Methuselah

Methuselah is the son of Enoch, the father of Lamech, and the grandfather of Noah. The genealogy of Genesis 5 records the longest lifespan attached to any name in the antediluvian list, and the Chronicler later carries that name forward in the line from Adam to the sons of Noah.

Birth and lineage

His birth is dated to the sixty-fifth year of his father: "And Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah" (Ge 5:21). The next verses turn from Methuselah's birth to his father's walk with God: "and Enoch walked with God after he begot Methuselah 300 years, and begot sons and daughters: and all the days of Enoch were 365 years: and Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for [the Speech of] God took him" (Ge 5:22-24).

In his own turn Methuselah becomes the father of Lamech, Noah's father: "And Methuselah lived 187 years, and begot Lamech: and Methuselah lived after he begot Lamech 782 years, and begot sons and daughters" (Ge 5:25-26).

The longest life

The summary that closes his entry registers a span unmatched elsewhere in the line: "And all the days of Methuselah were 969 years: and he died" (Ge 5:27).

Carried forward in the Chronicler's list

The Chronicler keeps the name in the chain that runs from Adam through the patriarchs to Noah's three sons, set out in the bare list-form of that genealogy: "Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech" (1Ch 1:3).