Seth
Born after Abel’s death, he was a fresh start, and in his son’s day people began to call on the LORD.
Old Testament · Before the flood · Genesis, 1 Chronicles, Luke · Also known as Sheth, Third son of Adam and Eve
About Seth
After Cain killed Abel, Adam and Eve had another son. Eve "called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew." Seth had a son, Enos, "then began men to call upon the name of the LORD." Seth lived nine hundred and twelve years. His family line runs through Enoch, who "walked with God," to Noah, and Luke traces the family of Jesus back through him to Adam.
Seth has no recorded words, so this guide speaks about him. His name sounds like the Hebrew word for "appointed" or "granted," the word Eve uses when she names him. Genesis 5 lists his descendants from Adam to Noah.
The story
Another seed instead of Abel
"And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew."
Genesis 4:25
Call upon the name of the LORD
"And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD."
Genesis 4:26
In his own likeness
"And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth." Seth "lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos," and "all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died."
Genesis 5:3-8
Which was the son of Adam
Seth’s family line runs through Enoch, who "walked with God," to Noah. Luke traces the family of Jesus all the way back: "Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God."
Genesis 5:22-29; Luke 3:38
Key moments
- Born to Adam and Eve: "Another seed instead of Abel." (Genesis 4:25)
- His son Enos is born: People begin to call on the LORD. (Genesis 4:26)
- Lives 912 years: One of the long lives before the flood. (Genesis 5:8)
- In the family line of Jesus: "The son of Seth, which was the son of Adam." (Luke 3:38)
Questions about Seth
What does the name Seth mean?
When Eve named him she said, "For God... hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel." In Hebrew, Seth sounds like the word for "appointed" or "granted." His name was a confession that after terrible loss, God had given them a new beginning.
Was Seth a good man?
Scripture records almost nothing Seth did or said. What it does record is that in his son’s day "then began men to call upon the name of the LORD," and that his line led to Enoch, who "walked with God," and to Noah, who "found grace in the eyes of the LORD." Seth is remembered as the start of a family that kept faith alive.
How long did Seth live?
"All the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died." Genesis gives very long lives before the flood, and readers understand those numbers in different ways. Genesis itself simply records them as part of the family line from Adam to Noah.
Connected people
- Adam: Father
- Eve: Mother
- Abel: Brother he never knew
- Cain: Older brother
- Enoch: Descendant
- Noah: Descendant
Read it yourself
Start with Genesis 4:25-26; 5:3-8.