10 Interesting Facts About The Old Testament

3. There Were Extraordinarily Long Lifespans Before the Flood

The Bible records that before the Flood of Noah the age of man exceeded a 900 year lifespan. The Book of Genesis says that Adam died at the age of 930, and his son Seth died at the age of 910. In fact many of Adam's descendants before the flood died over 900 years of age. The oldest man to have ever lived according to the Bible was Methuselah who died at the age of 969. Some scholars also believe that according to the etymology of his name "when he dies it shall be sent" reveals that God's judgement of the flood came upon the earth the exact day that Methuselah died. Noah is said to have died at 950 years old, he was at age 600 during the great flood and would have lived almost to the time of Abraham. Scholars have speculated regarding the world before the flood and what it was like. Genesis talks about God creating the "firmament" of water above the whole earth and later was released to cause the flood. It is believed by many that this "firmament" produced a worldwide tropical environment and a longevity of all living things including man. The Bible is not clear on all the details of this pre-flood "antediluvian" period, yet Jesus mentioned Noah as a historical person and the flood as a historical event.

Archaeological Note: The Weld-Blundell Prism was an ancient Babylonian prism written in cuneiform, discovered near the ancient city of Ur. It contains a list of the kings of the ancient Persian Gulf area dating from 3200-1800 BC. 10 of the kings had extraordinary long life spans, and would have existed before the flood.

Another archaeological discovery worthy of note was a burial site at ancient Varna, in Bulgaria near the western coast of the Black Sea. The oldest gold treasure in the history of the world was discovered here with relics dating back to the antediluvian period (4500 B.C.). One warrior of high status is seen wielding a battle axe, and depictions reveal that the worship of the bull was prominent. The technology at this site is highly advanced showing the use of copper 2,000 years before the copper and bronze age. Mathematics and astronomical calculations date 2,000 years prior to the pyramids at Giza. See Varna Discovery

Image of Methuselah at 969

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