Whats in a name Adam's name means man. As the first man, that seems straight forward enough. Seth Adam's son was named Seth, which means appointed. Eve said, "For God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew."(4) Enosh 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 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. We have no real idea as to why these names were chosen for their children. Often they may have referred to circumstances at birth, and so on. Mahalalel 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 Mahalalel's son was named Jared, from the verb yaradh, meaning shall come down. Enoch 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 Enoch was the father of Methuselah, who we have already mentioned. 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 (or, if you'll excuse the expression, raptured ). That s how Methuselah can be the oldest man in the Bible, yet he died before his father! Lamech 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 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. Now let's put it all together: Hebrew English meaning Adam............Man Seth..............Appointed Enosh............Mortal Kenan............Sorrow; Mahalalel.........The Blessed God Jared.............Shall come down Enoch..............Teaching Methuselah.......His death shall bring Lamech............The Despairing Noah.............Rest, or comfort. Now let's put it all together: Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest. That's rather remarkable:Here's the Gospel hidden within a genealogy in Genesis!
