That's why they call it the Living Word

Everyone has their hobbies. Or at least the things they always go back to when there's nothing else to do. Some play video games, some write stories, others sleep. I have discovered that I find myself seeking knowledge of the Bible. I look for the cracks and crevices that I have yet to explore. Last night, during a particularly boring stretch of free time, I found this.

I always knew the names of people in the Bible were important, and I knew that the human race is a living testament to not only the existence, but also the power and creativity of God. But this sealed it in stone for me.

ADAM

The first name, Adam, comes from the Hebrew adomah, and means "man." As the first man, that seems straightforward enough.

SETH

Adam's son was named Seth, which means "appointed." When he was born Eve said, "For God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew." (Genesis 4:25)

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.

KENAN

Enosh's son was named Kenan, which can mean "sorrow," dirge," or "elegy." Where Enosh's name represented a miserable state of being, Kenan's name would be the corresponding state of feeling.

MAHALALEL

Kenan's son was Mahalalel, from the Hebrew mahalal (meaning "blessed" or "praise"), and El, the name for God. Thus, Mahalalel means "the Blessed God." Often Hebrew names ending with -el pointed to God, such as Dani-el, "God is my Judge," Nathani-el, "Gift of God," etc.

JARED

Mahalalel's son was named Jared, from the verb yaradh, meaning "shall come down." Some authorities suggest that this might have been an allusion to the "Sons of God" who "came down" to procreate with the "daughters of men," resulting in the Nephilim of Genesis 6:4.

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.

METHUSELAH

The Flood of Noah did not come as a surprise. It had been preached on for four generations. Jude 14-15 quotes Enoch recounting a message from God about an impending judgement for the sins of mankind - this turned out to be the flood.

Enoch named his son to reflect this prophecy. The name Methuselah comes from two roots: muth, a root that means "death", and from shalach, which means "to bring," or "to send forth." Thus, the name Methuselah translates into "his death shall bring."

And, indeed, in the year that Methuselah died, the flood came. Methuselah was 187 when he had Lamech, and lived 782 years more (Genesis 5:25-26). Lamech had Noah when he was 182 (Genesis 5:28-29). The Flood came in Noah's 600th year. 187 + 182 + 600 = 969, which was Methuselah's age when he died.

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 the Hebrew nacham , "to bring relief" or "comfort," as Lamech himself explains in Genesis 5:29.

Here's where it comes together...

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

Here is a summary of God's plan of redemption, hidden here within a genealogy in Genesis.

The implications of this discovery are far more deeply significant than may be evident at first glance. It demonstrates that in the earliest chapters of the Book of Genesis, God had already laid out His plan of redemption for the predicament of mankind. It is the beginning of a love story, ultimately written in blood on a wooden cross which was erected in Judea almost 2,000 years ago.

This is also one of many evidences that the Bible is an integrated message system, the product of supernatural engineering. This punctures the presumptions of many who view the Bible as a record of an evolving cultural tradition, noble though it may be. It claims to be authored by the One who alone knows the end from the beginning, despite the fact that it is composed of 66 separate books, penned by some 40 authors, spanning several thousand years.

Boo. Yah.