Before God destroyed all but eight humans in the Great Flood, people lived for hundreds of years. The first man, Adam, lived for 930 years. Genesis 5 records that Methuselah, Noah’s grandfather, lived for 969 years! If anyone lived longer, the Bible does not mention him. Even Noah, who was 600 when the flood occurred, lived another 350 years after the flood first began—950 years total. The average age of the pre-flood patriarchs (Genesis 5), excluding Enoch (who was taken away for his protection) and Noah (whose life extended well beyond the flood) was about 907 years. Interestingly, from the time of the flood until the destruction of the tower of Babel, the average lifespan was approximately half. This is figured from the patriarchs who are listed in Genesis 11, when the average lifespan was about 459 years.

Watch Now The average lifespan from the time of Peleg (who lived during the destruction of the tower of Babel) until and including the times of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob comes to about 194 years—less than half the lifespan of the previous era. Thus, both at the time of the flood and the tower of Babel’s destruction, the life spans were drastically changed. It has been speculated that this could have resulted from God removing some of the protective layers of the stratosphere that filtered out dangerous radiation, thus affecting man’s lifespan. Later, Moses’ life ended at the age of 120. Deuteronomy 34:7 mentions that “his eye was not dim nor his natural force abated.” Aaron, Moses’ brother, lived to the age of 123 (Num. 33:39), and Joshua lived to the age of 110 (Josh. 24:29). God’s servants were often granted additional years to complete the crucial mission He had given them to carry out. Only on rare occasions after Joshua’s time does the Bible record anyone living beyond 100 years of age.

Methuselah lived for 969 years

The Sumerian Kings. Average rein was 30,150 years. The average life-span of the biblical antediluvian patriarch recorded in Genesis was 858 years.