3 ms·
In the part where the whole Noah/flood thing happened, it says that humans' lifespans would be limited to 120 years (after Adam etc). But that is not the point
by bcg1 10y ago
In the part where the whole Noah/flood thing happened, it says that humans' lifespans would be limited to 120 years (after Adam etc).
But that is not the point... no matter whether you take the Bible literally or not (I don't), at the very least it suggests that at the time of the writing there was some observation of 120 years as being a reasonable upper bound for human lifespan.
- notahacker 10y agoAlternatively it's interpreted as a prophecy of his plan to wipe out mankind in a flood in 120 years, which is the subject of the rest of the chapter. This is more consistent with Genesis recording Noah's descendants, like their forebears, living multiple centuries. As such, Genesis is far better evidence for the idea that its authors believed that human lifespans could extend centuries beyond the ages they actually lived to and died at.