Essay do Rodzaju 5:36

The extraordinary numbers in this section are significant, not so much for their length as for their message. Cassuto has tried to fit them into a defined scheme, showing that the purpose, and achieved effect, of our text is to convey that human history follows a meaningful pattern. Pride of place on the list is occupied by the seventh member, Hanokh, who is portrayed as the first man of God. He serves as a preparation for Noah, who also “walks in accord with God” (6:9). Hanokh’s life span, 365 years, exemplifies the number scheme of Genesis: as an expression of numerical perfection (the number of days in a year), it symbolizes moral perfection.