Interesting Facts

• Methuselah was the son of Enoch, who walked with God and was taken by Him.
• Enoch begat Methuselah at the age of sixty-five.
• After begetting Methuselah, Enoch continued to walk with God and served the Lord.
• Methuselah was taught by his father Enoch in the ways of God.
• Methuselah lived to be one of the longest-living individuals mentioned in the sources, dying at the age of nine hundred and sixty or nine hundred and sixty-nine years.

Genealogy

• Methuselah was the son of Enoch, who was the son of Jared, who was the son of Mahalaleel, who was the son of Cainan, who was the son of Enos, who was the son of Seth, who was the son of Adam.
• His mother’s name is not explicitly mentioned in these sources.
• Enoch begat Methuselah when he was sixty-five years old.
• Methuselah married Edna, the daughter of Azrial, his father’s brother’s daughter, in the fourteenth jubilee.
• Methuselah begat Lamech at the age of one hundred and eighty-seven years according to Genesis, or eighty-seven years according to Jasher.
• Methuselah had other sons besides Lamech.
• Methuselah’s son Lamech was the father of Noah.
• Methuselah’s granddaughter Naamah, the daughter of Elisha (presumably another son of Methuselah, referred to as his uncle by Lamech in Jasher), married Lamech.
• Methuselah’s grandson Eliakim had daughters who married Noah’s sons.

Historical Context

Methuselah lived in a world increasingly corrupted by the influence of the fallen Watchers. This period was characterized by the birth of giants, the teaching of forbidden knowledge leading to sin and violence. Lawlessness increased, and all flesh corrupted its ways. Enoch, Methuselah’s father, separated himself from this corruption and walked with God, eventually becoming a teacher of righteousness and even reigning over the sons of men, establishing peace and teaching wisdom. Methuselah would have been raised in this environment shaped by both pervasive wickedness and the righteous influence of his father. The text notes a great famine during this time, indicating societal distress. As the corruption continued and intensified after Enoch’s ascension, Methuselah, along with Noah, was called by God to preach repentance to mankind for a period of one hundred and twenty years before the coming flood. However, the sons of men did not heed their warnings. Methuselah’s long life spanned much of this pre-flood era, witnessing the gradual decline of humanity and the warnings of impending judgment.

Narrative

Methuselah’s personal story, as gleaned from the sources, revolves around his lineage and his role in the lead-up to the Flood. He is primarily significant as the son of Enoch, a figure of great righteousness, and the grandfather of Noah, the one chosen to survive the deluge. Enoch taught Methuselah wisdom and knowledge and the fear of God, and Methuselah likewise continued to teach the sons of men. He acted uprightly in the sight of God, following his father’s teachings, and did not deviate from the good path. In his later years, when mankind turned away from the Lord, Methuselah, alongside Noah, was commanded to preach repentance for one hundred and twenty years, warning of the destruction to come. Despite their efforts, the people remained stiffnecked and refused to listen. Methuselah died in the year of the Flood, or just before it, depending on the interpretation of the timelines provided in Genesis and Jasher. His death marked the end of an era, just before God’s judgment was unleashed upon the corrupted world. The fact that his grandson Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord suggests that Methuselah’s righteous influence, along with Enoch’s, played a role in preserving a godly lineage. Methuselah’s life serves as a crucial link between the divinely favored Enoch and the savior of humanity, Noah, during a period of profound moral decay and divine judgment.