Recall the advanced ages to which people lived in the time of Genesis? Specifically chapter five.

Adam 5:5 930 years
Seth 5:8 912 years
Enos 5:11 905 years
Cainan 5:14 910 years
Methuselah 5:27 969 years

And there are more named in Genesis chapter five. were these actual solar years as we know today? Is it still possible for people to live that long? If so why do we never hear of somebody even 200 years old? Is it possible the genes for such long lives are still hidden someplace in our genetic code?
One of my pet obsessions I suppose, finding out if it's possible to come that close to immortality. I'm undecided if it's even possible, assuming Genesis refers to solar years.

we were later set to have a span of 120 years I think... after the flood

I believe this was a huge mistake on the part of whoever wrote the number of years.It's more likely that they meant something else.

Take for example this:

Adam 5:5 930 years = 930 divided by 12 = 77.5
Seth 5:8 912 years = 912 divided by 12 = 76
Enos 5:11 905 years = 905 divided by 12 = 75.41
Cainan 5:14 910 years = 910 divided by 12 = 75.83
Methuselah 5:27 969 years 969 divided by 12 = 80.75

If you look at the end numbers,those are more likely to be the great ages that these people may have lived to.

The reason I say this is because some early cultures did not have set calendars.Instead,the common person (most of whom did not really have the kind of education we have today) would count the periods between New or Full moons (a month).Too,the common life expectancy was probably much lower for the average person at that time...hence the reason for young marriages and large families (i.e. offspring).

-Maybe the "years" were "moons"...12 moons in a year. Eh?
However, if you research white powder gold you might find a different answer completely.

Years being moons, good possibility. Scholars have applied a similar approach to Daniel and Revelations with the day-year idea.

I like Wolf's idea but for the sake of debate I have a lil' theory.

Maybe God intended Adam and Eve to live 900+ years but as their bloodline became more and more "diluted" by later generations the life span decreased. Kind of like how if your parents you and your parents have blond hair but you marry a person a with brown hair your kid will have less of a chance of being blond...and then your grandchild may have a kid with someone who has red hair, etc. The dominate blond hair trait that you had is no longer dominate.

I think that made sense...

Yeah it does make sense with a large population, but if you have only one man and one woman and thier offspring then, the dominant trait would remain. And yes I realize that this leads into the whole debate over Adam and Eve's children having to take siblings as spouses since there were no other people. Well unless you belive the story of Lilith, in which case some half siblings are possible as well, but then Adam in effect would have gotten divorced, meaning the relationship was less than perfect before Eve was tempted which is impossible. (kicks own tail - off the twoof Mar!)

I have to say that I would not like to physically live for hundreds of years (I would get puffed out for crying out loud!).

My mum told me when I was little about a man who continuously prayed to God to live forever, his wish was granted only for him to find that after living for 2,000 years, he was praying to die. Now that would really be a case of "we want what we can't have" lol.

Thats true but I think it is silly for Adam and Eve's kids to reproduce with each other because if I remember correctly it semed that Cain and Abel's spouses where not their sisters...and their was no mention of Adam and Eve having daughters(or any other kids).

I think that God created Adam and Eve first but he could have made a bunch of other couples after them.

Evolution and/or adaptation could play a part though...for example Adam's kid could have had blond hair but it could have changed color throughout his lifetime because...he was living in a cave or something and his blond hair turned darker.

But Wolf's idea makes the most sense.

i'm not sure i want to live into the hundreds either...my life has been more positive than negative and i have had fun so far but i think i will, one day, tire of the daily race. God has been very good to me and i think His current plan is best for me.
good post....

randomhit10

AN interesting idea, and one that has found some favour amongst other people. However, to put in a little discussion/argument here, if we take this view, then we also have to take the same view of how old they were when they first had a child, which is also recorded in Genesis 5 - the passage chronicles how old they were when they had their first child, and then how old they were when they died.

So Adam lived 930 years (divide by 12 - 77.5 years), and fathered his first child when he was 130 (divide by 12 - 10.83 years old)

Seth lived 912 years (divide by 12 - 76 years), and fathered his first child when he was 105 (divide by 12 -8.75 years old)

Enosh lived 905 years (divide by 12 - 75.41), and fathered his first child when he was 90 (divide by 12 - 7.5 years old).

Long story short, Methuselah would have been the oldest when he fathered his first child, at 187 years (divide by 12 - 15.58 years old), and the youngest would have been Mahalalel and Enoch, who were both 65 (divide by 12 - 5.42 years old).

very good point PA....the Bible also states that lives were shortened from the time of the beginning....why would that reference be made if lives were really the same length with the only measure being from man's understanding? (no accurate clocks or calendars to measure time passage)...all this really makes for a lot of discussion.

randomhit10