And to Seth also a son was born, and he called him Enosh. At that time men began to call upon the name of the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB A son was also born to Seth, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on Yahweh’s name.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Ē´nosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord.
- NASB To Seth also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then people began to call upon the name of the Lord.
- NLT When Seth grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh. At that time people first began to worship the Lord by name.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Seth fathers Enosh, and in his days people begin to call on the name of the Lord. It marks a recovery of public worship and prayer.
Overview
With the birth of Enosh, the narrative notes that people began to call on the Lord's name, signaling the rise of corporate worship and prayer. This godly line stands in deliberate contrast to the self-asserting line of Cain. It shows that even in a fallen world God preserves a people who seek Him, anticipating the worshiping community gathered ultimately in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Ps 116:17I will offer to You a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.
- 1 Kgs 18:24Then you may call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people answered, “What you say is good.”
- Joel 2:32And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD.
- Zeph 3:9For then I will restore pure lips to the peoples, that all may call upon the name of the LORD and serve Him shoulder to shoulder.
- Gen 12:8From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD.
- Jer 33:16In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely, and this is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.
- Gen 26:25So Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there. His servants also dug a well there.
- Luke 3:38the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
- Deut 26:17–18Today you have proclaimed that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes and commandments and ordinances, and listen to His voice.
- Acts 2:21And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
- Rom 10:13for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
- Acts 11:26and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
- 1 Cor 1:2To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
- Isa 63:19We have become like those You never ruled, like those not called by Your name.
- Isa 44:5One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD,’ another will call himself by the name of Jacob, and still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and will take the name of Israel.”
- Isa 48:1“Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, who have descended from the line of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD, who invoke the God of Israel—but not in truth or righteousness—
- Eph 3:14–15... for this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 4:26 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.