Abraham's age?

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Sue_Connelly

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Genesis 25:7 Says that Abraham was 175 when he died. Is that figure close to reality or exagerated?
 
Nothing is exagerated . Its written clearly in the BIBLE which is inspired by the Holy Spirit.BIBLE is not just another book,its a way of living . 🙂
 
There are many stories in the bible whidh are not taken literally, that is why I question the age of Abrham.
 
Sue_Connelly said:
Genesis 25:7 Says that Abraham was 175 when he died. Is that figure close to reality or exagerated?
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Sometimes numbers in the Bible are symbolic and sometimes they are not – 12, and 40, 10 and 3 are often used this way. However, to paraphrase Freud, a number is sometimes just a number.

A good rule of thumb when dealing with numbers in the Scriptures is that if it seems symbolic based on other number figures we consistently see in Scripture, it probably is in some manner. In the case of Abraham’s age, I know of no symbolic significance to the number 175 – for example, if the Bible said he died at 120, which is 3 X 40 or 10 X 12, that would be a little different.

(The common skeptical explanations “Just to show he was blessed by God” or “This was a common exageration in other ancient near East literature” are too dismissive and speculative and doesn’t directly address the text itself.).

So I take it at face value: Abraham was 175 when he died.
 
Sue_Connelly said:
Genesis 25:7 Says that Abraham was 175 when he died. Is that figure close to reality or exagerated?
Click to expand...
Ancient and Biblical literary traditions are not the same as modern ways of writing. Authors often spoke in exaggerations.

For example, when Xerxes invaded Greece, Herodotus quotes his army as being 2.5 million men. That is impossible given the populations and logistics of the time. Modern historian think it was likely several hundred thousand.

The Bible is similar. I would take the passage as meaning Abraham was very old when he died.

In any case, the precise age in unimportant. We are free to believe it or not. It is not a question of faith and morals.

God Bless
 
Hi Sue,

The interpretation of Genesis is a work in progress. The Church has indicated that the history contained in Genesis is not history as we understand it today. But how exactly it is to be understood requires a lot of study of the social, literary, linguistic environment in the times when this particular section of the Bible came together.

One thing we notice when looking at the age of the patriarchs is that the range diminishes as time progresses. This corresponds to the idea among the Jews that humanity was getting worse and worse, because a long life was a reward for a good life. If you read the whole of Genesis, and then Exodus, you’ll notice that whereas you have lives of 900 years at the beginning, this goes down to 200-600 years between Noah and Abraham and subsequently to 100-200 years.

What has been said above, does not mean that Genesis is all “symbolic”. The fundamental truths of creation by God, of the origin of humanity from one couple, of original sin etc. are explained in the way people understood them best in the days that they were written.

What do you think?

Verbum
 
You have a very interesting way of looking at it and I feel, some good logic. Something to think about and discuss with others.
Thank you.
 
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