Commentary - Genesis 5:18-20

Bird's-eye view

In this brief section of Genesis 5, we are continuing with the formal record of the line of promise, the genealogy stretching from Adam to Noah. This is not a mere collection of names and numbers for the historically curious. This is the official ledger of God's faithfulness in the face of human mortality. The central point of the entire chapter is the grim, repeating refrain, "and he died." Despite lifespans that are staggering to our modern minds, the curse of sin is inexorable. Death reigns. Yet, in the midst of this reign of death, God is preserving a seed, a holy line, from which the ultimate Seed of the woman will come to crush the serpent's head. The passage concerning Jared is a crucial link in this chain. It sets the stage for the remarkable account of his son, Enoch, who serves as a blazing exception to the rule of death, a foretaste of the gospel's final victory. But before we get to the exception, we must first appreciate the rule, and the rule is that men die.

So, as we look at these verses, we should see them as more than just ancient census data. This is the story of grace unfolding in super slow motion. Each name is a testament to God's patience. Each long life is a display of His common grace. And the steady march of the generations, from father to son, is the unwavering progression of His redemptive plan. Jared lives, he begets, and he dies. In this simple, stark formula, we see both the tragedy of the fall and the tenacity of God's covenant promise.

Outline

Context In Genesis

Genesis 5 provides the "book of the generations of Adam" (Gen 5:1), tracing the line of Seth. This stands in stark contrast to the line of Cain detailed in chapter 4. Cain's line is marked by worldly achievement, violence, and rebellion, the building of cities and the forging of bronze and iron. Seth's line, by contrast, is the line of worship, the line of those who "began to call upon the name of the LORD" (Gen 4:26). This chapter is the sacred thread running through the antediluvian world. It is God's answer to the sin of Cain and the increasing corruption of mankind. The formulaic structure, "X lived Y years and fathered Z... then X lived A years... and he died", emphasizes the two great realities of this era: God's preservation of a people for Himself, and the universal dominion of death that came through Adam's sin. This passage about Jared is the sixth link in that chain, leading directly to Enoch and Methuselah, and then onward to Noah and the flood. It is the history of the world's true royal family.

Key Issues

The Drumbeat of Death

One cannot read Genesis 5 without being struck by the relentless, monotonous rhythm of its structure. A man is born, he lives, he has a son, he has other children, and then comes the final, solemn chord: "and he died." This is not poor literary style; it is profound theology. The Holy Spirit is driving home a point that our fallen hearts are constantly trying to evade. The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). When Adam sinned, death entered the world, and it passed to all men, because all sinned (Rom 5:12). These enormous lifespans, Jared living to be 962 years old, do not mitigate this reality; they accentuate it. Even if a man lives for nearly a millennium, a life lived under the sun, apart from Christ, ends in the grave. The length of the life is just a longer runway leading to the same cliff.

This drumbeat of death is the necessary backdrop for the gospel. It is the bad news that makes the good news so glorious. And right in the middle of this chapter, as we will see with Enoch, God gives a startling picture of that good news, a man who escapes the final clause. But the power of Enoch's story is only understood when it is set against the dark, velvet curtain of this repeated funeral dirge. Before the exception, we must feel the full weight of the rule.

Verse by Verse Commentary

18 And Jared lived 162 years and became the father of Enoch.

The record continues with its characteristic precision. We are not dealing with myths or legends here; we are dealing with a sober, historical account. Jared, the son of Mahalalel, reaches the age of 162, and at that point, the next crucial link in the chain of the promised seed is forged. He fathers Enoch. In a world that was descending into chaos, a world that God would eventually judge with a global flood, the most important thing happening was the quiet, faithful continuation of this one family line. Empires could rise and fall, but the birth of this one child, Enoch, was an event of cosmic significance. God was keeping His promise. The line from which the Messiah would come was secure. The age of the father at the birth of the son is given to establish a clear, unbroken chronology from creation onward. This is real history, not fable.

19 Then Jared lived 800 years after he became the father of Enoch, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.

After the birth of the covenant heir, Jared's life continues for another eight centuries. This is a staggering length of time. Imagine living through eight hundred years of human history. He would have been a contemporary of Adam for over 300 years, and he would have lived all the way up to the time of Lamech, Noah's father. The stories of Eden would not have been distant myths, but rather first or second-hand testimony. During this long life, he was fruitful. He had "other sons and daughters." The line of promise is narrow, focusing on one son, but the family of the faithful was broad. These "other sons and daughters" were part of the community of those who called upon the name of the Lord, a remnant of righteousness in a wicked world. Jared's long life was a period of patient faithfulness, of raising a family in the fear of God, and of passing on the story of God's grace from one generation to the next.

20 So all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.

And here we have it, the final, somber sentence. After all those years, after seeing his children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren for many generations, after living longer than any other man in history except his own grandson Methuselah, the end was the same. "And he died." The curse pronounced in the Garden was not a bluff. "For you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Gen 3:19). No amount of time can outrun the appointment that all men have with death. This verse is a stark reminder that the problem of sin requires a solution from outside the system. Man cannot live his way out of death. He needs a savior. He needs one who can conquer the grave. Jared's 962 years are a testament to the lingering strength of man's original constitution, but his death is a testament to the devastating power of his sin.

Application

This passage, which seems so distant and archaic, has a number of sharp points of application for us. First, it reminds us of the reliability of Scripture. The Bible presents itself as history, and these genealogies are the backbone of that history. We are not to treat them as embarrassing artifacts to be explained away, but as the divinely inspired record of God's work in time and space. Our faith is grounded in real events, not in abstract principles.

Second, we are reminded of the brevity of our own lives. We look at 962 years and are astonished. But the psalmist reminds us that our lives are a mere seventy or eighty years, and they pass like a breath (Ps 90:10). If a man who lived for nearly a millennium still died, how much more should we, with our fleeting lifespans, "number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom"? We must not live as though we have an infinite amount of time. We must live in light of our certain death and the judgment that follows.

Finally, and most importantly, this passage points us to Christ. The long, grim march of death in Genesis 5 finds its definitive end in the empty tomb of Jesus. He is the true seed of the woman who did not just postpone death, but defeated it. Jared lived 962 years and died. Jesus lived 33 years, died, and rose again on the third day, securing eternal life for all who trust in Him. This genealogy is a long, dark hallway, but at the end of it stands the open door of the resurrection. We read of Jared's death, and we should be prompted to give thanks for the One who is the resurrection and the life, in whom, though we die, yet shall we live.