An article first published by Koinonia House in February 1966 brought to light surprising revelations of the Gospel hidden in the ten-generation genealogy from Adam to Noah. In the article, The Gospel in Genesis, written by Chuck Missler, fascinating insights emerge, “The great discovery is that the Bible is a message system: it’s not simply 66 books penned by 40 authors over thousands of years, the Bible is an integrated whole which bears evidence of supernatural engineering in every detail.”

In Genesis chapter five, the genealogy of Adam to Noah is given in a historical context. To the casual reader, the list of names is often read through without further thought. Most students of the Bible know that Hebrew names mentioned in the Bible hold some significant meaning. But threading the names of the ten-generation genealogy in Genesis chapter five in the exact order shown yields extraordinary results. Here are excerpts from the article:

Genesis 5 Genealogy

Adam – Genesis 5:1-5

Adam’s name means “man”. As the first man, that seems straightforward enough.

Seth – Genesis 5:6-8, Genesis 4:25

Adam’s son was named Seth, which means “appointed”. Eve said, “For God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.”

Enosh – Genesis 5:9-11.

Seth’s son was called Enosh, which means “mortal, frail, or miserable”. It is from the root anash, “to be incurable”, used of a wound, grief, woe, sickness, or wickedness.

It was in the days of Enosh that men began to defile the name of the Living God.

Kenan – Genesis 5:12-14

Enosh’s son was named Kenan, which can mean “sorrow, dirge, or elegy”. (The precise denotation is somewhat elusive; some study aids, unfortunately, presume that Kenan is synonymous with Cainan.)

Balaam, looking down from the heights of Moab, uses a pun upon the name of the Kenites when he prophesies their destruction.

Mahalalel – Genesis 5:15-17

Kenan’s son was Mahalalel, from mahalal which means blessed or praise; and El, the name for God. Thus, Mahalalel means the “Blessed God”. Often Hebrew names include El, the name of God, as Dan-i-el, “God is my Judge”, etc.

Jared – Genesis 5:18-20

Mahalalel’s son was named Jared, from the verb yaradh, meaning “shall come down”.

Enoch – Genesis 5:21-24

Jared’s son was named Enoch, which means “teaching, or commencement”. He was the first of four generations of preachers. In fact, the earliest recorded prophecy was by Enoch, which amazingly enough deals with the Second Coming of Christ (although it is quoted in the Book of Jude in the New Testament):

Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

“To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against.” — Jude 14–15

Methuselah – Genesis 5:25-27

Methuselah comes from muth, a root that means “death”; and from shalach, which means “to bring”, or “to send forth”. The name Methuselah means, “his death shall bring”.

Enoch was the father of Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah. Apparently, Enoch received the prophecy of the Great Flood and was told that as long as his son was alive, the judgment of the flood would be withheld. The year that Methuselah died, the flood came.

Enoch, of course, never died: he was translated. That’s how Methuselah can be the oldest man in the Bible, yet he died before his father!

Lamech – Genesis 5:28-31

Methuselah’s son was named Lamech, a root still evident today in our own English word, “lament or lamentation”. Lamech suggests despairing.

(This name is also linked to the Lamech in Cain’s line, who inadvertently killed his son Tubal-Cain in a hunting incident.)

Noah – Genesis 5:32

Lamech, of course, is the father of Noah, which is derived from nacham, “to bring relief or comfort”, as Lamech himself explains in Genesis 5:29.

Threading the List

Here it is all put together:

The surprising result:

Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest.

The Evidence of Grand Design

According to Missler, “The implications of this discovery are more widespread than is evident at first glance. It demonstrates that in the earliest chapters of the Book of Genesis, God had already laid out His plan of redemption for the predicament of mankind. It is a love story written in blood on a wooden cross that was erected in Judea almost 2,000 years ago.

“The Bible is an integrated message system, the product of supernatural engineering. Every number, every place name, every detail, every jot, and tittle is there for our learning, our discovery, and our amazement. Truly, our God is an awesome God.

“It is astonishing to discover how many Biblical controversies seem to evaporate if one simply recognizes the unity and the integrity of these 66 books, penned by 40 authors over thousands of years.”

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