Interesting Facts

• Jared’s birth year is noted with some variation across the sources, with Genesis and Jasher suggesting it occurred when Mahalaleel was 65 (year 460 A.M.), while Jubilees states it was in the sixth year of the third week of the tenth jubilee (461 A.M.).
• His birth is explicitly linked to the descent of the Watchers upon the earth, as Jubilees states he was named Jared “for in his days the angels of the Lord descended on the earth, those who are named the Watchers”. This suggests his birth was seen as concurrent with a significant and perhaps ominous event.
• Jared lived for a considerable span of nine hundred and sixty-two years, making him one of the long-lived patriarchs in the early generations.
• He fathered Enoch at the age of one hundred and sixty-two according to Genesis, but Jasher and Jubilees record this at sixty-two years of age.
• During Jared’s lifetime, the lawlessness on earth increased due to the actions and teachings of the fallen angels and their offspring, the giants.

Genealogy

• Jared was the son of Mahalaleel from the line of Seth.
• His grandfather was Cainan, the son of Enos, who was the son of Seth.
• His great-grandfather was Enos, the son of Seth, who was the son of Adam.
• According to Jubilees, Mahalaleel married Dinah, the daughter of Barakiel, his father’s brother’s daughter. Thus, Dinah was Jared’s mother.
• Jared married Baraka, the daughter of Râsûjâl, who was a daughter of his father’s brother, in the fourth week of the eleventh jubilee. This makes Baraka his cousin.
• His son was Enoch, who was born in the fourth year of the fifth week of the twelfth jubilee (522 A.M.) according to Jubilees, or when Jared was either 62 or 162 years old according to other accounts.

Historical Context

Jared’s life spanned a period marked by profound changes and increasing moral decay on the earth. A defining event during his lifetime was the descent of the Watchers in the years 460-461 A.M., which coincided with or shortly followed his birth. These celestial beings, also referred to as the “sons of God,” transgressed by taking wives from the daughters of men, driven by their beauty. This union resulted in the birth of the Nephilim, giants of immense size and power. The Watchers also imparted forbidden knowledge to humankind, including charms, enchantments, the use of plants, the working of metals, and in the case of Baraqijal, astrology. This dissemination of secret arts led to widespread godlessness, fornication, and corruption. Violence increased on the earth as men taught each other evil practices, and the earth became filled with violence. Even the natural order was disrupted as men began to interbreed animals, provoking the Lord. Jared lived in a world where the boundaries between the divine and mortal realms were blurred, and the consequences of this transgression were becoming increasingly evident in the moral and physical state of humanity.

Narrative

The narrative specifically focusing on Jared’s personal actions and dialogues is limited within these excerpts. His primary significance in the texts appears to be genealogical, placing him firmly within the righteous lineage of Seth that would eventually lead to Noah. However, the context of his life is highly significant. Jubilees explicitly states that he was named because in his days the Watchers descended, directly linking his existence to this pivotal event. This implies that his life unfolded against the backdrop of the Watchers’ increasing influence and the subsequent rise of lawlessness and the birth of the giants. While the texts do not detail his personal responses to these events, his longevity meant he witnessed a considerable portion of this deteriorating state of affairs. He married his cousin Baraka and fathered Enoch, who would later be recognized for his righteousness and unique relationship with God. Jared’s life serves as a chronological marker in the unfolding narrative of early human history, situated between the initial transgression of the Watchers and the eventual rise of figures like Enoch who sought to walk in God’s ways amidst a corrupt generation. His long life would have made him a witness to the escalating consequences of the fallen angels’ actions.