What was Noah's father's name in the genealogy before the Flood?

The story behind the answer

According to Genesis, Noah's father was named Lamech.

Genesis 5 traces Noah's ancestry through the line from Adam and names Lamech as his father. Lamech is described as the son of Methuselah, and Noah is introduced as the child born to him when he was 182 years old in the traditional Masoretic Text chronology.

Genesis 5:29 records Lamech's explanation for naming his son Noah: he hoped Noah would bring relief from the painful labor associated with the ground, which had been cursed because of human disobedience. The name is thus connected in the story with comfort or rest, depending on translation and interpretation.

This Lamech should not be confused with another Lamech in Genesis 4, who belongs to Cain's line and appears several generations earlier. The repeated name is a common source of mix-ups in biblical genealogies. The question concerns Noah's immediate father in Genesis 5, not the earlier Lamech.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026

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