To Seth also a son was born: that is, “Seth also had a son.” No mention is made of Seth’s wife, and this is the first time the father names the child. The name Enosh means “man, mankind”; it is a form without an article in Hebrew, which is found only in poetic texts.
At that time means “during Enosh’s lifetime” or “while Enosh was living.”
Men began to call upon the name of the LORD has been the cause of much scholarly discussion, which has centered on a possible conflict between the use of the name Yahweh in worship here and its revelation in Exo 3.13-15. (See also Exo 6.2-3.) In Exodus chapter 3 God instructs Moses to tell the Israelites his name is Yahweh: “This is my name forever; this is what all future generations are to call me.” The apparent conflict is said by some to be resolved by attributing Gen 4.25-27 to one writer and Exo 3.13-15 to another. Another explanation is that the Genesis statement refers to an earlier stage of religion that originated the worship of God by the name Yahweh, which later in Exodus was adopted by all Israel.
The expression men began to call upon is also disputed. The Hebrew says literally “Then it was begun to call…,” and Revised Standard Version supplies men, while Good News Translation and others have “people.” The Septuagint andVulgate have “he,” that is, Enosh. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, which rates the Hebrew text as {B}, recommends “then it was begun.” This differs from Revised Standard Version only in being more impersonal; it also has the disadvantage for many languages of being a passive construction.
Call upon the name of the LORD has the same meaning as “praise or give thanks to the LORD,” and the two lines are used in parallel in such passages as 1 Chr 16.8; Psa 105.1; 116.17; Isa 12.4.
Regardless of the problems mentioned, the text makes it clear that it was in Enosh’s time that the name of Yahweh was invoked, called on, prayed to, praised, worshiped. That is, God was prayed to by the name Yahweh. Bible en français courant translates “It was then that people began to pray to God by calling him Lord.” Revised English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible say “… invoked the LORD by name.” In some languages it may be more natural to translate “At that time people began to worship God by saying, ‘We praise you, Yahweh.’ ”
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .