Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“Methuselah lived one hundred eighty-seven years, then became the father of Lamech. Methuselah lived after he became the father of Lamech seven hundred eighty-two years, and became the father of other sons and daughters. All the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty-nine years, then he died.“
(Genesis 5:25-27)

Lamech means ‘strong man’ and ‘humiliation’ from an otherwise unused root that means ‘to be strong’ and ‘robust’. It can also be from (1) the particle ל (le), ‘to or towards’, and (2) the verb מוך (muk), ‘be low’. If you compare the line of Seth with the line of Cain, you can see a similarity of names. Whether it is because of desired values (you tended to name children after circumstances or after characteristics you wanted them to inhabit) or a social connection, they had a pool of names that was quite common. Among Cain’s descendants are a Methushael and a Lamech (sixth and seventh generation).

Adam was still going strong at 874 years old when Lamech was born. Enoch was 252 when Lamech was born. Lamech was 113 years old when Enoch for translated and he (Lamech) died five years before the Flood – so he could have witnessed most of the building of the ark, if he’d cared to. Methuselah outlived his son Lamech by five years.

Methuselah died at 969 years, the oldest person recorded in the scriptures. Adam was alive for the first 243 years of his life. He died the same year that the Flood came. Due to the righteousness of Seth’s line overall, it is assumed (but not specified) that Methuselah died of natural causes and not in the Flood itself. I’ve heard it said – but seen no proof in scripture one way or the other – that on the day that Methuselah died, God shut the door of the ark and started the Flood. It’s certainly possible.