Seth

Seth is the third named son of Adam and Eve, given to the first parents after Cain's murder of Abel. Scripture remembers him as the appointed replacement seed, the head of the line through which Adam's image is transmitted forward, and a fixed link in the genealogies that run from the first man to Jesus.

Born to Replace Abel

Seth's name is bound to his mother's confession at the birth. After conceiving again, Eve names him and explains the gift: "And Adam had sex with his wife; and she bore a son, and named him Seth. For, [she said], [the Speech of] God has appointed me another seed instead of Abel; for Cain slew him" (Gen 4:25). The next verse moves the line forward immediately and ties it to the public worship of Yahweh: "And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he named him Enosh. Then it was begun to call on the name of [the Speech of] Yahweh" (Gen 4:26).

In Adam's Likeness and Image

The genealogy of Genesis 5 marks Seth as the son in whom Adam's image is carried into the next generation. "And Adam lived 130 years, and begot [a son] in his own likeness, after his image; and named him Seth" (Gen 5:3). The language deliberately echoes the creation account, locating Seth at the head of the line that Genesis chooses to follow rather than the line of Cain.

Lifespan and Death

Seth's stretch of life closes the way every patriarch's notice in Genesis 5 closes: "and all the days of Seth were 912 years: and he died" (Gen 5:8).

In the Chronicler's Roll

The Chronicler opens his sweeping genealogy with three names and no commentary, placing Seth between Adam and Enosh: "Adam, Seth, Enosh," (1Ch 1:1). The same verse is also where Seth is sometimes noted under the variant spelling SHETH; the UPDV reads "Seth" here.

In the Genealogy of Jesus

Luke's genealogy traces the line of Jesus all the way back through Seth to Adam and to God: "the [son] of Enos, the [son] of Seth, the [son] of Adam, the [son] of God" (Luke 3:38). Seth stands as the second-to-last name in that ascending list, the link between Adam and the rest of redemptive history.

Honored Among the Ancients

Sirach's praise of the famous men remembers Seth alongside the earliest figures of Genesis: "Shem, and Seth, with Enosh were honored; But above every living thing was the glory of Adam. Great among his brethren, and the glory of his people" (Sir 49:16).