Boys · Hebrew · Old Testament · classic · Primeval / Antediluvian
Jared
/JAIR-ed/
יֶרֶד
"Descent; he shall descend; to come down"
Genesis 5:15
RolePatriarch in the line from Adam to Noah
Etymology
From the Hebrew root 'yarad' (יָרַד), meaning to descend or to come down — the same root as Jordan. Jared was a pre-flood patriarch who lived 962 years.
Who they were
Jared belongs to the mysterious antediluvian genealogy of Genesis 5, where lifespans stretch into centuries and the narrative moves in measured rhythms: 'he lived... he had sons and daughters... and he died.' Jared lived 962 years — the second-longest life recorded in the Bible after Methuselah's 969. His chief significance is as the father of Enoch, the man who 'walked with God and was not, for God took him.' Jared raised the one person in the antediluvian world who so pleased God that death was bypassed entirely. In the Jewish pseudepigraphal tradition (the Book of Enoch), Jared's era is associated with the descent of the Watchers — fallen angels — to earth, and some scholars connect his name ('descent') to that tradition. As a modern name, Jared became popular in the late twentieth century, valued for its ancient roots and its strong, direct sound.
Family
- Father
- Mahalalel
- Children
- Enoch
Character qualities
- Father of Enoch
- Bridge between generations
Key verse
Genesis 5:18
Where they appear
Themes
Variants & related forms
Jarred · Jarod
Read their story
Jared's story begins in Genesis.
The full passage is at Genesis 5:15. Any modern translation will do — the NLT and NIV are the most readable; the ESV and NKJV stay close to the wording the church has used for centuries.
Find a Bible to read it in →