Age of the Patriarchs

When studying the ages of the Patriarchs as listed in the Bible, one wonders if these numbers are corruptions of the truth or actual numbers. If I believed that they were corruptions, I would not have developed this Web site. But I believe, like millions of others, that the Bible is the inspired word of God and that while there may be occasional problems in the translation to the English language, the Bible is correct. If you believe this, then enjoy the following discussion, and if you don't, humor me and yourself.

 

The graph above illustrates the length of life for the first 23 Patriarchs as recorded in the Bible. When you study this graph and the numbers associated with it, you come to some fascinating conclusions. These are just some which I have found or have been shown. If you know of any others, please pass them along and if intriguing, I will post them here.

The First 23 Patriachs

Generation	Name	Age at Son's Birth	Age at Death	Born (After Adam)	Died (After Adam)	Born (Before Christ)	Died (Before Christ)
1	Adam	130	930	0	930	4000	3070
2	Seth	105	912	130	1042	3870	2958
3	Enosh	90	905	235	1140	3765	2860
4	Cainan	70	910	325	1235	3675	2765
5	Mahalaleel	65	895	395	1290	3605	2710
6	Jared	162	962	460	1422	3540	2578
7	Enoch	65	365	622	987	3378	3013
8	Methuselah	187	969	687	1656	3313	2344
9	Lamech	182	777	874	1651	3126	2349
10	Noah	502	950	1056	2006	2944	1994
11	Shem	100	600	1558	2158	2442	1842
	Flood			1656		2344
12	Arphaxad	35	438	1658	2096	2342	1904
13	Salah	30	433	1693	2126	2307	1874
14	Eber	34	464	1723	2187	2277	1813
15	Peleg	30	239	1757	1996	2243	2004
16	Reu	32	239	1787	2026	2213	1974
17	Serug	30	230	1819	2049	2181	1951
18	Nahor	29	148	1849	1997	2151	2003
19	Terah	70	205	1878	2083	2122	1917
20	Abram	100	175	1948	2123	2052	1877
21	Isaac	60	180	2048	2228	1952	1772
22	Jacob		147	2108	2255	1892	1745
23	Joseph		110

1) Adam lived 930 years which was long enough to see nine generations of offspring born from him. This would make Lamech (the ninth generation) Adam's great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson.
2) Prior to the flood, Methuselah lived the longest number of years: 969. Quite possibly, he may have been the oldest human being to ever have lived. It is interesting to note that the flood occurred in the year 1656 (from time zero) which is the same year of Methuselah's death. Did he die in the flood? Was Noah's grandfather considered one of the ungodly? On the contrary, the translation of Methusela's name is: "When he is dead it shall be sent" Quite possibly he was considered one of the godly and died before the flood. All other members from this genealogy died prior to the flood. Take a look at this link which analyzes these biblical names: Koinonia House.
3) Prior to the flood, the average age of these listed was 857.5 years. The next 10 generations (Noah to Abraham) after the flood had an average age of 317.1. Did the pre-flood world enable a longer life or did God enact shorter lives because He was sorry he had created man (Gen 6:7)? Consider this quote from the King James Version:

Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

4) Noah was the tenth generation from Adam. God established a covenant with Noah because of the flood (Gen 9:1-19). Abraham was the twentieth generation from Adam, and God also established a covenant with him (Gen 12:1-3; 13:14-17; 15:1-7, 18-21; 17:1-8).
5) Noah lived 950 years to the year 2006 (from time zero) which was long enough to see ten generations born from him. Only Peleg and Nahor died before him. Therefore, Noah lived long enough to see Abram's birth. Abram was 58 when Noah died.
6) Because Adam sinned against God, that is, Adam transgressed the law of God, Adam was to suffer the consequences of the cursed soil (Gen 3:17-19). Lamech named his firstborn son Noah, which meant 'rest' because of the curse of the soil from Adam's sin (Gen 5:29). It is interesting to note that after Noah and his family had exited the ark, he worshiped God. God was pleased with Noah and soothed by his offering and thus recanted the curse from the soil (Gen 8:20-22). From God's statement, Noah's name, 'rest', truly does apply to the soil as his father Lamech had foretold. Did God purposely lengthen the pre-flood lifetime to punish man as he tilled the cursed soil to magnify the punishment? Obviously man today lives an average of 75 years and does not endure the hardships of a cursed soil, especially with today's mechanized farming implements.

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