Genesis 5:1 “This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;”
This is the first mention of the word “book” in Scripture, (the Hebrew transliteration is “sêpher,” Strongs number H5612), and the theme of this first book is a registry of the names of Adam’s children. But not all of his children. Why not? We find possible clues in the immediate context. Notice that no sooner did men begin “to call on the name of the Lord” (4:26), then we are introduced to a book of generations, specifically to “the book of the generations of Adam.” Next, we are pointed back to the day of creation and reminded that man was made in the likeness of God. Therefore, by the context, this book of generations pertains to the godlike, the lineage of the godly, men who began “to call on the name of the Lord” that the image of God might not be totally effaced from humanity. Tellingly, there is no book of generations mentioned for the lineage of Cain. While there is a partial record of Cain’s descendants, it is not called a book, nor is it included in the book of the generations of Adam. Like the Psalmist says, “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous” Psalms 69:28. But how is that the book of the living belongs to the righteous when Cain and his children were so successful in life and living it up in spite of their evil godlessness? Remember how the record of Cain’s lineage suddenly truncates after seven generations? In contrast, the book of the generations of Adam extends to Noah, a preacher of righteousness, (2 Peter 2:5) and the father of the only family to be saved from the worldwide flood. But the generations of the godly don’t stop with Noah! By virtue of the promised Seed, Jesus Christ, they continue until the very close of time (Luke 3:23-38, Galatians 3:16, Malachi 3:13-18[1], 1 Peter 2:9-12). “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and hight mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, […] and the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: […] And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worth abomination, or taketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:10-11, 24, 27). Where is your name written, and will it remain?
[1] In fact, Malachi 3:16, which is the last occurrence of the word “book” (sêpher) in the Old testament, speaks of a book of remembrance for the godly, those that “feared the Lord, and thought upon his name.” The book is brought to view in response to a complaint from God’s people that the wicked prosper and “they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered” (3:13-15), which is exactly what seemed to be the case for Cain and his descendants. God’s answer in Malachi is the same that it was in Genesis: the book of the generation of the righteous, with the promise that they shall be spared in the final judgment by fire, (3:16-18, 4:1-3), just as Noah who “was a just man and perfect in his generations” was spared from the destruction of the world by the flood (Genesis 6:9).
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