Bible Strands
Genesis 4:18
Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methusael, and Methusael was the father of Lamech.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator continues the Cainite genealogy immediately after Cain's wife conceives Enoch and Cain establishes a city in his name.
The words — וַיִּוָּלֵד (va.yi.va.lad) translates "and he was born," while יָלַד (ya.lad) translates "he fathered," structuring the passage as a straightforward paternal succession from Enoch through Irad and Mehujael to Methusael.
The thread — The name Lamech reappears in Genesis 4:19 when he takes Adah and Zillah as wives, and the name Adah surfaces again in Genesis 36:2 as one of Esau's Canaanite wives.
Why it lands — The passage records a specific ancestral sequence to establish historical continuity before introducing Lamech's household and contrasting Cain's lineage with Seth's in Genesis 5.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
Cross-references
- Genesis 36:2 Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite,
- Genesis 5:21 When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah.