Lamech

Biblical Record

According to the genealogy in Genesis 5, Lamech belonged to the line of Seth. He was the grandson of Enoch and the son of Methuselah. Methuselah was 187 years old when he fathered Lamech (Genesis 5:25), and Lamech was 182 when he fathered a son and named him Noah (Genesis 5:28–29). On that occasion Lamech said, "This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed." This statement is understood as a reference to the curse on the ground in Genesis 3:17–19. After fathering Noah, Lamech lived another 595 years and had other children, and he died at the age of 777 (Genesis 5:30–31).

A different man bears the same name. The Lamech of Genesis 4:18–24 was a descendant of Cain and the son of Methusael. He had two wives, Adah and Zillah. His children were Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-cain, along with a daughter, Naamah. Telling his wives that he had slain a man who had wounded him, he sang, "If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold" (Genesis 4:24).

Significance in the Bible

Lamech of the line of Seth also appears in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles 1:3 and Luke 3:36. In Luke he is listed as the father of Noah in the genealogy of Jesus Christ; Korean Bible translations may render his name differently. No deeds of his are recorded outside the genealogies. The genealogy of Genesis 5 proceeds largely according to the formula "begat … and he died," but Lamech's entry is notable for including a brief statement in his own words explaining why he named his son as he did.

Interpretation and Issues

• The contrast between the two Lamechs: Many interpreters read Genesis 4 and 5 side by side. Lamech of Cain's line is portrayed as the first man to take two wives and as one who boasted of vengeance, whereas Lamech of Seth's line is portrayed as one who longed for comfort. A widely used interpretation contrasts the "seventy and sevenfold" of Cain's descendant Lamech with Jesus' words on forgiveness, "Until seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:22).
• Numbers: Some have attempted to interpret the age of 777 years for Lamech of Seth's line symbolically, but the text itself does not explain any such meaning. The Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch are also known to give figures for his age that differ from those of the Masoretic Text. By the Masoretic figures, Lamech died five years before the Flood.
• Traditions outside the text: The pseudepigraphal book of 1 Enoch and the so-called Genesis Apocryphon among the Dead Sea Scrolls contain a story in which Lamech is astonished at the extraordinary appearance of the newborn Noah. Jewish tradition also relates that Lamech of Cain's line accidentally killed Cain while hunting. These stories do not appear in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Lamech is treated mainly in expository preaching on Genesis 4–5 or in the course of reading through the Bible. Lamech of Cain's line is frequently mentioned in sermons on the spread of sin and on the problems of polygamy and vengeance. Lamech of Seth's line is introduced in explanations of Noah's birth and the meaning of his name. Because the two men of the same name are easily confused, Sunday school and Bible study materials often take care to distinguish them.