Interesting Life Spans..


Just a few days ago, my wife and I were watching a documentary about Noah and I was checking on the timeline around the flood.  I noticed something I had not seen before, Methuselah died in the year of the flood, possibly "in" the flood.  I wondered if perhaps I was missing something else so I built out a table giving the life span and dates of the generations from Adam to Abram. 

After I built the chart below, I found a a few other interesting facts:

  • Adam died just 126 years before the birth of Noah
  • There are only nine generations from Adam unto Noah
  • Noah's father Lamech who lived 777 years died just five years before the flood
  • Abraham was born only approximately 252 years after the flood
  • Noah died approximately when Abraham was 58 years old
  • Noah and Shem lived through he tower of Babel where God scattered the people over the earth.
  • All of Abraham's grand fathers from Noah unto Terah, Abraham's father, was alive when Abraham was born
  • Noah's son Shem, Salah and Eber outlived Abraham, would be something to have your great, great, great, great, great, great, great grand Father outlive you!

Some people think that right after the flood, people started living short lives of just a hundred years or so, but that did not really happen until after Abraham's time.  Some prior to him lived several hundred years.

While the dates below might not be perfectly accurate as each generation can vary up to a year depending on the time of the year they are born and we do not know for sure the exact date that the sons of Noah nor Abram was born since it only says that in a given year he begat his sons but some take that to mean that in that given year they started to have their sons.  Even with those exceptions  you are only taking a 100 years or so difference in the dates from the time of creation until now.  Not a lot to worry about ;)

It really puts a different view on things when you see how Adam lived almost unto the flood and Noah was around when Abraham was being called of God.  Imagine being Abraham and possibly talking with Noah all about the flood...

  From Father's Birth Age at Death Birth Year From Adam Death year From Adam Birth Year BC Death Year BC
Adam 0 930 0 930 4004 3074
Seth 130 912 130 1042 3874 2962
Enos 105 905 235 1140 3769 2864
Cainan 90 910 325 1235 3679 2769
Mahalaleel  70 895 395 1290 3609 2714
Jared 65 962 460 1422 3544 2582
Enoch 162 365 622 987 3382 3017
Methuselah  65 969 687 1656 3317 2348
Lamech  187 777 874 1651 3130 2353
Noah  182 950 1056 2006 2948 1998
Shem 502 600 1558 2158 2446 1846
Arphaxed 100 438 1658 2096 2346 1908
Salah 35 433 1693 2126 2311 1878
Eber 30 464 1723 2187 2281 1817
Peleg 34 239 1757 1996 2247 2008
Reu 30 239 1787 2026 2217 1978
Serug 32 230 1819 2049 2185 1955
Nahor 30 148 1849 1997 2155 2007
Terah 29 205 1878 2083 2126 1921
Abram 70 175 1948 2123 2056 1881

* Flood Dates in bold print

posted on Tuesday, June 03, 2008 2:28 AM
Filed Under: ** All Posts   Misc Thoughts  
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# re: Interesting Life Spans..
Posted by Dave
on 7/1/2010 5:52 AM
Very interesting and something I haven't seen anyone write or comment about before. Interestingly enough, prior to becoming a believer I, a Jew, layed out all these dates and was also amazed that Methuselah's life ended the year of the flood. As a believer since 1980, my "theory" is that since Noah was a just man, perfect in all his generations, who God favored, (Gen 6:8-9), God held back the flood until Methuselah's death. This idea of perfect in all his generations, I believe, refers to not being tainted by the "demon seed", fallen angels copulating and breeding with human women (Gen 6:1-3), bringing on universally wicked thoughts and deeds (6:5).
Noah in Gen 5:32 is mentioned as being 500 when he had his three sons, and it is unclear who was first and who was last as Shem is listed first (also in 6:7) but later Japheth is referred to as the elder (Gen 10:21) but I think this may refer to the fact that there was a younger descendant of the same name.
God says man's days will be only 120 years (6:3) and some have said this refers to a shortening of lifespan, but as you noted lifespans did not shorten so quickly after the flood. My take is 120 years before the flood God said how much longer he would put up with a race he could not stomach, and this was in deference (grace, favor) to Noah who was just and pleased him. So this statement does not chronologically follow Gen 6:32, but proceeds it by twenty years.
On this basis, I believe God waited for the natural death of Noah's last living ancestor,Methuselah--- Lamech having assumed room temperature five years earlier.
If you think there's a flaw in my analysis, I'm correctable. Does it make sense to you?
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