The Generations Of Seth

But according to some traditions, he was pretty special.

Think about it: after the tragedy with Cain, Adam needed a son who truly reflected his own essence. Genesis 5:3 tells us that Adam begot a son "in his likeness after his image," and that son was Seth. The sages saw this as something profound. Unlike Cain, who some traditions say wasn't even from Adam’s seed, Seth was Adam’s spitting image, both physically and spiritually.

According to Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer, Adam, who knew the entire Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, and in a broader sense, Jewish law and teachings), passed it down to Seth. This makes Seth a crucial link in the chain of tradition. He then passed it on to Enoch, and so on. Imagine the weight of that responsibility!

And there's more. Adam wasn't just a father and teacher; he was also the first High Priest! When he offered sacrifices, he wore special garments. And when he died, guess who inherited those garments? You got it: Seth. From Seth, they passed to Methuselah, continuing the lineage of spiritual leadership.

But here's a really interesting detail: Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer also claims Seth was born circumcised. Now, in Jewish tradition, being born circumcised is a sign of exceptional purity and greatness. We find this idea elsewhere, too, like in Zohar 1:58a-b, where Noah is also said to have been born circumcised. Seth was seen as a virtuous man, a role model whose children followed in his righteous footsteps. It was even said that "whatever he does prospers," echoing Psalm 1:3.

Tradition holds that all the righteous generations descended from Seth, while the wicked ones came from Cain. For seven generations, Seth's descendants lived in harmony, free from misfortune, according to some accounts. Josephus, in his Jewish Antiquities (2:3), writes of this time. They even gained great wisdom about the heavenly bodies.

Now, here's where it gets really interesting. Adam, having prophetic insight, foresaw that the world would be destroyed twice: once by fire and once by water. So, the descendants of Seth, wanting to preserve their knowledge, built two pillars: one of brick and one of stone. They inscribed their discoveries on both, hoping that at least one would survive the coming cataclysms. And get this: God commanded two angels to guard these inscriptions until the "final age"! Talk about safeguarding knowledge!

This idea of angelic protection is echoed in other traditions, too. Some myths say that angels would rescue Seth's seed during the Flood and hide his descendants in a secret place. You can see shades of this in Gnostic texts like The Apocalypse of Adam, which paints Seth as a major figure.

It’s easy to focus on the drama of Cain and Abel, but maybe it’s time we give Seth his due. He represents a lineage of righteousness, a conduit of ancient wisdom, and a hope for the future. Some even suggest that the soul of Seth reappeared in Moses and will reappear again in the Messiah. Pretty impressive for the "other" son of Adam, right?