Tag Archives: Genesis 5:28

וַֽיְחִי־לֶ֕מֶךְ שְׁתַּ֧יִם וּשְׁמֹנִ֛ים שָׁנָ֖ה וּמְאַ֣ת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיֹּ֖ולֶד בֵּֽן׃ (Genesis 5:28) And Lemekh lived two and eighty years and one hundred years and he fathered a son Introduction: When Numbers Tell a Story In Genesis 5:28, we encounter a striking numerical expression describing the age of Lemekh when he fathered a son. But this is no simple “182 years.” Instead, the Hebrew text presents it as: שְׁתַּ֧יִם וּשְׁמֹנִ֛ים שָׁנָ֖ה וּמְאַ֣ת שָׁנָ֑ה—literally “two and eighty years and one hundred years.” This unusual expression invites inquiry into the grammatical structure and logic of coordinated number phrases in Biblical Hebrew.… Learn Hebrew