Did People in Bible Times Really Live So Long?

Please Support the Bible Translation Work of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

$5.00

Introduction: Evaluating the Claim of Ancient Longevity

The Bible presents a striking picture of human longevity in its earliest chapters. Adam is said to have lived 930 years (Genesis 5:5). Methuselah, the longest-lived human recorded, reached 969 years (Genesis 5:27). Others such as Noah (950 years, Genesis 9:29), Seth (912 years, Genesis 5:8), and Jared (962 years, Genesis 5:20) also attained remarkable ages. To modern readers accustomed to an average human lifespan of 70–80 years, these claims may appear implausible, even mythical. However, to evaluate the matter honestly, one must examine the textual, theological, historical, and scientific context of these records. Does the biblical text support these lifespans as literal years? Is there external validation? And what theological purpose might be behind such longevity in the earliest generations of humanity?

This article will explore these questions in depth, providing a thorough, conservative, and rational defense of the biblical assertion that people in ancient times, especially prior to the flood of Noah in 2348 B.C.E., truly lived for centuries. We will also address common objections, including the notion that these “years” were not actual solar years, and explore the gradual decline in longevity seen across the biblical timeline.

I. Textual Consistency and the Genre of Genesis

The first issue to address is the nature of the text itself. Genesis, particularly chapters 1 through 11, is often questioned in modern critical scholarship as allegedly mythological or symbolic rather than historical. This approach, however, is not grounded in the actual literary features or theological intent of the text. Genesis presents its narratives in the same historical, genealogical style that is found in later sections of Scripture that no one questions as historical (e.g., Genesis 12–50). The genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11 are not poetic or allegorical; they contain specific chronological data, including names, ages at the birth of children, and total years lived.

Genesis 5:6–8 reads:
“When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. So Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died.”

The text is straightforward in its presentation. There is no suggestion of figurative numbers, nor is there any literary signal that these years are anything other than solar years as we understand them today.

II. Chronological Integrity: Were These Years Literal?

One objection often raised is that the term “year” in the Genesis genealogies might not correspond to our modern 365-day year. However, this theory fails under scrutiny. The internal evidence of Genesis refutes the idea that a “year” might be a lunar month or a season.

In Genesis 7:11 and 8:4, we read:
“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth… And the ark came to rest in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month.”
Genesis 7:24 adds, “And the waters prevailed on the earth for 150 days.”

This shows that five months were equal to 150 days, meaning 30 days per month and 12 months per year—exactly our current solar calendar. Moreover, in Genesis 5:15–18, Mahalalel became a father at 65 years, and his grandson Enoch also fathered a son at 65 years. If a “year” were actually a month, then both would have fathered children at just over five years of age—an impossibility biologically and logically. Thus, there is no textual or logical support for the notion that the early patriarchal “years” were anything other than literal solar years.

III. Theological and Doctrinal Context of Longevity

One of the clearest reasons for the extraordinary lifespan of antediluvian humans is found in the doctrine of original creation. According to Genesis 1:27, God created man in His own image, and Genesis 1:31 declares that all creation was “very good.” Adam was created perfect—without sin, disease, or decay. His long lifespan (930 years) reflects this original state. The human body was not initially subject to death; mortality entered the human experience only after Adam sinned, as explained in Romans 5:12:
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”

These extreme lifespans, therefore, reflect not myth but the historical reality of humanity in its early, near-perfect physical condition. As sin and its effects accumulated, particularly after the flood, human lifespan began to shorten, as reflected in Psalm 90:10, where Moses (writing centuries after the flood) observes, “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures.”

IV. Genealogical Continuity: A Decline in Longevity Over Time

Genesis 11 records the gradual decline in lifespan post-flood. Shem lived 600 years, his son Arpachshad 438, and subsequent generations even less. By the time of Abraham (born 2167 B.C.E.), lifespan had decreased to under 200 years (Genesis 25:7—Abraham died at 175). Moses himself lived to be 120 (Deuteronomy 34:7). There is a natural and theologically consistent pattern of decline from the near-perfection of Adam’s generation toward the limitations of modern humanity, all in accordance with the effects of sin and the Curse introduced in Genesis 3:17–19.

V. Extra-Biblical Witnesses and the Reliability of the Text

Ancient Near Eastern texts, such as the Sumerian King List, also record incredibly long lifespans among their earliest kings—some into the tens of thousands of years. While these are clearly exaggerated and corrupted over time, they suggest a cultural memory of a period when humans lived longer. The Bible’s records, in contrast, are both modest in comparison and consistently decline with each generation, demonstrating their internal consistency and realism.

Moreover, archaeological evidence corroborates the existence of cities and cultures mentioned in the Genesis accounts—Ur, Haran, and Canaan among them—confirming the historical backdrop of these narratives. Genesis 14’s account of Abraham’s conflict with Chedorlaomer and other kings includes specific geopolitical details, names, and locations verified through ancient documents and inscriptions. This supports the notion that these texts are not legend but authentic historical records. Given the text’s historical reliability in all testable areas, it is rational to extend credibility to the lifespans it records.

VI. Scientific Considerations: Was Such Longevity Possible?

While modern biology cannot replicate antediluvian conditions, research has demonstrated the remarkable regenerative capacity of the human body. Geneticists have noted that DNA damage, cellular aging, and environmental factors are central to aging. In a perfect environment with flawless genetic code, it is entirely plausible that humans could live centuries. Modern research into telomeres (the ends of chromosomes associated with aging) supports the idea that the deterioration of the human genome over time correlates with shortened lifespans.

Genesis implies that the world before the flood had vastly different environmental conditions. The pre-flood climate, possibly including a more uniform temperature and greater atmospheric pressure, may have contributed to health and longevity. While speculative, this aligns with the biblical claim that longevity was higher prior to the flood judgment of 2348 B.C.E., when the earth’s conditions drastically changed (Genesis 7:11–12).

VII. Divine Purpose Behind Longevity

The long lifespans of early humans served a divine purpose. With fewer people and no written Scripture, oral tradition was vital. Individuals like Methuselah and Noah would have served as living repositories of divine revelation and history, connecting many generations across centuries. Adam lived to see nine generations after him, and his eyewitness testimony would have reinforced the knowledge of God’s commands and the reality of the Fall.

These long lives also enabled the early multiplication of humanity. Genesis 1:28 records God’s command: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” Longevity would have accelerated population growth while preserving theological continuity before the dispersion at Babel.

VIII. Refuting the Allegation of Mythology

The claim that the early chapters of Genesis are mythological reflects a flawed presupposition. Many critics adopt a worldview that excludes the supernatural and thus relegate anything extraordinary to mythology. However, this is circular reasoning. The supernatural is ruled out a priori, and then the absence of natural explanation is used to discredit the account. Conservative scholarship insists on interpreting the text on its own terms. Genesis is written as history. The names, dates, sequences, and genealogical details mirror those found in Chronicles, Ezra, and the Gospels. The New Testament also treats these individuals as historical. Luke traces Jesus’ lineage back to Adam (Luke 3:38), and Paul affirms Adam as the first man (1 Corinthians 15:45), treating the Genesis genealogies as literal and accurate.

IX. Why It Matters: Implications for Theology and the Gospel

The credibility of the Genesis account has direct implications for the gospel. The Apostle Paul’s explanation of the Fall and the atonement in Romans 5:12–21 and 1 Corinthians 15:21–22 is grounded in the historicity of Adam. If Adam was not a real man, then sin and death did not enter through him, and Christ’s redemptive work becomes meaningless. The long lives recorded in Genesis reflect the reality of a once-perfect creation and serve as a theological witness to the entrance of sin and the necessity of redemption.

Conclusion: Confidence in the Biblical Record

The extraordinary ages of individuals in early Genesis are not myth, exaggeration, or symbolic devices. They are literal, historical, and theologically meaningful records that align with the Bible’s teaching about creation, the Fall, and human degeneration. The internal textual consistency, supported by logical coherence, external historical verification, and theological necessity, overwhelmingly supports the trustworthiness of these accounts.

You May Also Enjoy

Are Miracles Actually Possible, or Are They Merely Stories From Antiquity?

About the author

EDWARD D. ANDREWS (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. He has authored over 220+ books. In addition, Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).