Verse

Genesis 5:29

ESV and called his name Noah, saying, "Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands."
NIV He named him Noah and said, "He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed."
NASB And he named him Noah, saying, 'This one will give us comfort from our work and from the hard labor of our hands caused by the ground which the Lord has cursed.'
CSB And he named him Noah, saying, "This one will bring us relief from the agonizing labor of our hands, caused by the ground the Lord has cursed."
NLT Lamech named his son Noah, for he said, 'May he bring us relief from our work and the painful labor of farming this ground that the Lord has cursed.'
KJV And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.
NKJV And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed.”

What does Genesis 5:29 mean?

This verse introduces the second major patriarch in the book of Genesis: Noah. Lamech's comments in this verse show a strong contrast between the lineage of Seth, and that of Cain. One of Cain's descendants was also named "Lamech," but he is recorded as bragging about his sin (Genesis 4:23–24). The Lamech described here, a descendant of Seth, is mourning the struggles humanity has faced since the fall. This results in him giving his son the name Noah, which sounds very much like the Hebrew word for "rest or comfort."

In addition, Lamech speaks a prophecy about his son: Out of the cursed ground, Noah would bring relief from the painful work and toil of his people's hands. Perhaps Lamech just meant that Noah would bring relief from God's curse on men by sharing in the painful work of getting crops from the ground. We don't know what Lamech had in mind. What God had in mind for Noah's lifetime, though, would bring a very specific kind of relief to the world in the form of a devastating flood that would wipe out the effects of so much human sin.
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