Genesis 5 Part 3: Clans

One way of understanding Genesis 5 is to assume the patriarchs were clans, not just people. So this would mean the ‘Seth clan’ was named after a person within the clan called Seth.

The name of the clan could be the person who started it, but also might be a person of renown within the clan. This person may have achieved a great feat or saved the clan from destruction at the hand of another tribe.

So according to this idea, Kenan was a clan which lasted for 70 years before splitting into two. Where they ‘beget’ another clan called Mahalalel.

The Kenan clan died out after another 840 years.

Sons and Daughters

The phrase, ‘they had other sons and daughters’ might mean the clan produced other minor clans or they continued to grow in number.

Benefit of Clans

By adopting this clan approach, the long number of years is easily explainable. It removes the need to explain the longevity issue for individual patriarchs.

Also, if we are do not hold to the Young Earth creationists model (the world begin around 6,000 years ago), the long time spans can fit into the archaeological evidence. It could also be claimed that some clans may have been forgotten and so their could be gaps which could push the dating of Genesis back further.

This view does get more complex if we carry this over into Noah and his family. Are they still clans? And what about Abraham and Isaac, were they clans too?

The next post looks at the idea that Genesis 5 is a messianic prophecy.