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I've always found Genesis 6:3 interesting, when talking about human longevity. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he a

I've always found Genesis 6:3 interesting, when talking about human longevity. 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.

pboutros 10y ago
Am not religious, but that's nuts! Also interesting that Noah and co. all lived to be hundreds of years old, in the book.
- marsrover 10y ago
  Indeed. However, Noah and co. were born before Genesis 6:3. Also interesting to note.
  - kogus 10y ago
    Genesis 6 is the beginning of the "Noah's flood" narrative. Noah doesn't die until Genesis 9. Reference: http://biblehub.com/genesis/9-29.htm http://biblehub.com/genesis/9-29.htm
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- kogus 10y ago
  As with everything biblical, there is an interesting discussion about that very topic: http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/4163/if-god-set-the-maximum-age-to-120-then-how-could-jacob-be-130-years-old http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/4163/if-god-...
- Amezarak 10y ago
  I don't think it's that nuts, it was probably based on observation. There is some evidence that in some relatively primitive cultures that it wasn't completely unheard of to live to very old ages. If you won the genetic, cultural, and geographic lottery and lived somewhere there wasn't a lot of disease-carrying vermin (fleas, mosquitoes, etc), ate a relatively good diet, lived in a time of relative peace, and stayed reasonably active, you probably had a decent shot of living a good, long life. What really drags ancient mortality down is astronomical infant mortality, dying in childbirth, infanticide, and war. In more advanced civilizations, with lots of contact with other peoples, dense cities, sanitation issues, and so on, you then start worrying about plagues. So I think ancient peoples could have reasonably come to the conclusion that about 120 was the maximum age and attributed it to God. Even in recent centuries there have probably been a very few people living to 110-120, the trouble was it was incredibly difficult for us to verify in the absence of solid, verifiable record-keeping.
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DannyB2 10y ago
Methuselah is the man reported to have lived the longest at the age of 969 in the Hebrew Bible. Extra-biblical tradition maintains that he died on the 11th of Cheshvan of the year 1656AM, seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood.

pboutros 10y ago

Am not religious, but that's nuts! Also interesting that Noah and co. all lived to be hundreds of years old, in the book.

marsrover 10y ago
Indeed. However, Noah and co. were born before Genesis 6:3. Also interesting to note.
- kogus 10y ago
  Genesis 6 is the beginning of the "Noah's flood" narrative. Noah doesn't die until Genesis 9. Reference: http://biblehub.com/genesis/9-29.htm http://biblehub.com/genesis/9-29.htm
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
kogus 10y ago
As with everything biblical, there is an interesting discussion about that very topic: http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/4163/if-god-set-the-maximum-age-to-120-then-how-could-jacob-be-130-years-old http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/4163/if-god-...
Amezarak 10y ago
I don't think it's that nuts, it was probably based on observation. There is some evidence that in some relatively primitive cultures that it wasn't completely unheard of to live to very old ages. If you won the genetic, cultural, and geographic lottery and lived somewhere there wasn't a lot of disease-carrying vermin (fleas, mosquitoes, etc), ate a relatively good diet, lived in a time of relative peace, and stayed reasonably active, you probably had a decent shot of living a good, long life. What really drags ancient mortality down is astronomical infant mortality, dying in childbirth, infanticide, and war. In more advanced civilizations, with lots of contact with other peoples, dense cities, sanitation issues, and so on, you then start worrying about plagues. So I think ancient peoples could have reasonably come to the conclusion that about 120 was the maximum age and attributed it to God. Even in recent centuries there have probably been a very few people living to 110-120, the trouble was it was incredibly difficult for us to verify in the absence of solid, verifiable record-keeping.

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DannyB2 10y ago

Methuselah is the man reported to have lived the longest at the age of 969 in the Hebrew Bible. Extra-biblical tradition maintains that he died on the 11th of Cheshvan of the year 1656AM, seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood.