Adam's Offspring
And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image. Genesis 5:3. In view of the material found by students of Sumerian literature, this statement by Adam is rather significant. The Sumerian story is a very long story and I am not about to repeat it here, but the short version goes something like this.
When the gods first made the humans they manipulated the DNA so that the humans would not be very smart, after all, they were just to be the beast of burden. The downside of that change was that the humans were not able to procreate. So the gods "tweaked" the DNA to a point where the humans were capable of having children. So Adam was legitimately impressed when he had a son that looked "just like dear old dad".
Cain, Adam's oldest son
He is thought of as a murderer, and rightly so, because, purposely and in envy, he cut his brother's jugular vein. Let's note a few other facts about him. After Jehovah had meted out the punishment to Cain, Cain listed four reasons why the punishment was too severe:
1. I have no way to earn a living
2. I will no longer be able to communicate with You. Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord. This sounds so sad and so impossible if God, in fact, is omnipresent.
3. I will no more have a permanent home
4. People will hunt me down to kill me. Genesis 4:13-14.
Cain, by nature, was not a bad person but he did make a bad decision and Jehovah had warned him about that. If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it. Genesis 4:7.
Why do people still kill because of greed, envy, pride or whatever? Don't they know that they will probably be caught and their whole future will be destroyed?
Why do people still kill because of greed, envy, pride or whatever? Don't they know that they will probably be caught and their whole future will be destroyed?
A moment of vengeance traded for the rest of one's life; that is not even a good business move. The Lord had told Cain, do well and everything will be all right, but if you keep on harbouring your envy sin lies at the door. And its desire is to destroy you, but you should rule over it.
Lamech - the Father of Noah
Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed.” So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died. Genesis 5:28-31.
Numbers sometimes represent attributes and not the number itself. ... these numbers were purposely inserted by their authors to emphasize a particular message. ... many ancient languages, religions, and philosophies contained numeric interpretation of events, words, and names;
Following is a list of the meaning of a few numbers, for some Bible scholars:
Numbers sometimes represent attributes and not the number itself. ... these numbers were purposely inserted by their authors to emphasize a particular message. ... many ancient languages, religions, and philosophies contained numeric interpretation of events, words, and names;
Following is a list of the meaning of a few numbers, for some Bible scholars:
One implies "unity."
Among other definitions, two can imply "witness."
The implication of three is "divine perfection" or "holiness."
Four signifies "the world,"
Both Hebrew and Christian sources believe six indicates "imperfection," "man", or "evil."
Both religions believe that seven implies "totality of perfection," "completeness."
Wikipedia - Jewish Numerology
"Special" numbers in the Bible are very common; far beyond what the law of averages would allow. A reader cannot help but wonder if the writer manipulated the numbers to present a moral or spiritual truth.
Noah was the deliverer of humankind from the curse God placed on the earth, Cursed is the ground for your sake. Noah needed to have a righteous father. What better way to proclaim Lamech's righteousness than to say, he lived 777 years. Seven implies perfection. Now, that was easy.
There is another story, this one from the New Testament, that is of interest in this regard. The story of Christ, at the well, in Samaria. He said to the woman, you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband. John 4:18. Five plus one equals six; six is the number of sin.
Christ pulls no punches - He says to the woman, your lifestyle is evil. Of course, the situation, as recorded in the story, is not impossible, if it were, it could not have been used as an example. However, the likelihood of it being this way is dubious. In reality, wouldn't four husbands, and another man, have been enough to make His point. Not in this story, because, four plus one does not spell sin, as five plus one does.
There is another story, this one from the New Testament, that is of interest in this regard. The story of Christ, at the well, in Samaria. He said to the woman, you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband. John 4:18. Five plus one equals six; six is the number of sin.
Christ pulls no punches - He says to the woman, your lifestyle is evil. Of course, the situation, as recorded in the story, is not impossible, if it were, it could not have been used as an example. However, the likelihood of it being this way is dubious. In reality, wouldn't four husbands, and another man, have been enough to make His point. Not in this story, because, four plus one does not spell sin, as five plus one does.
From, Jesus and his Times, by The Reader's Digest, 1987, p.14 comes this bit of vital Bible study information: The recording of history with literal exactness of detail is a fairly modern development. At the time, (the Bible was written), precise fact was far less important than the spiritual message of the stories shared."
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