EOB: Official Site of the Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible (Old and New Testament)

Genesis 5:20

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

Jared lived 802 years more after Enoch was born. He also had other sons and daughters.

EOB Footnote:

The MT reads “all the days of Jared” where the LXX has simply “all the days,” though the context makes the referent clear in both traditions.

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.

WEB (World English Bible):

Thus all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty-two years, then he died.

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

And all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

“And all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.”

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty-two years, and he died.

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

“Thus all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty-two years, and he died.”

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

“And all the years of Jared’s life were nine hundred and sixty-two: and he came to his end.”

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

Genesis 5:20

And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.

Commentary:

This verse, recording the lifespan of Jared, appears at first glance to be merely genealogical data within the antediluvian chronology. However, the name Jared (Yered in Hebrew) carries significant meaning, deriving from the root yarad, meaning “to descend.” This etymology has captured the attention of patristic and later Orthodox interpreters.

Patristic Significance:

Several Church Fathers and ancient Jewish traditions preserved by Christian writers note that Jared’s name commemorates a descent. Some interpreters connected this to the descent of the Watchers mentioned in Genesis 6, suggesting that during Jared’s lifetime, the sons of God began their fateful interaction with the daughters of men. While the Orthodox Church has not dogmatized this interpretation, it appears in various patristic and parabiblical sources, including texts familiar to Ethiopian Orthodox tradition.

Typological Reading:

More significantly for Orthodox Christology, the theme of descent (katabasis) resonates profoundly with the Incarnation. The eternal Logos descended from heaven, as confessed in the Nicene Creed. Saint Cyril of Alexandria and other Fathers emphasized that the Son of God descended not by changing location but by condescension (synkatabasis), taking upon Himself our human nature. Thus Jared’s very name, embedded in this genealogy that leads ultimately to Christ through Luke’s Gospel, whispers of the great descent that would bring salvation.

Liturgical Connections:

The Paschal and Nativity hymns of the Orthodox Church celebrate this divine descent. The Paschal Canon proclaims Christ’s descent into Hades, while Nativity hymns marvel at Him who descended from heaven to the cave of Bethlehem. The genealogy of Genesis 5, culminating in Noah and continuing through to Christ, forms part of the sacred history read and commemorated in the Church’s liturgical consciousness.

Spiritual Reflection:

The repeated refrain “and he died” throughout Genesis 5 serves as a sobering reminder of mortality’s reign before Christ’s victory. Each patriarch, regardless of extraordinary longevity, succumbed to death. This repetition prepares the reader for the singular exception of Enoch and ultimately points toward the One who would descend into death itself and emerge victorious, granting immortality to all who unite themselves to Him through baptism and the sacramental life of the Church.

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