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You may be correct, but I think not, for the reasons laid out in the following commentaries. From https://www.bibleref.com/Genesis/6/Genesis-6-3.html#commentar
by henry_bone 5y ago
You may be correct, but I think not, for the reasons laid out in the following commentaries.
From https://www.bibleref.com/Genesis/6/Genesis-6-3.html#commentary:- https://www.bibleref.com/Genesis/6/Genesis-6-3.html#commenta...
This is another fascinating verse which has been interpreted through several different perspectives over the years. It falls in the middle of a paragraph describing how a group known as the "sons of God" took human wives who gave birth to a generation of famous "mighty men."
Taken in direct context, this verse seems to declare that God will not let humans continue to lead such long lives. Perhaps the children of the "sons of God" and human women would otherwise have gone on living an extraordinarily long time. Or perhaps God is merely saying that even the normal lifespan of humans was too long, given the evil that is taking place on the earth. Considering how much evil man is capable of with a lifetime of less than a century, the capacity for evil over many centuries is immense.
In either case, God says that He will not allow His Spirit to remain in man forever. God's Spirit, in this sense, seems to be His "breath of life." Humans cannot live without God's Spirit or life-force; we are dependent on God to continue to exist. Now God declares that He will place a natural limit of 120 years on that mortal existence. Looking at life spans for those born after the flood, this seems to be the case. While not a literal maximum, life spans after the flood rapidly decrease until few live longer than 100 years.
Some have offered an alternate explanation for this verse: that God is declaring His judgment will come on the earth 120 years from the time of this pronouncement. That could be. It is also true, though, that eventually human lifespans decreased to a maximum of approximately 120 years. Joseph, for instance, lives to be 110. Moses lives to be exactly 120 years old, while his brother Aaron lives to be 123.
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From https://biblehub.com/commentaries/genesis/6-3.htm:- https://biblehub.com/commentaries/genesis/6-3.htm:-
My spirit shall not always strive with man.—The meaning of this much-contested clause is really settled by the main purpose and context of the verse, which is the Divine determination to shorten human life. Whether, then, God’s spirit be the animating breath spoken of in Genesis 2:7; Genesis 7:22, whereby human life is sustained, or the spiritual part of man, his conscience and moral sense—God’s best gift to him—in opposition to his flesh, the struggle henceforward is not to be indefinitely prolonged. In the first case, the struggle spoken of is that between the elements of life and death in the body; in the second, it refers to the moral probation to which man is subject. The versions generally take the former meaning, and translate “shall not dwell,” or “abide “; but there is much in favour of the rendering “shall strive,” though the verb more exactly means to rule, preside over, sit as judge. Literally, then, it signifies that the Divine gift of life shall not rule in man “for ever;” that is, for a period so protracted as was antediluvian life.
- timbit42 5y agoExcept there was no shortening of life, so it's wrong. Don't base your theology on translations or Christian commentaries. All translations and commentaries are biased.
- henry_bone 5y agoI can't read Hebrew or ancient Masoretic text, so I'm kind of buggered. My illiteracy in ancient languages means that I must base my theology on translations. That said, before the other day when you raised the question, I've always just taken Genesis 6:3 to mean that God shortened human life expectancy, and I've never looked it up in a commentary. Anyway, thanks for alerting me to the alternative. I don't think I can explore it further at this time, as attaining the required linguistic skills is a bit "out of scope" for me at this time.