The years of Kenan after the birth of Mahalalel; lifespan and generational line in the genealogy from Adam
The number 840 appears in Genesis 5:13, where it states that Kenan lived eight hundred and forty years after he fathered Mahalalel, and during this period he had other sons and daughters. The number is thus part of the detailed genealogy from Adam through the line of Seth, which in Genesis 5 structures early human history through precise lifespans. These numbers emphasize both God’s blessing expressed through long life and the careful preservation of the lineage leading to Noah. Although 840 does not have an independent, well-established symbolic meaning in Jewish or Christian tradition, it carries the theological weight of the patriarchs’ lifespans as a witness to a time when people lived in closer connection with the created order. 840 can be decomposed as 7 × 120, where 7 is a number representing perfection and wholeness, and 120 is Moses' lifespan (Deuteronomy 34:7). This combination is mathematically interesting but does not constitute an established interpretive tradition. In the context of gematria, some commentators may assign meaning to 840 through Hebrew words with corresponding numerical values, but this is not part of mainstream rabbinic teaching. Kenan (Hebrew: קֵינָן) is the fourth generation from Adam in the line of Seth (Gen 5:9–14). The name may mean 'smith' or 'acquirer' and resembles the name Cain, but Kenan belongs to the godly line through Seth.*