Answering The Atheist
May 18, 2003 / Volume 3, Issue 20
THE ATHEIST'S COMPLAINT:
Who was Methuselah’s father? Genesis 4:18 says it was Mehujael, but Genesis 5:21 says it was Enoch. Is there a contradiction?
RESPONSE:
A careful reading of the Scripture, rather than indiscriminately pulling out names from here and there, and the questioner could have solved this supposed contradiction for himself. The genealogies of Genesis 4 and Genesis 5 are NOT the same. In Genesis 4, it is the line of Cain which is given, whereas, in Genesis 5, it is the line of Seth. Notice:
4:16
4:17
4:18
4:18
4:18
4:18
4:20-22
|
Cain
Enoch
Irad
Mehujael
Methusaleh
Lamech
Jabal / Jubal
Tubal-Cain / Naamah |
|
5:4
5:6
5:9
5:12
5:15
5:18
5:21
5:25
5:28-29 |
Seth
Enosh
Cainan
Mahalalel
Jared
Enoch
Methusaleh
Lamech
Noah |
“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’” (Gen 4:25)
Though some of the names are similar, these are two separate lineages. There is no contradiction.
This article is a response to Skeptic's Annotated Bible, but original article is no longer listed
