And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:
Jared was one hundred sixty-two years old when his son Enoch was born, and he lived nine hundred sixty-two years in all before he died. He stands in the pre-Flood record in which nine generations averaged more than nine hundred years of life, in contrast to the steady shortening of life afterward through violation of the laws of life. That great length of life was prolonged by the life-giving power of the tree of life transmitted from Adam, so that only a few generations after him the race still retained much of its early vigor. His lifetime belongs to a time when seven generations lived together for hundreds of years, with Adam living until Methuselah was two hundred forty-three, so that what God had taught could pass directly from lip to lip and be preserved without books by men of strong memory and vigor. Enoch stood in that line of righteous, faithful men who kept the knowledge of God before the world, while the long-lived race as a whole gave loose rein to iniquity in proportion to its skill and was at last destroyed by the Flood.
Longevity Before the Flood
Jared was 162 years old when Enoch was born, in the era of the first two thousand years, and he lived 962 years in total and then died. That entry belongs to the pre-Flood record in which nine generations averaged 912 years of life. That longevity stands contrasted with an average of 332 years for nine generations after the Flood, with seventy years in Moses' time, and with about thirty-five years at present.
Jared stands among the patriarchs from Adam to Noah who, with few exceptions, lived nearly a thousand years. That great length of life stands in contrast to the time since the days of Noah, when length of life has been tapering because of continued violation of the laws of life. Disease afflicting every town, city, and village has been steadily increasing through successive generations, and mortality has increased to a fearful extent. That literal record of nine hundred to a thousand years tapered afterward to between one and two hundred years by the time of Egyptian bondage, to only seventy years by the time of David about halfway from Adam to the present, to thirty years in Europe and the United States now and twenty years in great cities. The great ages show the race was created with ten times more vital force than it now has, for otherwise its violations of health and life would long ago have extinguished it altogether, and violation of God's laws cut the years of man to contemptible brevity and filled them with pain, surrounding the cradle with diseases that seize the infant at birth. The record gives the ages of men but with one or two exceptions never mentions how old the women were at death.
Those antediluvian lifespans were prolonged by the life-giving power of the tree of life, whose benefit was transmitted from Adam and Eve. Only a few generations after Adam the race still retained much of its early vigor and life was still measured by centuries after access to the tree that was to prolong life was lost. These long lifespans show that the effects of appetite, passion, and violations of physical law took many generations to become evident, while human vitality and longevity declined more rapidly in later generations. That leaves a contrast with the short, suffering-filled lives common in the present generation.
Overlapping Lives Preserved Knowledge
Genesis 5:18 belongs to the genealogy that establishes how long the patriarchs lived and how their lifetimes overlapped. Adam lived until Methuselah was 243 years old, so what God had taught Adam could pass directly through Methuselah to later descendants. The verse records one link in a time when seven generations lived upon the earth contemporaneously for hundreds of years, having opportunity to consult together so that each profited by the knowledge and experience of all. This gave unrivaled advantages for acquiring religious and scientific knowledge.
Adam, formed in God's image and pronounced good, was still among men for nine centuries. He imparted to his descendants what he had learned from the Creator about creation and the material world and what he himself had witnessed. Knowledge was preserved without books or written records by men of great physical and mental vigor. Their mental powers developed early and continued to increase in those who feared God, and their strong memories grasped and retained what was communicated and transmitted it unimpaired to posterity.
The verse marks one link in the line through which truth was given from human lips passing down from one generation to another. That truth was cherished, so the image of God was engraved upon the heart.
Righteous Witness and Rebellion
Genesis 5:18 places Enoch in the line of righteous, faithful men before the Flood, together with Abel, Seth, Noah, Methuselah and others. These men presented the truth and kept the knowledge of God continually before the world. Their lives taught later believers, for truth was given from human lips passing down from one generation to another and cherished, so that the image of God was engraved upon the heart and gave strength to refuse wine and idol food and to refuse to dishonor God.
That long life of centuries carried rare powers to plan and execute. Those powers were given to serve God, to make the Creator's name a praise in the earth, and to answer the purpose for which life was given.
Instead that long-lived people failed. Among them were many giants of great stature and strength, renowned for wisdom and skillful in devising cunning and wonderful works, whose guilt in giving loose rein to iniquity was in proportion to their skill and mental ability. The witness of the righteous was despised as truth is despised now, while the imaginations of the hearts of the people were evil and only evil continually, secret societies were formed to work in darkness to do violence, and God destroyed that long-lived race by a flood.
Jared was one hundred sixty-two years old when his son Enoch was born, and he lived nine hundred sixty-two years in all before he died. He stands in the pre-Flood record in which nine generations averaged more than nine hundred years of life, in contrast to the steady shortening of life afterward through violation of the laws of life. That great length of life was prolonged by the life-giving power of the tree of life transmitted from Adam, so that only a few generations after him the race still retained much of its early vigor. His lifetime belongs to a time when seven generations lived together for hundreds of years, with Adam living until Methuselah was two hundred forty-three, so that what God had taught could pass directly from lip to lip and be preserved without books by men of strong memory and vigor. Enoch stood in that line of righteous, faithful men who kept the knowledge of God before the world, while the long-lived race as a whole gave loose rein to iniquity in proportion to its skill and was at last destroyed by the Flood.
Longevity Before the Flood
Jared was 162 years old when Enoch was born, in the era of the first two thousand years, and he lived 962 years in total and then died. That entry belongs to the pre-Flood record in which nine generations averaged 912 years of life. That longevity stands contrasted with an average of 332 years for nine generations after the Flood, with seventy years in Moses' time, and with about thirty-five years at present.
Jared stands among the patriarchs from Adam to Noah who, with few exceptions, lived nearly a thousand years. That great length of life stands in contrast to the time since the days of Noah, when length of life has been tapering because of continued violation of the laws of life. Disease afflicting every town, city, and village has been steadily increasing through successive generations, and mortality has increased to a fearful extent. That literal record of nine hundred to a thousand years tapered afterward to between one and two hundred years by the time of Egyptian bondage, to only seventy years by the time of David about halfway from Adam to the present, to thirty years in Europe and the United States now and twenty years in great cities. The great ages show the race was created with ten times more vital force than it now has, for otherwise its violations of health and life would long ago have extinguished it altogether, and violation of God's laws cut the years of man to contemptible brevity and filled them with pain, surrounding the cradle with diseases that seize the infant at birth. The record gives the ages of men but with one or two exceptions never mentions how old the women were at death.
Those antediluvian lifespans were prolonged by the life-giving power of the tree of life, whose benefit was transmitted from Adam and Eve. Only a few generations after Adam the race still retained much of its early vigor and life was still measured by centuries after access to the tree that was to prolong life was lost. These long lifespans show that the effects of appetite, passion, and violations of physical law took many generations to become evident, while human vitality and longevity declined more rapidly in later generations. That leaves a contrast with the short, suffering-filled lives common in the present generation.
Overlapping Lives Preserved Knowledge
Genesis 5:18 belongs to the genealogy that establishes how long the patriarchs lived and how their lifetimes overlapped. Adam lived until Methuselah was 243 years old, so what God had taught Adam could pass directly through Methuselah to later descendants. The verse records one link in a time when seven generations lived upon the earth contemporaneously for hundreds of years, having opportunity to consult together so that each profited by the knowledge and experience of all. This gave unrivaled advantages for acquiring religious and scientific knowledge.
Adam, formed in God's image and pronounced good, was still among men for nine centuries. He imparted to his descendants what he had learned from the Creator about creation and the material world and what he himself had witnessed. Knowledge was preserved without books or written records by men of great physical and mental vigor. Their mental powers developed early and continued to increase in those who feared God, and their strong memories grasped and retained what was communicated and transmitted it unimpaired to posterity.
The verse marks one link in the line through which truth was given from human lips passing down from one generation to another. That truth was cherished, so the image of God was engraved upon the heart.
Righteous Witness and Rebellion
Genesis 5:18 places Enoch in the line of righteous, faithful men before the Flood, together with Abel, Seth, Noah, Methuselah and others. These men presented the truth and kept the knowledge of God continually before the world. Their lives taught later believers, for truth was given from human lips passing down from one generation to another and cherished, so that the image of God was engraved upon the heart and gave strength to refuse wine and idol food and to refuse to dishonor God.
That long life of centuries carried rare powers to plan and execute. Those powers were given to serve God, to make the Creator's name a praise in the earth, and to answer the purpose for which life was given.
Instead that long-lived people failed. Among them were many giants of great stature and strength, renowned for wisdom and skillful in devising cunning and wonderful works, whose guilt in giving loose rein to iniquity was in proportion to their skill and mental ability. The witness of the righteous was despised as truth is despised now, while the imaginations of the hearts of the people were evil and only evil continually, secret societies were formed to work in darkness to do violence, and God destroyed that long-lived race by a flood.