Genesis 5:15

Summary

The verse states that Mahalalel (ma.ha.lal.'El, H4111G) lived sixty-five years and then fathered Jared (Ya.red, H3382G). It follows the standard genealogical formula of Genesis 5, recording age at fatherhood before continuing the lineage.

Key words

• va.yechi — "and he lived" (H2421): qal verb with narrative vav, marking sequential narration ("and then he lived").
• chamesh — "five" (H2568): cardinal number combined with shanim to form the compound "five and sixty."
• shanim — "years" (H8141): plural noun paired with chamesh ("five").
• shanah — "year" (H8141): singular noun paired with shishim ("sixty"), a common Hebrew pattern where smaller numbers use plural and larger round numbers use singular.
• va.yyoled — "and he fathered" (H3205): hiphil (causative) verb with narrative vav, literally "he caused to be born," continuing the narrative chain from va.yechi.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built on two narrative-chained verbs: va.yechi ("and he lived," H2421) and va.yyoled ("and he fathered," H3205), both carrying the narrative vav (H9001) that marks sequential storytelling — first the span of life is stated, then the birth event follows. The hiphil stem of va.yyoled is causative in form, literally "he caused [a son] to be born," though it functions idiomatically as "he fathered."

The age itself is expressed as two number phrases joined by ve ("and," H9002): chamesh shanim ("five years," H2568 + H8141, plural noun) and shishim shanah ("sixty year[s]," H8346 + H8141, singular noun). This alternation — plural noun with the smaller number, singular noun with the larger round number — is a grammatical feature of Biblical Hebrew numerical constructions and does not affect meaning; both phrases refer to "years." The object of the fathering verb, Yered ("Jared," H3382G), is marked by the direct object marker 'et (H0853), which has no independent translation but signals that Jared is the object being fathered, not the subject.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew states the age as two separate number phrases, "five years and sixty years," totaling sixty-five, matching the Latin Vulgate's sexaginta quinque annis ("sixty-five years") and the Spanish and English translations given. The Septuagint (LXX) renders the same total differently in its Greek number structure, "ἑκατὸν καὶ ἑξήκοντα πέντε ἔτη" ("a hundred and sixty-five years"), showing a numerical divergence from the Hebrew text's "sixty-five years."