Seth and Cain
Both the Cainite and the Sethite lines begin with Adam. The Sethite line in Genesis 5 extends to Noah and his three sons. The Cainite line in Genesis 4 runs to Naamah. The seventh generation Lamech descended from Cain is described as the father of Jabal and Jubal (from his first wife Adah) and Tubal-cain and Naamah (from his second wife, Zillah). The ninth generation Lamech, descended from Seth, is described as the father of Noah. (Gen.4:17-22 Gen.5:1-32)
| Sethite | Cainite |
|---|---|
| Seth | -- |
| Enos | -- |
| Cainan | Cain |
| Mahalaleel | Enoch |
| Jared | Irad |
| Enoch | Mehujael |
| Methuselah | Methusael |
| Lamech | Lamech |
| Noah |
The Sethite line also gives ages at fatherhood and at death. In the Masoretic text, ages at death range from 777 (Lamech) to 969 (Methuselah), placing the text in the category of longevity narratives. The Septuagint and Samaritan Pentateuch differ somewhat in the ages given; in the Septuagint, the age at fatherhood is often 100 years later than that in the Masoretic text, extending the genealogy by several centuries.
The 2nd-century BC Book of Jubilees, regarded as non-canonical except by Coptic Christianity, gives the wives' names for the Sethite line:
| Husband | Wife |
|---|---|
| Seth | Azura |
| Enos | Noam |
| Cainan | Mualaleth |
| Mahalaleel | Dinah |
| Jared | Baraka |
| Enoch | Edna |
| Methuselah | Edna |
| Lamech | Betenos |
| Noah | Emzara |
Read more about this topic: Generations Of Adam
Famous quotes containing the words seth and/or cain:
“We are supposed to be the children of Seth; but Seth is too much of an effete nonentity to deserve ancestral regard. No, we are the sons of Cain, and with violence can be associated the attacks on sound, stone, wood and metal that produced civilisation.”
—Anthony Burgess (b. 1917)
“I’ll kill you with my own hands rather than let you put the mark of Cain on my brother!”
—Abraham Polonsky (b. 1910)