Who was Enosh in the Bible?

Son of Seth and grandson of Adam. Gen. 4:26; Gen. 5:6-11; 1 Chr. 1:1; Luke 3:38.

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; Luke 3:38. He is called SHETH in 1 Chr. 1:1.

The grandson of Adam received the name Enosh which signifies frail, friable, failing man, who is subject to all the ills in soul and body and to death as an inevitable sequel. It is also highly significant that the immediate descendants of Adam realised in some measure the tremendous hiatus which had come in between their state and the state of innocency forfeited in Eden. In consequence they began to call on the name of the Lord. They felt that their resources were hopelessly inadequate, and that they were dependent on the mercy of God.

Both the names Adam and Enosh are Hebrew words for man—the former derived, it is said, from Adamah, red earth, signifying that God formed man out of the dust of the earth; whereas the latter—Enos—means frail, sinful, mortal man, soon passing away; and Seth, in giving this significant name to his son, acknowledged the condition in which sin had brought man, hence his need of prayer. Prayer is the vehicle of communicating our needs and wants to God.

The two verses that conclude our chapter carry us back long before the days of Lamech, for the next chapter tells us that Adam was 130 years old when Seth was born. Many children may have been born between Abel and Seth, but they are passed over in silence for Seth was the seed appointed to carry on the line of faith, as contrasted with the line of Cain. That Seth was a man of faith we gather from the name he gave his son — Enos signifying mortal, weak.

After reading of the development of Cain's seed — man in the flesh, — we are told now of the birth of Seth, as Eve says, “another seed instead of Abel” (v. 25). Abel was a type of Christ in His death: Seth is a picture of Him in His resurrection, and we read of Seth's seed in Genesis 5. As the second Man, the last Adam, we see the Lord Jesus having triumphed over death. In this place we hear Him say, “Here am I and the children whom God has given me” (Heb. 2:13). His resurrection introduces a new chosen seed. Cain, clinging to the first creation, seems to gain the most, but he must lose it all, while what Christ has gained in resurrection is eternal. Though it seems that man in the flesh has taken the first place, yet the second Man will in His own time take over the place of highest prominence and glory. The son of Seth was Enosh, which means “frail man” This indicates that when one is born of God he realizes his frailty and dependence: therefore at this time “men began to call on the name of the Lord” (v. 26). In this new line of Seth the dependence of faith is seen, not boastful, but in felt weakness that requires the grace of the Lord.

But Cain and his seed do not fill the whole scene here. The forefront they do; and history at the beginning, like all history since, has little to tell of outside their doings. Yet there is a remnant, beginning with one who, by divine appointment, takes the place of the martyred Abel. His son's name, Enos (in a day when names still had meaning), tells us of the acceptance of the humbling reality of man's condition — Enos, "frail man." And "then," we read, "men began to call on the name of Jehovah." God gets his place when man takes his. And so it ever is.

When did Seth and his children start doing this? It was after the birth of Enosh, whose name speaks of man's weakness and mortality (cf. Job 7:16; Ps. 8:4; Ps. 90:3). They began to call on the Name of the Lord in the awareness of their own weakness and helplessness. They realized that in themselves they were no more than a breath and so they called upon Him who lives for ever, the LORD, the eternal I AM. They acknowledged Him as both the Source and the Sustainer of life. While Cain's offspring were marked by pride and self-glorification (if we may interpret Genesis 4:23-24 this way), the descendants of Seth were marked by humility and self-abasement.

Did Seth, the son of Adam, learn this lesson when he named his son, Enos or Enosh? Enos or Enosh is a Hebrew word signifying frail mortal sinful man. We read, “Then began men to call upon the Name of the Lord” (Gen. 4:26). They touched life when they realized their personal need of the Lord. We cannot do without Him. We realize this in the great crises of life. The pity is we do not realize it in every phase of our lives—big or little, in joy or in sorrow. It is good when we take our joys into the presence of the Lord, taking them as from His hand. Our sorrows often drive us into His presence. Our joys test us. We never find any life in Scripture that was lived outstandingly for God, that was not marked by the discipline of sorrows.

But the chapter does not close until we find Seth, whom God* substituted (for this is the meaning of the name), or "appointed," as it is said, "instead of Abel, whom Cain slew." And so Seth, to him also there was born a son, and he called his name Enos. Then began men to call upon the name of Jehovah.