Enosh

Biblical Record

Enosh is the son of Seth, who is presented as the third son of Adam. Genesis 4:26 records that Seth fathered a son and named him Enosh, and it immediately adds, "then began men to call upon the name of the LORD."

According to the genealogy in Genesis 5:6–11, Seth was 105 years old when Enosh was born. Enosh fathered Kenan at the age of 90, lived another 815 years, during which he had other children, and died at the age of 905. This genealogy continues down to Noah. Scripture records nothing further about Enosh's life.

His name is identical to a Hebrew word meaning "man." The word is said to be used often of humanity as frail and mortal.

Significance Within Scripture

In Genesis 4, the birth of Enosh is placed directly after the song in which Lamech, a descendant of Cain, boasts of vengeance (Genesis 4:23–24). Many interpreters read this arrangement as a device contrasting the line of Seth, which seeks God, with the line of Cain.

First Chronicles 1:1 opens its genealogy with "Adam, Sheth, Enosh." In the New Testament, his name appears in the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Luke 3:38: "which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam."

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• The meaning of "call upon the name of the LORD": Protestant commentaries generally interpret this phrase as the beginning of public worship and prayer. Interpreters differ, however, on whether it marks the beginning of a ritual form of worship or the emergence of a community of faith.
• Differences in translation and tradition: The Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament) is understood to render this verse to mean that Enosh himself "hoped to call upon the name of the Lord God." Drawing on this reading, Augustine treated Enosh in The City of God as a figure of the person who hopes. By contrast, some Jewish traditions (the Aramaic translations known as the Targums and some rabbinic literature) read the verb as "profaned," interpreting the time of Enosh as the period when idolatry began. These interpretations are later readings, not statements made by the text itself.
• Relationship to Exodus 6:3: Exodus 6:2–3 states that God did not make Himself known to the patriarchs by the name "the LORD" (Yahweh). Traditional harmonizing interpretations and critical explanations diverge on how this passage fits with Genesis 4:26.
• Lifespan and chronology: Denominations and scholars differ on whether the lifespan of 905 years should be taken literally or symbolically. The Septuagint gives ages of fatherhood that differ from those in the Hebrew text. Because views also differ on whether the genealogy omits generations, a precise chronology is difficult to establish.
• Distinction from Enoch: Enosh is a different person from the similarly named Enoch (both Enoch the son of Cain and Enoch the son of Jared).

In the Korean Church

Because Enosh has no narrative of his own, he is rarely treated independently. He is mentioned chiefly in sermons on Genesis 4:26 that speak of a faith that calls upon the name of God—that is, the renewal of worship and prayer. In Bible read-through programs and Sunday schools, he is introduced as one of the figures from Adam to Noah when students learn the genealogy of Genesis 5. In such settings he is sometimes discussed alongside the similarly named Enoch so that the two are not confused.