Commentary
Skeptic's Annotated Bible
5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
5:2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
5:3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth:
5:4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:
5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
So I was curious to see how the commentary viewed these long lifespans. Do you take them literally? If not, how else can they be taken? Modern lifespans are basically double what they were in medieval times due to scientific and medical advancements (current global average life expectancy is about 67.2 years, and higher in more developed countries); and we do not find fossil evidence supporting extreme lifespans in the past in, well, any species.
After considering questions like diet, climate, spiritual purity of these people, Jamieson concludes that "Since we cannot obtain satisfactory evidence on these points, it is wise to resolve the fact into the sovereign will of God." In other words, just accept these absurd claims on faith and don't ask difficult questions. You pretty much have to suspend rationality to accept this stuff. I had a cab ride recently where I got into this discussion with the cab driver (she was from Ethiopia), and she literally believed these long life spans; she mentioned Noah specifically. People actually believe this stuff, literally.
5:6 And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:
5:7 And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:
5:8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
5:9 And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:
5:10 And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:
5:11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.
5:12 And Cainan lived seventy years and begat Mahalaleel:
5:13 And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:
5:14 And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
5:15 And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:
5:16 And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:
5:17 And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.
5:18 And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:
5:19 And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
5:20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
5:21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
5:22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
5:23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
I guess this means he died? "He walked with God: and he was not"? It's like the author isn't even trying to write clearly.
5:25 And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech.
5:26 And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:
5:27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
At this point I want to acknowledge the wonderful Methuselah Foundation, which conducts research into extending healthy human life.
5:28 And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:
5:29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.
5:30 And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:
5:31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.
5:32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Noah had three kids when he was 500 years old. Um, three kids in one year? Were they triplets? Or did Noah have multiple wives, or were some of these kids illegitimate?
Not really much more to say here. If you really believe that these people lived the long lives described here, then we don't have much to say to one another.
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