Here’s Why So Many People In The Book Of Genesis Had Long Lifespans
By WILLIAM FISCHER
History - Religion
A literal reading of Genesis presents the human lifespan as being far longer than the life expectancy of today. It lists the remarkable lifespans of patriarchs from Adam to Noah.
It was written in Genesis that Adam lived for 930 years, his son Seth lived 912 years, Jared lived for 962 years, and Methuselah — the grandfather of Noah — lived for 969 years.
Christian organization BioLogos theorizes this is due to numerology in the ancient world, where supernatural powers were attributed to numbers distinct from their literal use.
The list of patriarchs in Genesis from Adam to Noah gives an age for each man. These numbers all come in combinations of seven and 60 when converted to months and years.
These two numbers have numerological significance. Seven was tied into the creation myth of the Hebrews, and 60 was the foundational number of Babylonian mathematics.
The combinations resulted in 30 specific ages with a one in 100 million chance of occurring. These interpretations may make more sense, but the meaning of these numbers eludes us.