Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Lindsey · 12-12-2011, 02:45 PM

Hi Everyone,

The names in the genealogies from Adam to Noah have meanings make an interesting message.

Hebrew English

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.

Man appointed mortal sorrow. The Blessed God shall come down teaching. His death shall bring (the) despairing rest.

Now, I think the creation story is a myth. Since we evolved, there couldn't have been an Adam. So, somebody obviously made up the genealogies. But, why did they pick names with such meanings? Many Christians will point to this genealogy as being proof that God sent Jesus. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how this message got there? I am so perplexed by this!!

stephan huller · 12-12-2011, 03:00 PM

Very interesting. Some of the explanations of the names are self serving (Enoch = “teaching”). But there has to be a reason this list was established. The idea that it might have been a code of sort for some secret message is quite plausible IMO. I am just not sure if this is the message. Hats off for originality though

stephan huller · 12-12-2011, 03:07 PM

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generations_of_Adam

It would be interesting to see the meanings Philo gives to these names. That there are 10 makes some sort of secret meaning possible

stephan huller · 12-12-2011, 03:13 PM

Philo on the names

Adam = earth
Seth = one who drinks water
Enos = hope
Kenan = ?
Mahalalel = ?
Jared = ?
Enoch = thy grace
Methusaleh = the sending forth of death
Lamech = humiliation
Noah = rest or just

Toto · 12-12-2011, 03:19 PM

Two points: most names in the Bible have some sort of meaning. But also, the human brain is wired to find patterns, even when they don't exist, even when a few words have to be massaged to fit the pattern. Check out the various Bible Codes, all of which are the product of the human mind reading a mass of data, not a secret key embedded in the text.

Generations_of_Adam interprets Qenan (your Kenan) as "Habitation", "possession", "lot" or "Smith"; from primitive root qen, "birdsnest". Mahalal'el is listed there as "God [be] praised".

hjalti · 12-12-2011, 03:24 PM

I bet that some of these meanings for the names are ad hoc from Christians just to get a message abot Jesus (Glory! Can I get an amen?).

E.g. Mahalalel. Does it mean "The blessed god" and not "praise of god" or something like that? The meaning of Kenan seems to be unknown. Does Enosh mean 'mortal' and not just 'man'? And so on.

braces_for_impact · 12-12-2011, 06:14 PM

As Toto said, we are hardwired to find patterns. Also, remember that the bible was written and rewritten often with an agenda. Even the first 5 books have several authors, all of whom were writing to legitimize their king and/or their particular priesthood.

A book called Who wrote the Bible (or via: amazon.co.uk) has a lot of good information on this.

Lindsey · 12-12-2011, 07:03 PM

Great ideas! Thanks

Stephan - Where did you find Philo's interpretations of the names?

stephan huller · 12-12-2011, 07:34 PM

Just go through the books yourself or do a Google search (I also have the recent release of the old Yonge translation that has an index in the back)

spin · 12-13-2011, 05:54 AM

[T2]Hebrew|Claim|Real||
Adam|Man|Man/earth||
Seth|Appointed|Put/Laid||
Enosh|Mortal|Man/mortal||
Kenan|Sorrow|Possession||
Mahalalel|The Blessed God|Praise of god||
Jared|Shall come down|Descent||
Enoch|Teaching|Trained/Dedicated||
Methuselah|His death shall bring|Heb: His death is a sword
Akk: Man of the dart||
Lamech|The Despairing|? (BDB doesn't find a meaning)||
Noah|Rest, or comfort.|Rest/quietness[/T2]

12-12-2011, 02:45 PM	#1
Lindsey New Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Midwest Posts: 2	Genesis 5 Geneolgies - A Message About Jesus?? Hi Everyone, The names in the genealogies from Adam to Noah have meanings make an interesting message. Hebrew English 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. Man appointed mortal sorrow. The Blessed God shall come down teaching. His death shall bring (the) despairing rest. Now, I think the creation story is a myth. Since we evolved, there couldn't have been an Adam. So, somebody obviously made up the genealogies. But, why did they pick names with such meanings? Many Christians will point to this genealogy as being proof that God sent Jesus. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how this message got there? I am so perplexed by this!!

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12-12-2011, 03:00 PM	#2
stephan huller Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: seattle, wa Posts: 9,337	Very interesting. Some of the explanations of the names are self serving (Enoch = “teaching”). But there has to be a reason this list was established. The idea that it might have been a code of sort for some secret message is quite plausible IMO. I am just not sure if this is the message. Hats off for originality though

12-12-2011, 03:07 PM	#3
stephan huller Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: seattle, wa Posts: 9,337	http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generations_of_Adam It would be interesting to see the meanings Philo gives to these names. That there are 10 makes some sort of secret meaning possible

12-12-2011, 03:13 PM	#4
stephan huller Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: seattle, wa Posts: 9,337	Philo on the names Adam = earth Seth = one who drinks water Enos = hope Kenan = ? Mahalalel = ? Jared = ? Enoch = thy grace Methusaleh = the sending forth of death Lamech = humiliation Noah = rest or just

12-12-2011, 03:19 PM	#5
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	Two points: most names in the Bible have some sort of meaning. But also, the human brain is wired to find patterns, even when they don't exist, even when a few words have to be massaged to fit the pattern. Check out the various Bible Codes, all of which are the product of the human mind reading a mass of data, not a secret key embedded in the text. Generations_of_Adam interprets Qenan (your Kenan) as "Habitation", "possession", "lot" or "Smith"; from primitive root qen, "birdsnest". Mahalal'el is listed there as "God [be] praised".

12-12-2011, 03:24 PM	#6
hjalti Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Iceland Posts: 761	I bet that some of these meanings for the names are ad hoc from Christians just to get a message abot Jesus (Glory! Can I get an amen?). E.g. Mahalalel. Does it mean "The blessed god" and not "praise of god" or something like that? The meaning of Kenan seems to be unknown. Does Enosh mean 'mortal' and not just 'man'? And so on.

12-12-2011, 06:14 PM	#7
braces_for_impact Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: In a nondescript, black helicopter. Posts: 6,637	As Toto said, we are hardwired to find patterns. Also, remember that the bible was written and rewritten often with an agenda. Even the first 5 books have several authors, all of whom were writing to legitimize their king and/or their particular priesthood. A book called Who wrote the Bible (or via: amazon.co.uk) has a lot of good information on this.

12-12-2011, 07:03 PM	#8
Lindsey New Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Midwest Posts: 2	Great ideas! Thanks Stephan - Where did you find Philo's interpretations of the names?

12-12-2011, 07:34 PM	#9
stephan huller Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: seattle, wa Posts: 9,337	Just go through the books yourself or do a Google search (I also have the recent release of the old Yonge translation that has an index in the back)

12-13-2011, 05:54 AM	#10
spin Contributor Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: nowhere Posts: 15,747	[T2]Hebrew\|Claim\|Real\|\| Adam\|Man\|Man/earth\|\| Seth\|Appointed\|Put/Laid\|\| Enosh\|Mortal\|Man/mortal\|\| Kenan\|Sorrow\|Possession\|\| Mahalalel\|The Blessed God\|Praise of god\|\| Jared\|Shall come down\|Descent\|\| Enoch\|Teaching\|Trained/Dedicated\|\| Methuselah\|His death shall bring\|Heb: His death is a sword Akk: Man of the dart\|\| Lamech\|The Despairing\|? (BDB doesn't find a meaning)\|\| Noah\|Rest, or comfort.\|Rest/quietness[/T2]

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