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The book of Genesis reports that people lived for hundreds of years. The most famous is Methuselah, who reportedly lived 969 years. This is very different from ordinary human experience today, as most people live into their 70s or 80s. How do we make sense of the long life-spans reported in Genesis?
Who Were These People?
Genesis 4 describes some of the descendants of Adam and Eve’s son Cain, while Genesis 5 describes the lineage of their descendants through their younger son Seth. This contrast between the godly line of Seth versus the ungodly line of Cain sets up the basic conflict preceding the flood in Genesis 6. The ungodly qualities embodied in Cain’s lineage come to predominate the human experience, such as violence (see Gen 4:8 and Gen 4:23). By contrast, the line of Seth culminates in Noah, the last righteous man to be found on the earth before the flood.
Did People Actually Live That Long?
What stands out immediately in chapter 5 is how long Seth’s descendants lived, with most of them living over 900 years. This is so different from the human experience for most of recorded history that scholars have attempted various ways to reinterpret the numbers. For example, some have posited that units of time may have changed their meaning. But no method of reinterpreting the references yields a consistently convincing result. It appears from the text itself that the life-spans are intended literally. After the flood, the Bible records much shorter life spans.
What Accounts for These Long Lives?
One suggestion is that the earth’s climate changed as a result of the flood. Perhaps a canopy of water vapor surrounded the earth before the flood (Genesis 1:7), providing the massive volume of water required for a global flood. If so, this continual blanket of clouds could have shielded the earth from the effects of harmful cosmic radiation, creating ideal living conditions and resulting in longer lives. This protective effect would have been lost after the flood.
Another suggestion is that in the first few generations after creation, the human gene pool had accumulated few defects. As the genetic code deteriorated over time, human beings became more susceptible to disease and aging. Of course, these theories are impossible to prove or disprove.
Did God Set a Limit on the Human Lifespan?
Genesis 6:3 records, “Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.” (NIV). Does this mean God reduced the ordinary span of human life as a judgment against humanity for their wickedness? Perhaps. 120 years is currently about the maximum limit of human life. But Psalm 90:10 presents the normal human life-span as 70 or 80 years. Another reasonable explanation of verse 3 is that God, tired of contending with human wickedness, gave humanity 120 more years from that point on to repent before sending the flood. Each of these interpretations is consistent with the text and with what happens in the story next.
We can’t really be sure why people lived so long in Genesis 5. The main impact of the passage is to contrast the godly line of Seth with the ungodly lineage of Cain, to explain what humanity is capable of apart from God.
- What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- Read Genesis 4:17-24. How would you describe the lineage of Cain?
- Read Genesis 4:25-5:32. What do you observe about the lineage of Seth?
- Which theories about the longevity of Seth’s line make sense to you? Which theories don’t make sense? Explain.
- Read Psalm 90:10-12. Since we only live a short time on this earth, what should our attitude be?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
