Seth

Seth (Hebrew: שֵׁת, Standard Šet, Tiberian Šēṯ; Arabic: شيث‎ Shith or Shiyth; "Placed; appointed"), in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible, is the third listed son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, and is the only other of their children mentioned by name. Traditionally, Adam had 33 sons and 23 daughters. According to Genesis 4:25, Seth was born after the slaying of Abel by Cain, and Eve believed God had appointed him as replacement for Abel because Cain had killed him.

In Ancient Egyptian mythology, Set (also spelled Seth, Sutekh or Seteh) is an ancient god, who was originally the god of the desert, Storms, Darkness, and Chaos. Because of developments in the Egyptian language over the 3,000 years that Set was worshipped, it was spelled in Greek as Σήθ (Seth).

For reference to Seth as channeled by Jane Roberts, follow this link. For other lessons by Seth, follow this link.

In the Hebrew Bible

In Genesis, Seth was born when Adam was 130 years old (Genesis 5:3), "a son in his likeness and image." Genesis 5:4 states that Adam fathered "sons and daughters" before his death, aged 930 years. It is stated in Genesis 4:25 that Seth means "granted".

Seth had a son, Enos, at age 105 (Genesis 5:6), and further sons and daughters; he lived 912 years (Genesis 5:8).

Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi) refers to Seth as the ancestor of Noah and hence the father of all mankind. According to Zohar] 1:36b, Seth is "ancestor of all the Generations of the Tzaddikim" (righteous ones).

In Gnosticism

In Gnosticism, Seth is seen as a replacement given by God for Cain and Abel. It is said that late in life, Adam gave Seth secret teachings that would become the kabbalah.

In Josephus

Josephus] refers to Seth as virtuous and of excellent character in the Antiquities of the Jews, and reports that his descendants invented the wisdom of the [Astronomy|heavenly bodies]], and built the "pillars of the sons of Seth", two pillars inscribed with many scientific discoveries and inventions, notably in astronomy. They were built by Seth's descendants based on Adam's prediction that the world would be destroyed at one time by fire and another time by global flood, in order to protect the discoveries and be remembered after the destruction. One was composed of brick, and the other of stone, so that if the pillar of brick should be destroyed, the pillar of stone would remain, both reporting the ancient discoveries, and informing men that a pillar of brick was also erected. Josephus reports that the pillar of stone remained in the land of Siriad in his day.

William Whiston], a 17/18th century translator of the Antiquities, stated in a footnote that he believed Josephus mistook Seth for Sesostris, king of Egypt, the erector of the referenced pillar in Siriad (being a contemporary name for the territories in which Sirius was venerated, i.e., Egypt). He stated that there was no way for any pillars of Seth to survive the deluge, because the deluge buried all such pillars and edificies far underground in the sediment of its waters.

In Christianity

The Armenian Apostolic Church counts him as one of the Holy Forefathers, along with Adam, Abel, and others, with a feast day of July 26.

See also

• Life in Mesopotamia