Significance of ages in first part of Genesis

[Deacon_Joseph]

Is there a theological reason for the ages of people in Genesis 1-11, or is it to be taken literally?

 

[Benadam]

Is there a theological reason for the ages of people in Genesis 1-11, or is it to be taken literally?

*Deacon Joe, If the ages are literal they are even more so theological. If they are literal they are inherently prophetic since the pattern of the first generations of human life would permeate all humanity. That pattern would be hidden within mankind and repeat it’self in various ways through out history.It would be hidden within the lives of the the 12 sons of Jacob and more sublimely within the histories of the 12 tribes. *

*Even more hidden to us but less hidden than ever before to those experiencing it I think that pattern was manifest in the lives of the 12 Apostles. Remember when Jesus chose Nethanial? *

John 1
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him: and he saith of him: Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.

Could Jesus be pointing to an original Innocence?

48 Nathanael saith to him: Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered, and said to him: Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

Nathanael assumes that Jesus must have known this about him from some previous time. Jesus describes a visual pattern rather than a chronological one ,instead of when he knew Nathanael before now Jesus describes ‘where’ he saw him before here. How profound that is is revealed by Nathanael’s response.

49 Nathanael answered him, and said: Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel.

I* think Jesus revealed the pattern of the beginning hidden within the life of Nathanael. A very intimate but not unknown pattern to Nathanael. Perhaps Jesus validated for Nathanael an intimate world of revelation only he knew and couldn’t articulate? *

**50 Jesus answered, and said to him: Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, thou believest: greater things than these shalt thou see. **

*Jesus tells him seeing that pattern was no biggie. I believe the pattern of the beginning was manifest in the life of the *
*woman at the well and why she believed in Jesus so profoundly after a simple exchange. Her life’s pattern was a reflection of the history of Samaria. *

I don’t think the ages in Genesis are prophetic in the general sense but will reveal their significance when the pattern of the beginning is mirrored in some way at the second coming as I believe it was around Jesus during His earthly life.

On another note,
*A person at this site a couple of years ago was able to calculate the amount of weeks from creation to flood using the ages in Genesis… It equalled the amount of seconds in a day. *

The post that details the calculation:
Post # 39 Catholic Answers Forums - View Single Post - Vatican observatory

 

[drafdog]

Actually, I sat down one evening and did the math. The antedeluvian names all die before the Flood. In that respect the ages reflect and support the story of the ark.
The extreme ages of persons in the beginning are meant to indicate holiness as long life was considered a blessing from God.

Matthew

 

[Benadam]

Actually, I sat down one evening and did the math. The antedeluvian names all die before the Flood. In that respect the ages reflect and support the story of the ark.
The extreme ages of persons in the beginning are meant to indicate holiness as long life was considered a blessing from God.

Matthew

Yep. Many believe that the great age of Methuselah made his body a sign. With his body he revealed the Word of God and with it as a living testemony of eternal life God would withold His hand. Once Methuselah’s soul parted that body it was no longer a sign of Salvation. Without a sign of Salvation on earth the time had come.

 

[Verbum]

Hi Deacon Joseph,

In 1948, the Pontifical Biblical commission, in a letter to Cardinal Suhard, commented on how Catholics should approach the first eleven chapter of Genesis. It said, among other things:

These literary forms do not correspond to any of our classical categories and cannot be judged in the light of Greco-Latin or modern literary types. It is therefore impossible to deny or to reaffirm their historicity as a whole without unduly applying to them norms of a literary type under which they cannot be classed. If it is agreed not to see in these chapters history in the classical and modern sense, it must be admitted also that known scientific facts do not allow a positive solution of all the problems which they present.

(…)

To declare a priori that these narrarives do not contain history in the modern sense of the word might easily be understood to mean that they do not contain history in any sense, whereas they relate in simple and figurative language, adapted to the understanding of mankind at a lower stage of development, the fundamental truths underlying the divine scheme of salvation, as well as a popular description of the origins of the human race and of the chosen people.

Quoted in A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Bernard Orchard, ed. Toronto, New York, Edimburg, Thomas Nelson & Sons. [c.1953)

At this point, it is doubtful that these “long lives” are to be taken literally. Many commentators explain that a “long life” is a sign of a “good” life. You will note that as time goes on, the ages of these patriarchs diminishes gradually, which would indicate that humanity is getting worse with time. Or again, that with time we realize that man without God is a slave to his evil inclinations.

Verbum

 

[Sabda]

The above responses have been wonderful. Another thing is that the age could be a clue. For example, Scott Hahn stated in one of his books “A Father Who Keeps His Promises”, that Melchizedek was Shem, Noah’s son. If you do the math on Shems age, found in Genesis 11, you will find that he was very much alive the entire time Abraham was. In fact Shem went on to live an additional 35 years after Abraham died. We find in Genesis 25:7 that Abraham lived to be 175 yrs. As we know from Genesis 14, Melchizedek gave Abraham a blessing. Well, Shem received the blessing from Noah, who received it from God. However, you never see Shem passing the blessing on to anyone else. What you do see is this mysterious Melchizedek who pops up out of no where and gives Abraham a blessing.

Here is Scott Hahn’s online Bible study which gives some more details about this. Check out the first study on “convenant love”. I would also recommend getting the book as Hahn goes into more details in the book.