The Gospel of the Kingdom in Adam’s Genealogy

May 1, 2022 | General, Gospel of the Kingdom | 0 comments

Seeds of the Gospel of the Kingdom were planted in the Genesis accounts of the creation, and Adam’s genealogy.^a Just as the Father had infused nature with the ability to procreate, his instructions to the first couple mandated that they “be fruitful and multiply.” The act of procreation would create the “after their own kind” template which they had observed in nature.

However, what began with so much optimism and joy ended in shame. Because of their sin, Adam and his wife were evicted from Paradise. They were guilty of transgressing Yah’s commandment not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This punishment would impact their progeny and creation itself.

Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground— because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.

Genesis 3:18,19 (Berean Study Bible)

For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

Romans 8:20,21 (Berean Study Bible)

Although we know that the heavens and earth do not literally procreate, in Genesis it is metaphorically pointing to the events that will take place following the creation of “heaven and earth.”

These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.

Genesis 2:4 (KJV)

Adam is the beginning of humanity. As his offspring, we are carriers of his genetic material — both physically and spiritually. The impact of Adam’s sin nature would ripple through thousands of generations.¹

Yet, by the end of the fifth chapter of Genesis, hope begins to shine through the darkness. While pronouncing judgment on the couple and their adversary, our Heavenly Father also demonstrates His mercy. Yes, the man and his wife would be punished, but redemption was in their future. From the woman would eventually come a man known as the last Adam who would redeem humankind.

Yes, they would die. But they were also given the chance to live; through the coming of Yeshua (Jesus) as their savior and High Priest. This was evident during the arraignment proceedings involving the serpent, the man, and the woman. The verse outlining the serpent’s punishment may help us understand how “seed” is connected to the genetic history which can stem from either a person or event.

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed. He shall bruise² your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

Genesis 3:15 (KJV)

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed, he shall watch³ against thy head, and thou shalt watch against his heel.

Genesis 3:16 (LXX)

And I will put hatred between you and between the woman; and between your seed and between her seed. He will give heed to your head, and you will give heed to his heel.⁴

Genesis 3:15 (Apostolic Bible Polyglot)

Hostility would now define the relationship between the woman and Satan. More importantly, the enemy would target her righteous offspring, culminating in the crucifixion of the coming Messiah.

When you break out the Hebrew words for bruise, heed, and heel you get fascinating insights into what is going on here. You could conceivably paraphrase it to read:

And I will put hostility between you (the serpent) and the woman, and between your progeny (the coming anti-messiah and/or including the unrighteous) and her Seed (Yeshua). He (Yeshua) shall observe and keep an eye on you and you (the serpent) will track him from the rear, watching and following his steps.

Adam’s Genealogy Spawns Generational Curses

The early years of marriage for Adam and Chavah (Eve) were filled with heartache. Envy led to fratricide with the murder of Abel at the hand of his brother Cain. Cain’s jealousy got the best of him and what was in his heart spilled out as rage and the first murderous act.

Before we examine Adam’s genealogy, we should set the stage by focusing on the Hebrew word tôldôt. It can be defined as “an account of men and their descendants.” ⁵ Tôldôt (H8435) is the “story” or genetic line that is propagated from a person or event. When you understand how tôldôt works in the Genesis narrative, you will see how the Gospel of the Kingdom prophecy unfolds throughout multiple generations. It is the narrowing and expanding of Adam’s family tree which will ultimately make good on Yah’s promise of a coming Deliverer and a literal heavenly Kingdom on earth.

The genealogies mentioned in Genesis include those of:

• The heavens and earth
• Adam
• Cain
• Noah and his sons: Shem, Ham, Japheth
• The nations descended from Noah (his sons)
• Abram/Abraham (Isaac and Jacob) and his descendants through Hagar and Keturah
• Lot
• Esau

Although the temptation is strong to skip these patriarchal family trees, you should read and study them. They contain scriptural nuggets of information that will help you understand the entirety of the Bible narrative.

Hebrew Names Mean Something

Names carry deep meanings in the Hebrew language. This is evident through out the Biblical canon. We cannot give a conclusive answer as to how baby names were chosen. However, based on various Scripture accounts taken in context, circumstances at birth no doubt played a part.

In the Bible, many names said just what they meant. Names were more than just labels. To ancient Hebrews and Babylonians, nothing existed until it had a name. Its name expressed its character.

Professor David Noel Freedman, University of California at San Diego

Here are examples of different types of ancient Hebrew naming nomenclature categories:

1. Honoring the Almighty
2. Expressions of character or mission
3. Name change designed to reflect a person’s new disposition
4. Acting as an agent in the name of another
5. Prophetic implications

Honoring the Almighty

The personal name of the Eternal One, the Tetragrammaton YHWH, occurs 5,321 times in the biblical canon of 66 books. Since Hebrew does not contain vowels, there is much controversy surrounding the correct spelling and pronunciation of The Name. Some say the Almighty’s name is Yahweh, others prefer Yahuah. We will leave this to you to research and draw your own conclusions.⁶

However, since Yah’s name identifies his nature, a mention of His name is equivalent to identifying His character. Here are a few name-based meanings of Yah’s name:

• to be
• I am [is] what I am
• I cause to be
• I create
• faithful presence
• the Existing One
• Eternal

In the Scriptures you can see many examples of people whose names are appended with “El” or “Yah” — Hebrew words for God (Most High Elohim).

Expressions of Character or Mission

When naming their offspring, many Hebrew parents chose names that would define the character or mission of the child. Sometimes angels would appear on behalf of Yah (God) with a name that had been chosen by the Father. This happened with Sarah (Genesis 17:19) in the naming of Isaac, Zacharias (Luke 1:13) in the naming of John the Immerser (Baptist), and Joseph the husband of Mary (Matthew 1:20,21) in the naming of Yeshua.

Isaac’s name means “laughter”, which is what this child brought to his mother and Father Abraham after a lengthy period of barrenness. John is Yochanan or Ioannes (Greek). It means “Yah is a gracious giver” or “Yah has graced.” How fitting for Zacharias and Elizabeth who had also been unable to conceive for many years.

But God replied, “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.

Genesis 17:19 Berean Study Bible⁷ (BSB)

But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.

Luke 1:13 New Living Translation (NLT)

The most profound example of “mission” is in the pronouncement of the birth of Yeshua (Jesus), whose name means salvation.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:20,21 New International Version (NIV)

Name Change Designed to Reflect a Person’s New Disposition

The first instance of a person having their name changed was Hoshea. Moses decided to change Hoshea’s name to Joshua before he was sent on a mission to spy out the land of Canaan — the Promised land. How fitting since this is the land where New Jerusalem will set down following the Day of the Lord.

These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua

Numbers 13:16 (KJV)

Whereas Hosea means “salvation”, Joshua means “Jehovah (Yehova^b) is salvation.”

Abram and Sarai were given the names Abraham and Sarah. So Abram went from being known as “exalted father” (Genesis 11:26,27) to “father of a multitude.” Sarai, the wife of Abram, would become Sarah, the “princess.”⁸

Simon becomes Peter “the rock” and Jacob “the supplanter” is renamed Israel, meaning “governed by Yah” or “he will rule as Yah.”⁹

Acting As An Agent

When you say you are acting “in the name” of someone, it means that you are that person’s legal and authoritative representative. You are authorized to act on their behalf. This is the role of an agent — a person through which power is exerted or an end achieved.

When we end our prayers with the words “in Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name, we are invoking the power and authority of his name as granted to him by Yah. We are making our petition in the name of Yeshua on the authority granted to him by the Father. Agency in action is seen in the burning bush episode witnessed by Moses (Exodus 3:2), the encounter with the angel and Samson’s parents (Judges 13:3-6), and the fiery furnace experience of the three Hebrew men. (Daniel 3:20)¹⁰

Prophetic Implications

The prophets acted as agents of the Most High. By saying something “in the name of God” they were in effect saying that they were His agents and spoke on His behalf. The Prophet Hosea, on at least three occasions, named his children based on orders he received from the Almighty. Their names were living, breathing icons of what was to come for rebellious Israel.

So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. Then the LORD said to him: “Call his name Jezreel, for in a little while I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.

Hosea 1:3,4 (NKJV)

And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him: “Call her name Lo-Ruhamah,” for I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, but I will utterly take them away.

Hosea 1:6 (NKJV)

Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. Then God said: “Call his name L0-Ammi, for you are not My people, and I will not be your God.”

Hosea 1:8,9 (NKJV)

Adam’s Genealogy in Genesis

The late Chuck Missler is often quoted as saying “God always rewards the diligent student.” When you take the time to study Adam’s genealogy up to Noah, you will be rewarded.

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.

Chuck Missler

Let’s take a closer look at the meaning of each of Adam’s righteous offspring and see what they reveal that is not explicitly stated in the Genesis 5 narrative. However, you must keep in mind that proper names are often difficult to translate precisely since most lexicons and concordances tend to render superficial meanings. There is also much contention and controversy amongst academics regarding the true meanings of the original roots of the words being examined. Nevertheless, let’s take a stab at it and see what we can uncover.

The Gospel in Genesis

Now that we have built the proper foundation, let’s string these meanings together.

Man is appointed mortal sorrow but the blessed mighty one shall come down to teach. His death will bring the lamenting rest.

As we said, the Father rewards the diligent student who is willing to dig deeper than most when studying the Scriptures. Before we continue, here are a few things to consider:

Hebrew was originally written with symbols called pictographs. When Judah was taken captive and sent to Babylon they adopted the Aramaic language/writing of their captors and used it to write Hebrew. So, what we call Hebrew in our day is actually Aramaic in origin.

The ancient Hebrew language is rooted in a connection to the five senses — it is “concrete” and not “abstract.” The Greek mind filters information according to its appearance. The Hebraic mind evaluates reality in ways that can be discerned through our five senses. In order to do proper research of Hebrew words in your Bible study, you have to shut down the Greek part of your brain and adopt an ancient Hebrew mindset. When doing your research, remember this:

All existing Hebrew Lexicons of the Bible convert the vocabulary of the ancient Hebrews into a vocabulary compatible to our modern western language. The greatest problem with this is that it promotes western thought when reading the Biblical text.

Jeff A. Benner, The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible, 2005

Unpacking The Genealogy of Adam

Here is how this genealogy was sussed out.¹¹

Adam

Adam:  ארם  [aleph-dahlet-mem]: 

Red: to be red as a color or through the shedding of blood. 

Man: from the reddish skin; ruddy, man, Adam, person.

Seth

Seth/Sheth: שח [sheen,seen-khet]: 

Compensation (BDB) From H7896: to put, that is substituted; Sheth, third son of Adam: Seth, Sheth. The idea of compensation is clear in Genesis 4:24. You will find that the notion of compensation is rendered as “appointed” in the following Bible translations: KJV, NKJV, NAS, NASB 1995/1997, the ASV and the JPS Tanakh 1917.

In the Scriptures, when someone was appointed they were placed in a position or office for an intended purpose or complete a task. Seth was the man who was raised up to continue the line from which our Messiah would come. He was “compensation” for the death of Abel. (Genesis 30:28, Genesis 41:34, Numbers 1:50, Esther 2:3, Jeremiah 51:27)

And Adam knew his wife again; and she bore a son, and called his name Seth: ‘for God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel; for Cain slew him.’ JPS Tanakh 1917

And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed. NKJV

And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore a son, and called his name Seth, saying, For God has raised up to me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. LXX

And Adam had sexual relations again with Eve, his wife, and she conceived, and she bore a son, and she called his name Shayth, because God gives to me another seed for the sake of Habyl, whom Qayn killed. Aramaic Bible in Plain English

Enosh/Enos

Enoch/Enos: אנוש [aleph-nun-vav-sheen]: 

Man, son of Seth is the standard translation of Enos. However, when you dig deeper the name yields other fascinating tidbits from Enos’ name. The Hebrew letter vav (ו) means to add, secure, bind (nailed to) and to covenant. Nun (נ) means offspring, descendant, son or continue. Sheen (ש ) can mean repeat, two, both or second. 

In Alfred Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names, Enosh is translated to mean “man, frail and miserable.” The  NOBSE Study Bible Name List defines it as “mortal.”

Kenan

Kenan: קינן [koof-yod-nun-nun sohfeet]:

Some study aides and Bible translations erroneously equate Cainan with Kenan. The Strong’s definition is weak, defining the name Kenan as “a descendant of Seth.” Duh. This is not productive.

Kenan may even be thought to originate from the verb קונן (qonen), which means to chant a dirge,¹² or from the noun קינה (qina), meaning lamentation or a sorrowful song. ¹³ Taken this way Kenan can mean “lamenter.” Sorrow and lamentation are comparable in that to be sorrowful means unhappiness or woe. Lament is an expression of grief, suffering, or sadness. Why is sorrow or lamentation connected to Kenan? Genesis 4:26 may provide a clue.

And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD. KJV

The most prominent usage here has to do with calling on the name of God. Usually, the context has to do with a critical or chronic need (e.g. after Cain killed Abel, man realized the full effects of the curse and began to call on God’s name–Gen 4:26) The godly recognize the presence of original sin by their continual calling on God. God responds to all who thus call on him. Indeed, the covenant people (including the stranger, I Kings 8:43) are admonished to so pray and are assured that God will reverse the curse. Not to so call on God is to deserve and justly received God’s wrath.¹⁴

R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer & Bruce K. Walke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, p. 810

Mahalalel

Mahalalel: מהללאל [mem-hay-lamed-lamed-aleph-lamed]:

Praise of God, shining one of El, blessed El, or blessed Mighty One. The noun מהלל (mahalel), means praise, from the root הלל (halal), which means to shine or praise. Mahalalel comes from mahalal which can mean blessed; and El (capitalized) is the title (not name) of the Most High.

Jared

Jared: ירד [yod-resh-dahlet]:

To descend or come down. From the verb yarad. It was during Jared’s life that the Watcher angels “came down” from heaven and mated with mortal women to produce the Nephilim (fallen ones) offspring mentioned in Genesis 6.

Enoch

Enoch: חנון[khet-nun-vahv-nun sohfeet]:

There are actually 3 Enochs mentioned in the Genesis narrative. The first was a son of Cain. The second is a town that was built in the land of Nod. The third is the prophet Enoch, son of Jared in Seth’s line, in the seventh generation from Adam. His name means to teach, train, to initiate or be dedicated. The etymology of his name stems from the root חנך (hanak).

Contrary to what most Protestant churches teach, Enoch was not taken to heaven at age 365. He was taken to Paradise, or Eden (which was still on earth at the time prior to the flood of Noah). The verse (Genesis 5:24) that says “God took him” simply means he was taken from one place and transported to another place. No one, including Elijah, would have been taken to heaven above before Yeshua, the first fruits of the resurrection.¹⁵

And I also will give you commandment, my sons, as Enoch commanded his son in the first Jubilees: while still living, the seventh in his generation, he commanded and testified to his son and to his sons’ sons until the day of his death.

Jubilees 7:39, R.H. Charles translation

Methuselah

Methuselah: מתושח[mem-tav-vahv-sheen-khet]:

Strong’s Concordance defines Methuselah to mean “man of the dart”– telling us that the root for metu is mat (#4962) which means man and shelach (#7973) meaning weapon or missile; therefore, “dart.”

But wait. There’s more. 

Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads מות (mut) for the first part and translates the whole name as “when he is dead it shall be sent.”

Here is another way to look at Methuselah’s name:

But there is another possible meaning for this name. The word metu may be derived from the word mot meaning death and the “u” is a suffix that means “their” – “their death.” There is no way to know for certain if the final vowel in metu was an “o” or a “u” as the vowel pointings that make that distinction are of fairly recent origin. If it was originally an “o” then the suffix would change to “his” – “his death.” The word shelach (missile or weapon) is the noun form of the verb shalach meaning “to send” (a missile or weapon that is sent). Shelach has the more literal meaning of “to send something.” We now have the possible meaning of “their death sends” or “his death sends.”

Jeff A. Benner

What would Methuselah’s death send? The flood!

Lamech

Lamech: למד [lamed-mem-dahlet]:

Adam’s family tree produced two Lamech’s in the Genesis account. One was the son of Cain. The other was the father of Noah and son of Methuselah. The name is hard to translate because למד is not found anywhere in the texts of Scripture, so a definitive meaning is hard to pinpoint with accuracy. However, a plausible interpretation of Lamech’s name it tied to the veep mok (Strong’s #4134) and means “low” or “to be low” when ל is the prefix. It is echoed in the English word lament or lamentation and suggests a condition of despairing.

Noah

Noah: נֹחַ [nun-khet]:

The name Noah (Strong’s H5146) simply means “rest.”

Noah is an illustration of an ancient and proverbial righteous man. The etymology of the name is uncertain. In Genesis 5:29 it is associated probably as a word play wit the verb nāham (comfort, bring relief), but appears to be more directly related to nûah which…connotes rest and salvation.

Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, p. 563

Genealogies Matter

When you encounter a section of the Bible that lists a rather lengthy genealogy do you put it in the TL;DR (too long, didn’t read) category of your mind? Then you are missing out on important revelations that anchor Scripture to history and Yahuah’s plan of redemption of mankind.

Every word, jot, and tittle is important. Why? Because the Eternal One, through His Ruach, wanted it to be recorded as a historical record.

Here are the top 5 reasons why genealogies matter:

• They anchor us to secular and religious history
• They prove that the Bible is a book about real people whose actions and choices matter
• They remind us of Yah’s sovereign plans that lead to the coming Kingdom
• They display Yah’s perfect timing in world events
• They point to the Messiah and High Priest first alluded to in Genesis 3

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

2 Timothy 3:16, ESV

FOOTNOTES

¹ 1 Corinthians 15:21,22(BSB ): “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”

² The Hebrew word for bruise used here is suph. (Strong’s #H7779) Brown Driver Briggs (BSB)defines is as “to crush, overwhelm, or gape upon; to snap at; figuratively to overwhelm: break, bruise, cover.”

³ The Hebrew word for heed or watch is tereo. (Strong’s #H5083) It can mean to “guard (from loss or injury), properly by keeping the eye upon. Thayer defines it to mean “to attend to carefully, take care of, to guard, to observe, to reserve: to undergo something.

⁴ Heel in Hebrew is also the word aqeb. (Strong’s #6119) BDB defines it as “hinder part, rear” (Strong) a heel (as protuberant); hence a track; figuratively the rear (of an army).

⁵ Definition from The Outline of Biblical Usage by Larry Pierce, creator of the Online Bible.

⁶ For more information consult the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, by R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, 1980, pp. 210-212

⁷ An angel came in the agency of the Father. The words he spoke were taken as if they came from the lips of the Most High himself. See The Gospel Worth Dying For, Chapter 9, “Agency and Prolepsis”

⁸ Genesis 17: 3, Genesis 17:15

⁹ Genesis 32:28

¹⁰ For more information on what happened inside Nebuchadnezzar’s oven, read the Prayer of Azariah which was once included in the King James 1611 Bible.

11 Resources used for this section includes James Strong, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Updated), Hendrickson Publishers, 2017; Jeff A. Benner, Virtualbookworm.com, 2005, Ancient Hebrew Lexicon; R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, Volumes 1 and 2, The Moody Bible Institute, 1980; and Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, Charles Augustus Briggs (editors), A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1906 (Based on the Hebrew-German lexicon of Wilhelm Gesenius).

¹² Ezekiel 27:32, 1 Samuel 1:17

¹³ Jeremiah 7:19, Ezekiel 2:10

¹⁴ Another interpretation adopted by Jewish expositors is that men at the time profanely called on God’s name, insinuating that this was the birth of idolatry. The in which Enos lived could have marked a profound split in the behaviors of the righteous and unrighteous.

¹⁵ See The Gospel Worth Dying For, Chapter 5, “The Resurrections”, page 62

^a This is the genealogy from Adam to Noah only.

^b See Strong’s #H1954 and #H3091