Can You Calculate the Age of the Earth from Genesis 5?

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Genesis 5 lists a genealogy stretching from Adam to Noah. Because the age of each person in the lineage is given, many people have attempted to calculate the age of the earth using genealogies. But the Bible commonly presents telescoped genealogies – meaning some generations are skipped.

Adding Up the Lifespans

Genesis 11 gives a similar genealogy from Noah’s son Shem down to Abraham. Since Abraham’s historical period can be estimated in light of places and cultural conditions described in the Bible, the assumption is that the creation of the world can be dated simply by adding up the ages of the men in these two genealogical tables. Using this method,  Sir Isaac Newton estimated that the earth was created in 4000 B.C. This date seems inconsistent with what we know about the dawn of human civilization from other sources (at least 7,000 B.C. at several sites).

Telescoping the Genealogies

The assumption behind dating creation to 4,000 B.C. is that there are no gaps or missing names in the Old Testament chronologies. But unlike lineage records today, the Bible commonly presents telescoped genealogies – meaning some names are left out. Biblical genealogies sometimes skip generations to present landmark individuals within the lineage. For instance, the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 presents a stylized scheme of three groups of fourteen generations each. To do so, it omits from the list three consecutive kings in verse 8. (Matthew 1:8 says, “Jehoram was the father of Uzziah”, but Uzziah was actually his great-great-grandson. In this case, “father” means “ancestor.”) Similar genealogical methods are found in Arabia, the Sudan, and elsewhere.

Some have argued that the genealogies of Genesis cannot be telescoped because they contain the exact number of years before and after each person’s birth and death. But the Bible gives a parallel genealogy to Genesis 11 in Luke 3 that contains an additional generation missing in Genesis 11. Luke lists Cainan between Shelah and Arphaxad. So it appears that at least one of the Genesis genealogies is telescoped.

Summary

Many theologians hold that the genealogies should be taken at face value and can establish a dating system. But a number of conservative theologians also hold that the genealogies are telescoped. It is at least reasonable to consider that the total number of years between Adam and Noah and between Shem and Abraham is undetermined and could allow for the earth to be older than 6,000 years.

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