Seth

Overview

Seth (Hebrew: Šēt, meaning “appointed” or “placed”) is the third named son of Adam and Eve in the Bible. After Cain murdered Abel and was banished, Adam and Eve had another son when Adam was 130 years old¹. Eve named him Seth, stating, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him”. His name reflects Eve’s belief that God appointed Seth to replace the righteous lineage lost with Abel’s death.

When Seth was 105 years old, he fathered a son named Enosh. Genesis 4:26 notes that around the time of Enosh’s birth, “people began to call on the name of the Lord,” marking the beginning of organized public worship and prayer in biblical history.

Seth was the start of the “Godly” line of Adam and his descendants include Noah and Jesus as opposed to Cain’s line that was evil and was eventually wiped out in the flood.

Footnotes

1. Genesis 4:25 ↩︎