Genesis 5:18-24·~1 min

God Takes Up Enoch

Jared fathers Enoch, lives many more years, and dies, just as the earlier fathers do. The familiar pattern is still in place when Enoch enters the line.

W¹⁸hen Jared was 162 years old, he became the father of Enoch. ¹⁹And after he had become the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁰So Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.

Enoch fathers Methuselah and walks with God for 300 years. Then, instead of the usual ending, the chapter says he was no more, because God had taken him.

²¹When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah. ²²And after he had become the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. ²³So Enoch lived a total of 365 years. ²⁴Enoch walked with God, and then he was no more, because God had taken him away.

Section summaryThe genealogy continues through Jared to Enoch, but with Enoch the pattern changes. Instead of ending with the usual notice of death, the chapter says twice that he walked with God, and then that God took him away.

Role in the chapterThis middle section breaks the genealogy’s steady refrain and gives the chapter its one striking variation. Enoch does not cancel the reality of death around him, but his life introduces a different note within the line.