Genesis 5:3 kjv
And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth:
Genesis 5:3 nkjv
And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
Genesis 5:3 niv
When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.
Genesis 5:3 esv
When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
Genesis 5:3 nlt
When Adam was 130 years old, he became the father of a son who was just like him ? in his very image. He named his son Seth.
Genesis 5 3 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 1:26 | "Let us make mankind in our image, after our likeness..." | Divine image and likeness in creation. |
| Gen 1:27 | "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him..." | God's creative act and humanity's origin. |
| Gen 5:1 | "This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God." | Establishes the perfect starting point for Adam's lineage. |
| Gen 9:6 | "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image." | Human life's sanctity based on God's image. |
| Ps 8:4-5 | "What is mankind that you are mindful of them...? You made them a little lower than the heavenly beings..." | Human dignity and original status. |
| 1 Cor 11:7 | "For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God..." | Man as God's image, even post-fall. |
| Jas 3:9 | "...with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God." | Moral implication of cursing image-bearers. |
| Rom 5:12 | "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin..." | Transmission of sin and death through Adam. |
| 1 Cor 15:21-22 | "For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die..." | Universal mortality and sin nature from Adam. |
| Col 3:10 | "...and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator." | Restoration of the image through Christ. |
| Eph 4:24 | "...and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." | Spiritual recreation and image restoration. |
| 2 Cor 3:18 | "...and we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image..." | Progressive transformation into Christ's image. |
| 1 Cor 15:49 | "Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven." | Bearing Adam's earthly image vs. Christ's heavenly image. |
| Rom 8:29 | "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son..." | Believers destined to bear Christ's image. |
| Heb 2:14-15 | "Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same things..." | Christ taking on human likeness to redeem. |
| Gen 4:25 | "And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, saying, 'God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel...'" | Provides context for Seth's birth and naming. |
| Lk 3:38 | "...the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God." | Lineage tracing back to Adam as Son of God. |
| Gen 5:4 | "Adam lived after he fathered Seth 800 years, and had other sons and daughters." | Continuity of Adam's descendants beyond Seth. |
| Num 1:18 | "and they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees by families, by their fathers’ houses..." | Emphasis on family lines and generations in the Bible. |
| Exod 6:14-25 | Detailed genealogies of tribes. | Biblical significance of lineages for covenant. |
| 1 Chr 1-9 | Extensive genealogies. | Affirmation of historical continuity. |
| Mt 1:1-17 | Genealogy of Jesus Christ. | Traces redemptive line through specific individuals. |
| Gen 2:7 | "Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." | Original formation of Adam's physical body. |
Genesis 5 verses
Genesis 5 3 Meaning
Genesis 5:3 describes the birth of Seth, emphasizing his resemblance to his father Adam. After living 130 years, Adam fathered a son who bore Adam's likeness and image. This directly parallels God's creation of Adam in the divine likeness and image (Gen 1:26-27), but critically, it indicates the transmission of this image from Adam to his descendant after the Fall. Thus, Seth, and all humanity descending from Adam, inherits an image that is no longer pristine but bears the mark of sin.
Genesis 5 3 Context
Genesis chapter 5 marks the beginning of the "toledot" or "account of Adam" (Gen 5:1), focusing on his lineage through Seth. This chapter functions as a historical and theological bridge, connecting humanity's origins to the Great Flood. It records the lifespan of ten patriarchs from Adam to Noah, emphasizing two recurring themes: long life (a remnant of God's blessing from creation) and inevitable death ("and he died," repeated for each patriarch except Enoch). The chapter subtly communicates the escalating consequences of the Fall as the genealogies progress. By introducing Seth as the legitimate heir to the human line, born in Adam's image, it contrasts this righteous lineage with the murderous line of Cain, suggesting God's providential preservation of a chosen line through which the promises of Genesis 3:15 might eventually be fulfilled. Adam's 130 years signify a significant period after the Fall, possibly witnessing the rise of Cain's lineage and the growing effects of sin, before Seth's birth initiated a new hope.
Genesis 5 3 Word analysis
- Adam (אָדָם, ’Adam): While also a proper name, it intrinsically means "man" or "humankind," emphasizing his archetypal role as the progenitor of all humanity. His life serves as a blueprint for the human experience, embodying creation, fall, and procreation.
- had lived 130 years: This indicates Adam's age at the birth of Seth. The long lifespans in Genesis 5 underscore a period of great vitality before the Flood, yet within the context of a cursed existence where mortality is guaranteed. It highlights the divine allowance of life propagation even after judgment.
- had a son (וַיּוֹלֶד בֵּן, wa-yyôled ben): Literally "he begot a son." This highlights the act of procreation, fulfilling the creational mandate to "be fruitful and multiply" (Gen 1:28). It emphasizes biological descent and the continuation of the human family through normal reproduction.
- in his own likeness (בִּדְמוּתוֹ, bidmuṯō): From דְּמוּת (demûṯ), meaning "likeness," "pattern," "resemblance." It suggests a moral, spiritual, and intellectual similarity. While distinct from "image" in Gen 1:26-27, when used together, it often reinforces the idea of comprehensive resemblance.
- in his own image (בְּצַלְמוֹ, bĕtsaləmō): From צֶלֶם (tselem), meaning "image," "likeness," often referring to a concrete representation, like an idol. Here, it denotes the essential nature or identity that Adam passed to Seth. Crucially, the transfer of image from Adam to Seth is not the pure image of God, but an image marred by the Fall, carrying sin's stain.
- likeness, image: These two terms appeared together when God created Adam (Gen 1:26). Their re-occurrence here, applied from Adam to Seth, is profoundly significant. It confirms that humanity continues to propagate its nature (the image), but it is no longer the pristine image reflecting only God's unblemished character. Instead, it is Adam's fallen image, meaning Seth inherits a human nature prone to sin, with corrupted spiritual faculties. This underscores the theological reality of inherited sinfulness.
- named him Seth: (שֵׁת, Sheth), meaning "appointed" or "compensation/replacement." As explained in Gen 4:25, Eve named him Seth because she saw him as God's replacement for Abel, whom Cain had murdered. This naming highlights hope and divine providence in the face of human depravity, indicating a new, chosen lineage.
Genesis 5 3 Bonus section
The genealogical record of Genesis 5:3 establishes a critical narrative and theological contrast: while humanity was initially created in God's perfect image, what is procreated is humanity's fallen image. This subtly explains the universality of human sin and the need for salvation. It’s not just a physical resemblance but an inherited spiritual and moral state. The term "likeness" (demût) and "image" (tselem) being reapplied in the context of human procreation underlines the ongoing fulfillment of God's command to be fruitful (Gen 1:28), even after sin, but clarifies that the quality of that life is now fundamentally altered. Seth’s role as the replacement for Abel (Gen 4:25) further underscores God's providential hand in maintaining a line through which His covenant promises would be preserved and eventually fulfilled, demonstrating grace and a continuous plan despite human rebellion and tragedy. The structured chronology of Genesis 5 highlights both the spread of humanity and the inexorable march of death, preparing the reader for the drastic events of the Flood.
Genesis 5 3 Commentary
Genesis 5:3 is a pivotal verse in early biblical history, forming a bridge between the creation account and the subsequent human story. By stating that Seth was born "in his own likeness, in his own image," it draws a direct parallel to Genesis 1:26, where humanity was created "in the image of God." This repetition emphasizes that the transmission of the "image" continues through procreation, a fundamental aspect of humanity's identity and its connection to the Creator.
However, the crucial difference lies in whose image is being transmitted. Adam was made directly in the pristine "likeness of God" before the Fall (Gen 5:1). Seth, conversely, is born after Adam's sin and inherits "Adam's likeness" and "Adam's image." This signifies a profound theological truth: while humanity retains God's image in its capacity for relationship, morality, and reason, this image is now marred and corrupted by sin. Seth embodies fallen humanity; he carries the inherent nature of his father, which includes both the remnants of God's original design and the brokenness of the Fall.
The long age of Adam (130 years) before Seth's birth might indicate the duration of suffering and estrangement after the Fall and Abel's murder, prior to God's renewed hope for humanity through a "substitute" son. Seth's naming also signals divine appointment and marks him as the ancestor of the righteous line (Gen 4:26 speaks of men beginning to call on the name of the Lord in Enosh's time, Seth's son), which eventually leads to Noah and, ultimately, to Christ. This verse thus lays foundational truth about the origin of human sinfulness through natural generation and foreshadows the necessity of divine intervention for redemption and the restoration of God's perfect image in humanity through Christ.