Seth

Sea of Adam, and father of Enos. (Gen. v. 3.) His name is taken from Sheith, to put.

son of Adam and of Eve, was born A.M. 130, Gen 5:3; Gen 5:6; Gen 5:10-11. Seth, at the age of one hundred and five years, begat Enos, A.M. 235. He lived after this eight hundred and seven years, in all nine hundred and twelve years, and died A.M. 1042. Seth was the chief of “the children of God,” as the Scripture calls them, Gen 6:2 that is, those who before the flood preserved true religion and piety in the world, while the descendants of Cain gave themselves up to wickedness. The invention of letters and writing is by the rabbins ascribed to this patriarch.

Seth (compensation), the third son of Adam, to whom Eve gave this name in consequence of regarding him as sent to replace Abel, whom Cain had slain (Gen 4:25-26; Gen 5:3, sq.).

The first son of Adam after the death of Abel, Gen 4:25,26 ; 5:3,6,8, and ancestor of the line of godly patriarchs.\par

Seth. (compensation). Gen 4:25; Gen 6:3; 1Ch 1:1. The third son of Adam, and father of Enos. (B.C. 3870). Adam handed down to Seth, and his descendants, the promise of mercy, faith in which became the distinction of God’s children. Gen 4:26.

Gen 4:25; Gen 5:3; 1Ch 1:1. Seth means "foundation," being "appointed" in Abel’s place as ancestor of the promised Seed. Father of Enos ("frailty"); a name embodying his sense of man’s weakness, the opposite of the Cainites’ pride. This sense of frailty led the Sethites to calling on God in His covenant relation to His believing people; thus began the church as a people separated from the world, and its service of prayer and praise. While the Cainites, by erecting a city and inventing worldly arts, laid the foundation of the world kingdom, the Sethites, by joint invocation of Jehovah’s name i.e. His self manifestation towards man, founded the kingdom of God.

Son of Adam and Eve, born after the death of Abel, and father of Enos. His name signifies ’appointed’: God thus continued the line of Abel, whom Cain slew, through the appointment of Seth. Hence, in Gen 4:25-26 it is said in connection with Seth, "Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord." This is immediately followed by "This is the book of the generations of Adam," giving the lineage through Seth and his descendants, and making no mention of Cain and his descendants. From Seth the genealogy is traced to Noah, and the flood swept away all else. Gen 5:3-8; Luk 3:38. He is called SHETH in 1Ch 1:1.

SETH.—The patriarch, mentioned as a link in our Lord’s genealogy (Luk 3:38).

(Hebrew, ; Greek, ΣὴΘ).

By: Emil G. Hirsch, George A. Barton, Wilhelm Bacher, M. Seligsohn

—Biblical Data:

According to Gen. iv. 25, 26 and v. 3-8, Seth was the third son of Adam. He was born after Cain had murdered Abel and when Adam was 130 years old. Seth lived to the age of 912. His eldest son was Enosh, who was born when Seth was 105 years old. In Gen. v. the line of descent from Adam to Noah is reckoned through Seth. Seth is mentioned also in I Chron. i 1 and in Luke iii. 38; but neither passage contains additional information.

E. G. H. G. A. B.—In Rabbinical Literature:

Nothwithstanding the etymology of the name given in Gen. iv. 25, the Rabbis consider "Seth" to mean "foundation"—i.e., Seth was the founder of the world (Num. R. xiv. 12; Midrash Agadah to Gen. l.c.). By "God hath appointed me another seed" (Gen. l.c.) Eve alluded to the Messiah, who would descend from Seth through Ruth the Moabite (Gen. R. xxiii. 7). After the expulsion from paradise Seth was the first of Adam's children who had the face and form of man, Adam's earlier post-expulsion progeny having had the shapes of demons and apes (ib. xxiv. 6; Tan., Bereshit, 26). Seth was one of the seven shepherds whom Micah (v. 5) prophesied should rise against the Assyrians (Cant. R. viii. 9).

W. B. M. Sel.—Critical View:

The account of Seth in Gen. v. is contained in the P document, being a part of that writer's list of antediluvian patriarchs. This list, beginning with Cainan and including Lamech, is the same as the list of J in Gen. iv. (comp. Harper, "Hebraica," v. 35). Both are transcripts of a Babylonian list preserved in a corrupt form by Berosus (comp. Gunkel, "Genesis," in Nowack, "Handkommentar," p. 121). Since "Enosh" in P's list means "man," as does also "Adam" in J's list, probably "Seth" in the Babylonian list was the name of a deity. Hommel (in "Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch." xv. 244 et seq.) conjectures that "Seth" was originally "Shitti," an epithet of Marduk, who in Berosus' list occupies this place under the name "Adapara."

Bibliography:

Hommel, The Ten Patriarchs of Berossos, in Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch. 1893, xv. 243-246;

Gunkel, Genesis in Nowack, Handkommentar, 1901, pp. 49, 120 et seq.;

Holzinger, Genesis, in K. H. C. pp. 57 et seq.

SETH.—The third son of Adam, Gen 4:25 (J [Note: Jahwist.] ) Gen 5:3 (P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ), 1Ch 1:1, Luk 3:38. In the first of these passages J [Note: Jahwist.] assigns a characteristic etymology for the name, Eve being made to say, ‘God hath set (shâth) for me another seed instead of Abel,’ for which reason she called him Shçth (i.e. ‘setting’ or ‘slip’). In Sir 49:16 Seth is coupled with Shem as ‘glorified among men.’

(Hebrew: appointed)

Third son of Adam, born after Abel’s murder, hence his name (Genesis 4). He is the direct ancestor of those holy patriarchs known as the Sethite, the best known being Noe. His descendants who were called the Sons of God remained faithful to God until they mingled with the accursed race of Cain (Genesis 6).

Appointed: set