Genesis 5:14

Study note

Setting — The unnamed narrator records Kenan’s lifespan immediately after noting his 840 years of fathering children and immediately before introducing his son Mahalalel (Genesis 5:13-15). The account follows the standardized chronological formula within the patriarchal lineage.

The words — The Hebrew phrase כּל־יְמֵי קֵינָן (kol-yemei qenān) literally renders “all the days of Kenan,” while עֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים וְתֵשַׁע מֵאוֹת (‘eśer šānîm wētēša‘ mē’ôt) specifies “ten years and nine hundred.” These terms quantify the exact duration of his life before the narrator adds the formulaic conclusion that he died.

The thread — This verse continues the repetitive genealogical structure of Genesis 5 that tracks the lifespan of each patriarch from Adam to Noah (Genesis 5:1-32). The fixed chronological framework establishes a measured timeline for the antedilantine generations.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to track the precise numerical span of Kenan’s life without embellishment. It demands attention to the unbroken sequence of births, lifespans, and deaths that structures the early biblical narrative.

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.