Kenan

Biblical Record

Kenan appears in the genealogy (family line) from Adam to Noah recorded in Genesis 5. Enosh, the son of Seth, became the father of Kenan at the age of ninety (Genesis 5:9). Kenan became the father of Mahalalel at seventy and then lived another 840 years, fathering other children. His age at death is recorded as 910 years (Genesis 5:12–14). The genealogy treats each person briefly, using the same formula: "…begat… and he died." It records no deeds or events concerning Kenan beyond this entry.

His name also appears in 1 Chronicles 1:2, in a genealogy beginning with Adam: "Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jered."

Significance within the Bible

Kenan is one link in the line of Seth that runs from Adam to Noah. This line later continues through Enoch, Methuselah, and Noah. In the New Testament, his name appears in the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Luke 3, where, following the Greek form, it is rendered Cainan (Luke 3:37). Luke's genealogy traces the ancestry of Jesus back to Adam and ultimately to God, and Kenan is therefore named among the ancestors of Jesus.

The name Cainan also appears in Luke 3:36. This person, recorded as the son of Arphaxad, is a different individual and should be distinguished from Kenan. This second Cainan does not appear in Genesis 11 in the Hebrew text but is found in the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament).

Interpretations and Issues

• The name and the line of Cain: The name Kenan (Hebrew Qenan) sounds similar to Cain (Hebrew Qayin). The list of Cain's descendants in Genesis 4 and the list of Seth's descendants in Genesis 5 share several identical or similar names, such as Enoch and Lamech. Some scholars hold that the two lists derive from a common tradition. Conservative interpreters read them as two distinct families with similar names.
• Life span and chronology: Some take the life span of 910 years literally, while others regard it as a literary or symbolic expression typical of ancient Near Eastern genealogies. Some have attempted to calculate the age of the world by adding together the ages given in Genesis 5. Others, by contrast, hold that the genealogy may omit generations. The Septuagint differs from the Hebrew text in the ages at which several of the patriarchs fathered their sons, and it therefore features frequently in discussions of chronology.
• Extrabiblical traditions: Some Jewish writings outside the Bible, such as the Book of Jubilees, add details such as the name of his wife. These details are not found in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

Sermons or hymns devoted specifically to Kenan are rare. Readers encounter his name mainly in the genealogies of Genesis 5 or 1 Chronicles 1 while reading through the Bible. Sermons on Genesis 5 often note how the entire genealogy repeats the phrase "and he died." A common approach contrasts this refrain with Enoch, the one exception whose death is not recorded.