Did Adam Really Live 930 Years?

Institute for Creation Research ^ | 7-14-14 | Brian Thomas

[fishtank]

Did Adam Really Live 930 Years?

by Brian Thomas, M.S. *

Genesis 5:5 says Adam lived for 930 years. Judging by today’s standards, this sounds impossible. Many contemporary readers of Genesis balk at such numbers and some end up rejecting the whole Bible. But a few researchers have found reasons to believe it.

Plant geneticist Dr. John Sanford and his colleagues plotted the ages of the biblical patriarchs listed in Genesis. The result shows a systematic drop-off in lifespans after 950-year-old Noah, “in a way that could never happen by chance,” according to an online post showing their results.1

[fishtank]

"The Genesis lifespans decline according to a well-defined decay curve that began immediately after the Flood."

Caption quoted from ICR article.

. . . . . . Fishtank comment: (1) Did Moses falsify the data? How could he do that? Did he know exponential math? (2) If the data points are true (and I see no reason why they are not), then what does that say about the radical process of discontinuity from one equilibrium state to another? (3) Could other physical processes have been affected as well at that time period?

[HiTech RedNeck]

This is a well known trend in the scriptural accounts of antiquity.

Job was one of those long-lived humans.

Some (notably, Hugh Ross with his OEC) have speculated that nuclear radiation made the difference, such as the Vela supernova... maybe. I’ve gotten leery of “scientism” both in old earth and young earth flavors, when we are dealing with a God that can keep Israelites’ shoes from wearing out during 40 years of wandering.

[Don Corleone]

Wives increased their nagging! JMHO.

[shove_it]

“Time flies when you’re having fun”, proven by your chart ...

y = time
x = having fun

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

“Hey, remember back in 5,000 BC when we used to ride go-carts together as kids? Good times, my friend.”

[fieldmarshaldj]

Abe Vigoda is up to 900...

[teeman8r]

reversed hockey stick...

noah living so long was just a typo... it happens.

t

[minnesota_bound]

Adam did not work out like Noah. He just lounged around in Eden.

[BBB333]

Only if he had a iWatch with bio-health sensors...

/sarc>

[dinoparty]

I am a conservative Christian, but I think this, along with similar attempts to “prove” Scripture using modern natural science and modern historology are misguided and counterproductive. It cedes to our opponents (and in the public eye) their claim that modern natural science and modern historology are the proper turf on which to fight the battle. Scripture was not written as a history and science textbook in the modern sense. It was written as a great book of Divine Wisdom to be mined for great Truth, not a simple recounting of historical trivia.

[US_MilitaryRules]

Could it be that months were years?
New moon was a year?

930 months is 77.5 years.

[Mark17]

I am not sure, but I will tell you what I heard. Before the flood, the entire earth was tropical. There was the firmament, which did not allow direct sunlight. During the flood, the firmament was broken, thereby allowing direct sunlight, which will kill a person after about 70 years, give or take. I just wonder what Adam and Eve did for 900 years, to stay busy? I suspect they had brilliant minds. I would guess Eve probably had a baby every year for hundreds of years. These are just some of the things I have heard in the past.

[al_c]

Dang global warming climate change. If not for evil SUVs, factories, cow farts, and deforestation, we'd all still be living past 900 years of age!

Probably Noah's fault for cutting down all those trees for his silly boat.

[HiTech RedNeck]

That teeman8r, he’s a real comedian.

Sometimes in biblical genealogies, a man will be cited where the apparent intent was to designate a small dynasty beginning with that man. Comparing biblical genealogies seems to suggest that approach in the context of genealogies. However, there aren’t any other clues to suggest the scripture is talking about a “Noah dynasty” here, and why would such dynasties get shorter and shorter with time?

[I want the USA back]

Saying that the patriarch lived a long time was a way of increasing their stature in the eyes of the faithful. It was not to be taken literally.

[LTC.Ret]

Here is my personal “scientific” answer:

When God created Adam and Eve, their DNA was PERFECT. 100% perfect -— no bad genes, no defects, no anything that could or would go wrong. And they were protected within Eden from any outside sources of genetic contamination or deterioration -— no radiation, no viruses, no toxins.

It took time for the genetic alterations and defects to build up within the populations to a noticeable level, and before genetic problems started to be seen. This is why there were no prohibitions against marrying close relatives until the law of Moses, and no genetically diseases caused by those early marriages.

Once driven out of Eden, all those negative things and many others began to work on that perfect DNA and corrupted it -— “death” came into the world.

And with each successive genetic defect, lifespans decreased, and inherited disorders increased.

It makes perfect scientific sense when you think about it.

[yuleeyahoo]

You notice the decrease in lifespan begins after the flood? Also, I don’t recall seeing any mentions of hunters prior to the flood.

Perhaps God changed man and his ecosystem while all living creatures were huddled in the ark?

[HiTech RedNeck]

The more I get to know the kinds of things that God does, the less I am surprised to see things like this. This automatically limits what secular science can actually illuminate, and that doesn’t bother me. In fact I’d expect God to set up circumstances where secular science, if idolized, will (not might, will) hit brick walls.

I get the point about not rushing into scientism whether it be in YEC or OEC flavors.

[Fester Chugabrew]

There is no need to interject a conflict between the biblical texts and the so-called “natural sciences.” The biblical texts comport precisely with the latter, and are at the same time given for our learning so that we may know where we came from and where we are going. There will always be mockers. Let them mock to their hearts’ content.

[HiTech RedNeck]

But the ark was very green!