The man that links Adam & Abraham

I love to work on my genealogy and when family members want to know something about our ancestors – they call me. I guess this is one of the reasons I love the genealogies preserved in the Bible. I understand that there are textual variations that raise certain challenges, but the traditionally accepted versions reveal some very interesting things.

When we read the book of Genesis we first learn about a man traditionally called Adam in the first four chapters. Almost eight chapters pass before we are introduced to Abraham. There are lots of events that happen in those eight chapters, including the Great Flood.

How did Abraham learn about Adam and the Great Flood? One possibility is that he learned it from Noah or his son Shem. Noah was 892 years old and Shem was 390 years old when Abraham was born. Did you get that? They were both still alive! Abraham was 58 years old when Noah died and 110 years old when Shem died.[i] Lamech, Noah’s father, was alive for the final 58 years of Adam’s life. Noah was 14 years old when Adam’s son Seth died. Therefore, Noah was alive before Seth died and after Abraham was born.[ii] Now that is an amazing genealogy!

We do not live lives like Noah that span centuries, but we are the links for people that could never know relatives that died before they were born. I want to encourage my fellow senior citizens especially, to reach out to their young relatives and be that link between those who were so special to them, but left this earth before members of the younger generation were born. They continue to live in our hearts and we share our precious memories so they will be known to people who would never know them without us.

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[i] http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112063/jewish/Abrahams-Early-Life.htm

[ii] http://www.chelper.net/btl/BibleTimeLine.htm