygamy, arrogant vengeance). Seth's line, on the other hand, is the line where men began to "call upon the name of the Lord" (Gen 4:26). This chapter is the bridge that connects the first promise of the gospel in the garden to the preservation of that promise through the flood. It traces the lineage from Adam to Noah, demonstrating that God did not abandon His creation after the fall. He immediately began the work of redemption by preserving a people for Himself. The formulaic structure of the chapter emphasizes God's consistent, patient, and orderly work in the midst of a world that was becoming increasingly chaotic and corrupt, setting the stage for the judgment of the flood and the salvation of Noah's family.

Key Issues

The Drumbeat of Death

One cannot read Genesis 5 without being struck by the relentless repetition of the phrase, "and he died." It concludes the record of Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, and now Mahalalel. It is the tolling of a great funeral bell over the whole of the human race. This is the outworking of God's solemn warning in the garden: "in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Gen 2:17). The death spoken of was immediate spiritual death, separation from God, and the beginning of the process of physical death. This chapter is the receipt for services rendered; the wages of sin is death, and the payment is being collected, generation after generation.

But this drumbeat of death is not a message of despair. Rather, it is the necessary foundation for the gospel. It establishes the universal problem to which only Christ is the solution. The world is not basically good, with a few problems to be ironed out. The world is under a curse, and every man born into it is under a death sentence. The monotonous rhythm of this chapter is meant to make us long for a different rhythm, to cry out for a man whose biography does not end with "and he died." And of course, that is precisely what the Bible gives us in the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who died, yes, but whose story concludes with "He is risen."

Verse by Verse Commentary

15 And Mahalalel lived 65 years and became the father of Jared.

The record for Mahalalel begins just as the others have. He lives, and he begets. This is the cultural mandate of Genesis 1:28, "be fruitful and multiply," being carried out under the shadow of the curse. Mahalalel, the "Praise of God," does not despair. He does not refuse to bring children into a fallen world. He receives the gift of life from his father Kenan, and in faith, he passes that life on to his son Jared. At sixty-five years, he is a young man by the standards of his day, just beginning his central task. This simple statement is a profound act of faith. It is an affirmation that God's plan is still in motion and that it is good to participate in that plan, even when surrounded by the evidence of sin and death.

16 Then Mahalalel lived 830 years after he became the father of Jared, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.

After the birth of the covenant heir, Jared, Mahalalel's life continues for another eight hundred and thirty years. We should not imagine this as a quiet retirement. This was a life filled with work, worship, joy, and sorrow. He was a patriarch, the head of a growing clan. The note that he had "other sons and daughters" is crucial. The messianic line is not a sterile, isolated thread; it is a rope woven from the life of a family, a tribe, a people. These unnamed sons and daughters were part of the covenant community, surrounding and supporting the central line of promise. For more than eight centuries, Mahalalel was a pillar in that community, teaching his children and his children's children the story of creation, the tragedy of the fall, and the promise of the coming Redeemer who would crush the serpent's head.

17 So all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.

The text sums up his entire existence: eight hundred and ninety-five years. This is a staggering lifespan, a relic of the world as it was, still retaining something of the strength of its original creation. But no matter how long the life, the final clause is inescapable. And he died. He praised God, he raised a family, he lived for nearly a millennium, a span of time that would encompass the rise and fall of entire empires in our day. And yet, the curse had the final word on his earthly existence. He returned to the dust from which he was made. The biography is closed. This is the end for every man who is merely a son of Adam. There is no escape from this final clause by human effort, longevity, or piety. A greater Son must come, one who can swallow up death in victory.

Application

First, we must see that our lives are part of a story much bigger than ourselves. Like Mahalalel, we have received a heritage of faith from those who came before us, and we have a solemn duty to pass it on to those who come after. We are one link in a great chain. This should give us both humility and a profound sense of purpose. Your faithfulness in your family, your church, and your daily work is not a small thing; it is your part in the outworking of God's eternal plan.

Second, the reality of death should focus our lives. The patriarchs lived for centuries, but their lives are summarized in a few verses that all end the same way. Our lives are a vapor by comparison. We do not have time for trivialities, for nursing grudges, for chasing vanities. The refrain "and he died" ought to echo in our ears, reminding us to number our days and apply our hearts to wisdom. That wisdom is not found in extending our lives, but in giving our short lives to the one who is eternal.

Finally, this passage, with its dark refrain, should make us profoundly grateful for the gospel. The story of Jesus does not end with "and he died." His story breaks the pattern. He died, yes, but He did so in order to exhaust the curse of death for His people. And because He rose from the grave, the final word for all who are in Him is not death, but life. The genealogy of Genesis 5 is the genealogy of the first Adam, and it ends in a graveyard. But we have been born again into the genealogy of the second Adam, and it ends at the throne of God.