Age of OT Bible characters

[MotherNoRest]

My brother-in-law thinks that OT people did not really live 800 or 900 years. He thinks it is a metaphor for these people being powerful.

Do we really believe Abraham and Noah and others lived for hundreds of years?

If so, how was it that Sarah was considered old at 100 or whenever it was that she conceived?

 

[juliamajor]

Brother in-law is correct. Ancient Near East King List have some kings listed at 10,000 or more years old! O.T. were pikers next to those guys! The greater and more powerful the king the older he was. Abraham and Sarah “is anything to hard for the Lord?” Their ages symbolizeYahweh’s power to overcome even the seeming insurmountable.

 

[Aaron69]

He’s right. Here’s a great link to sort of explain what the mistake in the translation. evolutionofgenesis.homestead.com/Ages.html

In a nutshell, divide the listed OT age of the character by 12 and you’ve got their actual age in years. It’s silly to think that people still perpetuate those “ages” as “truth”.

Hope this helps.

 

[Lion777]

Another theory to consider is that effects of sin may have reduced the average lifespan of mankind over time. If you graph the ages of the patriarchs from Adam to Noah to Abraham to see a descending curve.

Posted from Catholic.com App for Android

 

[Aaron69]

-I WILL APOLOGIZE NOW: I BROKE MY GLASSES YESTERDAY AND CAN BARELY SEE WHAT i’M TYPING: THERE MAY BE SOME SPELLING ERRORS-

That is not even a theory considering the FACT that Judaists/Kabbahlists ARE THE ONES WHO WROTE ABOUT THOSE PATRIARCHS AND KEPT THEIR AGES NOT IN YEARS BUT IN MOONS.

This MEANS OF DEFINING AGE is a throwback to the earlier religions of Mesopotamia who were the founders of astrology which the Jews also accepted as part of their belief structure. Not planet or star “worship” but rather as a guide put there by GOD to foretell future events. The coming of a “Great King/Messiah” was foretold using such methods. The early Jews were heavily influenced by celestial events.

The TRUTH of the Bible is not always on the surface and most definitely not part of today’s church doctrine. If you’re gonna BELIEVE, you owe it to yourself and your maker to seek the TRUTH. BTW, The oldest person in the Bible only lived to be 80.