THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES CALLED
GENESIS
CHAPTER 5
The generations of Adam are: Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel,
Jared, Enoch (who walked with God), Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah (who
begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth).
1 THIS is the book of the generations [ genealogy ] of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam,[ Adam means mankind or humanity ; but this is also symbolic that God called them as one - Mr and Mrs Adam each with their own
responsibilities; but together as one. ] in the day when they were created.
3 ¶ And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; [ A righteous son. ] and called his name Seth: [ The leverite law applies here as Cain was the firstborn, then Able. Seth was the brother of Able and Seth fathered a son who was named “Seth,” in Hebrew means “replacement or substitute” as described by Adam. See D&C 107:42. So Seth(2) becomes the leverite son of Able; the priesthood leader to whom the birthright first fell(D&C 84:15). Seth(1) would have married Able's wife and their first child would have been Seth(2) to whom the grand patriarchal line will follow (D&C 84:15; 107:42)
Cain should have been the grand patriarch(as he was the first to open the matrix Genesis 43:33), he should have obtained the birthright. But he did not as he did not honor his priesthood in his sacrifice, and with phrases like "Am I my brother's keeper" to which the answer should have been yes if he was to be the grand patriarch. The genealogy given here is to establish for the reader the names of the sons who had rights by birth and where righteousness enough to act as the grand patriarch. The one who was given a double portion of his father’s household estate known as the birthright. He was given a double portion because he was expected to use his inheritance to take care of his now deceased father’s household, widowed mother, unmarried sisters, livestock, things like that. As part of his birthright, he was given authority to preside over or rule over his father’s house. ]
4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:
10 And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:
13 And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:
16 And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:
18 ¶ And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch: [ Enoch is granted scarcely seven verses in the canonical text of the Bible (Genesis 5:18—24), which give hardly more than his genealogy and inform us that he walked with God, and that, at age 365—relative youth for the superannuated preflood patriarchs—he was taken by God. And yet Enoch holds preeminent positions in the intertestamental literature and in the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price (Moses 6—7). ]
20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died. [ The Joseph Smith Translation adds over one hundred verses of new material for the time period covered by chapter 5 of the King James Version. Most of these verses are concerned with the life and translation of Enoch and should be inserted between verses 21 and 22 of the King James Version. This new section provides a wealth of information on the way God works with his prophets, on the purposes of life on the earth, on the necessity of the basic ordinances such as baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost, and on how a people can prepare themselves to be translated to a higher plane (terrestrial instead of telestial) of existence. The new verses also provide new insights into the personality and characteristics of God and, on the opposite end, new information on the devil and some of the nefarious methods he employs to deceive men. The role of the pre- earthly Jesus Christ (Jehovah) is also clarified. ]
21 ¶ And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: [ This is the only chapter in the Old Testiment where Methuselah is mentioned. (See D&C 107:50-53; Moses 6:25; 8:2-7.) He is generally considered to have lived longer on the earth (without translation) than any other man -- 969 years. Doctrine and Covenants 107:50 indicates "Methuselah was one hundred years old when he as ordained under the hand of Adam." Doctrine and Covenants 107:53 mentions that the high priest Methuselah was present when Adam called his righteous posterity "into the valley of Adam-ondi- Ahman."
The Joseph Smith Translation mentions specifically that Methuselah was left on the earth at the time of the translation of Enoch and his city "that the covenants of the Lord might be fulfilled which he made to Enoch; for he truly covenanted with Enoch, that Noah should be of the fruit of his loins." (Gen. 7:79.)
]
22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: [ Moses 8:1 Enoch at age 365—a relative youth for those living during the pre-flood era—at which point he was taken by God, and then was translated with the city of Enoch. ]
24 And Enoch [ The relevance of Enoch for our own day is that as a prophet he lived in a very wicked world that was on a collision course with disaster, just as our world also appears to be. Notice what Enoch will do. First he recognizes that he cannot save a whole generation from destruction, but he does believe that he can bring a small group to righteousness, making them refugees from the wicked world. He will do this by building with them the City of Zion, a haven that is impregnable to the attacks of the ungodly and wil ultimately taken up to heaven. ] walked with God: [ This gives us an idea of his righteous status. The genealogy given here is there to establish for the reader that the names of the sons who had rights by birth and righteousness to receive the kingship and priestship which had been given to Adam by God in the Garden of Eden. So, Enoch was in direct line of succession after his father Jared. ] and he was not; [ He was taken from the earth, not here anymore. Why is Enoch taken and he does not die like the others in the genealogy? ] for God took him. [ So if we look at the verse prior we find. So and so lived xx years and begot so and so and died. Here with Enoch we brake that pattern. Enoch does not die, he is taken. Wait. What? There is something weird here, which by the way Enoch becomes in certain parts of ancient literature, mystical. Enoch is mentioned once in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and he's mentioned once in the Epistle of Jude. Enoch and his city; translated (Moses 7:69 this suggests that Enoch was also something like a king, the reigning civil authority on earth.) - they were then resurrected at the time that the Savior was resurrected D&C 133:54-55; and they will return again at the glorious second coming of Christ Moses 7:62-63. ]
26 And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:
27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died. [ Did Methuselah die in the flood? It is said in Mos 8:3 that when his work was done he took glory unto himself. It was not uncommon for saints at that time to be translated Mormon Doc p 804, Mos 7:27; One other explaination come from Clarke: From computation it appears, 1. That Adam lived to see Lamech, the ninth generation, in the fifty-sixth year of whose life he died; and as he was the first who lived, and the first that sinned, so he was the first who tasted death in a natural way. Hebel's was not a natural but a violent death. 2. That Enoch was taken away next after Adam, seven patriarchs remaining witness of his translation. 3. That all the nine first patriarchs were taken away before the flood came, which happened in the six hundredth year of Noah's life. 4. That Methuselah lived till the very year in which the flood came, of which his name is supposed to have been prophetical wtm methu, "he dieth," and jl shalach, "he sendeth out;" as if God had designed to teach men that as soon as Methuselah died the flood should be sent forth to drown an ungodly world. If this were then so understood, even the name of this patriarch contained in it a gracious warning. ]
29 And he [ Lamech ] called his name Noah, [ So Noah is the The Great, great, great, great grandson of Cain. Cain had Enoch (not the righteous Enoch), Enoch had Irad; Irad had Mehujael;
Mehujael had Methusael and Methusael had Lamech. Lamech had a son named
Noah. Interesting that from the seed of Cain, there came the most
righteous man alive at the time, he would be the one that would save a
few in the flood. In the pre-earthly existence Noah was known as Gabriel, and after he was born on the earth, proved faithful to the Lord, and survived the flood, he was placed "next in authority to Adam in the Priesthood; he was called of God ... and was the father of all living in this day, and to him was given the dominion." (Joseph Smith, TPJS, p. 157.) Noah obtained his name, which means "rest," only after he had invented implements for tilling the ground, which, owing to the lack of such implements, had yielded only thorns and thistles (comp. Gen. iii. 18). In this manner Noah really brought rest to mankind and to the earth itself. Other reasons for this name are given by the Rabbis; e.g., Noah restored man's rule over everything, just as it had been before Adam sinned, thus setting mankind at rest. Formerly the water used to inundate the graves so that the corpses floated out; but when Noah was born the water subsided (Gen. R. xxv. 2). The apparent discrepancy in Gen. v. 29, where it is said that Lamech "called his name Noah, saying, This shall comfort us," is explained by the "Sefer ha-Yashar" (section "Bereshit," p. 5b, Leghorn, 1870), which says that while he was called in general "Noah," his father named him "Menahem" (= "the comforter"). Noah was born circumcised (Midr. Agadah on Gen. vi. 9; Tan., Noaḥ, 6). ] saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed. [ Referring to the cursing of the ground when Adam was kicked out of the garden of Eden. ]