1. Genesis 4:18-24 , a descendant of Cain, in the fifth generation, and ancestor of numerous posterity distinguished for a skill in agriculture, music, and several mechanic arts. He is the first polygamist on record. His address to his two wives is the oldest specimen of poetry extant, and is a good illustration of Hebrew parallelism.
"Adah and Zillah,
Hear my voice;
Ye wives of Lamech,
Hearken unto my speech.
I have slain a man
To my wounding,
And [or even] a young man
To my hurt.
If Cain shall be avenged
Seven-fold,
Truly Lamech
Seventy and seven fold."
Many explanations of this abrupt fragment have been suggested. The
most satisfactory, perhaps, is that Lamech had accidentally or in
self-defense killed a man, and was exposed to the vengeance of "the
avenger of blood;" but quiets the fears of his wives by saying of
Cain under heavy penalties, Genesis 4:15 , much more would he guard
the life of Lamech who was comparatively innocent.
2. The son of Methuselah, and father of Noah; he lived seven hundred
and seventy-seven years, and died only five years before the flood,
Although written in 1859 by William Rand, this dictionary of the Bible from the American Tract Society is still relevant today.Wikipedia
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