But the text will not admit of such amendment or interpretation. This has seemed incredible to some, and hence they have imagined that the years must have consisted of one month, or at least of a smaller number than twelve. This verse, therefore, prepares for a continuation of the narrative, and therefore implies a continuator or compiler who lived after the flood.įrom the numbers in this chapter it appears that the length of human life in the period before the deluge was ten times its present average. His three sons are mentioned, because they are the ancestors of the postdiluvian race. ![]() Meanwhile, Noah is connected with the general history of the race, which is now to be taken up. The first part only of the biography of Noah is given in this verse, and the remainder will be furnished in due time and place. When the phrase indicates a point of time, as in Leviticus 27:0, it is the terminating point of the period in question. Thus, Noah was in his six hundredth year when he was the son of six hundred years Genesis 7:11, Genesis 7:6, and a child was circumcised on the eighth day, being then the son of eight days Leviticus 12:3 Genesis 17:12. A man is the son of a certain year, in and up to the close of that year, but not beyond it. Such tasks were not easy when the human race was small in numbers and lacking in technical knowledge.Īnd Noah was the son of five hundred years. (Non-biblical records also speak of unusually long life spans among ancient races in the Mesopotamian region.) Whatever the cause, it was no doubt a gracious provision by God in view of the need for people to spread out and bring more of the untamed world under their control (see 1:28). The father of Noah expressed the hope that the ground also would be freed from the curse that human sin had brought (25-32).ĭifferent weather and living conditions may have been part of the reason for the unusually long life spans of that time. ![]() It would not always have power over those who pleased God (21-24 cf. The exceptional case of Enoch, however, might have encouraged the faithful to believe that death was not all-powerful. Death, as usual, demonstrated the results of sin (5:1-20). The list notes also the age of each man when he produced the son who became the first link in the chain between him and the next-named person. The ten men named in the genealogy of this chapter are the ten most prominent men of the era. The word ‘son’ may simply mean descendant, and the word ‘father’ may simply mean ancestor (e.g. Genealogies, particularly selective genealogies, cannot be used to measure the age of the human race. (The genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:1-17 is also selective, omitting several names to produce a simple arrangement of three sets of fourteen.) In Genesis 11:10-26 another selective genealogy, also based on ten names, carries on from this one to cover the time from Noah to Abram. Selective genealogies such as this, being easy to remember, were common in the ancient world. The genealogy does not name every descendant in the line from Adam to Noah, but selects ten important people to form an overall framework. ![]() The purpose of the genealogy recorded in this chapter is to trace from Adam to Noah that thin line of believers who kept alive the knowledge of God. As the human race expanded, the minority of people who remained faithful to God became smaller and smaller.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |