Seder Olam: C06- Hanoch

BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY

Generation 06: Hebrew years 600 to 720 (3160-3040 BCE)

Introduction

In the Nile Valley, the first Egyptian civilization established its capital city in Abydos.

First Egyptian dynasty

In Hebrew year 622, Yered had a son he called Hanoch. He was born in the new Nile Valley human settlement:

Hanoch was five and sixty years old when he begot Methuselah. Hanoch walked in God’s path after the birth of Methuselah for three hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. (Genesis 5:21-22)

Methuselah was born in Hebrew year 687, when Hanoch was 65 years old. He decided to distance himself away from the way of life of his generation and to walk in God’s path. What happened? In its Early Dynasty, Ancient Egypt had started a new rite of human sacrifice that would later become a norm in other neighboring civilizations, such as the Canaanites. The practice was probably started when the people prayed their gods to send waters into the Nile: without this water, the whole region would be in dire trouble because it is surrounded by hot deserts.

It is possible that Hanoch was asked to sacrifice his son Methuselah, and he refused to do so. A decision that got him in trouble with the Egyptian ruler of his time and caused him to run away from the society because of such abomination. The first ruler (king) of Egypt is now dated to be around 3100 BCE, which is in line with the Biblical timeline. To see related article from the BBC, click here.

Human sacrifice in the Early Dynasty of Egypt

The archaeological evidence about human sacrifice in Egypt's Early Dynasty was found in the ruins of Abydos, the first capital and one of the oldest cities of the Nile Valley. But the rite seems to have completely disappeared from Ancient Egypt after about 2800 BCE.

Hanoch

Hanoch was the first man since Adam to truly walk in the path of God. He was the 7th human generation since Adam: 1-Adam > 2-Seth > 3-Enosh > 4-Kenan > 5-Mahalalel > 6-Jared > 7-Hanoch.

This number 7 symbolize God's will because the 7th day is Shabbat, a day dedicated to God. To read more about the Jewish symbolism of numbers, click here.

So, Hanoch had been inspired by God and represented the first divine attempt, since Adam, to have a man walk in His path.

To return to the list of chronological generations from Seder Olam Revisited, click here.

Albert Benhamou

Private Tour Guide in Israel

Adar 5785 - March 2025