We’re likely to read chapter 4 and 5 together for the purposes of comparison. The end of chapter 4 follows Cain and his lineage (his “seed”). The story of his family tree is preceded by his murder of Abel and ends with the pompous proclamations of the murderous Lamech who seems to think that his ancestor Cain has been mistreated and that the revenge he has taken against this young man is even more justified than Cain’s reaction to Abel.
In chapter 5, we see a different line and henceforth in Genesis it is as if Cain never existed. If the book started in chapter 5, we would never know of Cain or Abel as the lineage here goes from God to Adam to Seth. It is no coincidence that we see two major characteristics of God’s relationship with humanity affirmed in the description of Seth’s line: that both male and female were created in God’s image and that there was still a blessing upon them.
There is a clear pattern that introduces each person in Seth’s lineage. It is where that pattern deviates or expands that should draw our attention. The first expansion happens in v. 22, where we learn that Enoch walked with God. The name should trigger a comparison to the Enoch in Cain’s line, who also was a deviation and who had a city named after him. Now, in and of itself a city isn’t a particularly bad thing, but it certainly isn’t walking with God.
The next deviation happens with a follow up on Seth’s Lamech, a hopeful chap who names his son Noah (meaning “rest”), longing for a time when the seriousness of what Adam has done may find relief. This is most certainly a far cry from the foolish Lamech in Cain’s line who is not seeking peace and reconciliation with God, he is seeking his own self-aggrandizement.
A few additional things to consider in this short chapter:
I think we should consider whether we see in this chapter at least a potential understanding of 3:15, part of the curse on the snake: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring (seed) and her offspring (seed); he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.” Now, this could just be an explanation as to why a snake crawls on the ground. Or, could be the first set of good news, the first gospel, that points to Jesus conquering of sin and death (Iraneus would make this connection in the early 2nd century). However, neither of those is particularly satisfying in the original context. Remember, these stories are told with a purpose, and “why are we afraid of snakes” seems a little low on the importance bar relative to what’s been communicated so far about the God’s sovereign creation of the world and his special relationship with humanity.
The expectation would seem to be that the rest of the story of Genesis may help answer this question. And, I think it’s reasonable to see that in the comparisons of the lineage of Seth and Cain. That notion of “seed” shows up in both and we find them opposites of each other; seeking different things, having different outcomes. This battle between the goodness of God and the selfishness of man, his pursuit of his own glory (that which they sought from eating the apple) will persist and will be a constant battle. In Cain, we see the seed of evil, of temptation. In the seed of Seth, we find faithfulness, the pursuit of God.
Now, don’t misunderstand, I certainly believe the Christian reading into this story is appropriate and is the ultimate fulfillment (we know good ultimately wins as Jesus conquers all that is the consequence of human selfishness and pride in His sacrifice, death and resurrection). Jesus makes all stories deeper and greater. But the primary focus of the Genesis story and our understanding of that impact of the curse is likely found in the theme of “seed” and tracing God’s chosen paths of which to continue this blessing. (We’ll note, certainly, that this will not always rely on the “goodness” of those whom God chooses to trace the path.)
Also, on the ages. It’s hard for us, who can track and record time in such specific detail and accuracy, to fully understand how those in the ancient world recorded and understood time. This is still true in our time, in certain parts of the world folks don’t track ages or anniversaries of things all that well and it doesn’t feel like a gap to them. Smart people who love Jesus disagree on whether we should understand some of these ages as literal or symbolic. There is a case for symbolism but it’s far from a slam dunk. The Seth Lamech lives 777 years (vs. the 77 fold revenge in Cain Lamech), and we see 365 years of life for Seth’s Enoch, a potentially “full” life before God takes him. However, many of the numbers are not easily rendered as symbolic.
Without symbolism, it isn’t clear why these ages are so much higher than current day. Folks have discussed potentially the impact of increasing sin, something to do with the flood, the fact we started eating animals; the list goes on. I would also note that the “fathered” in each of these lineages doesn’t have to be direct descendants, there could also be many actual generations in between those names, we’re just getting major players in the line. Broadly, given how history was kept and the propensity for at times wild ages in ancient times (even outside of the Bible, some Sumerian kings had ages of many thousands of years), it remains wise to be cautious here.