“showing him to be the 89th generation
So what does that mean? Literal generations, like each one about 70 years? 6230 years ago?”
No, that is NOT what is meant. How old was your father when you were born? 25? 30? 35? How old was your grandfather when your father was born? Etc., etc., through the ages. I don’t know the precise number of years in a generation (even population scientists disagree, and there is tremendous variations based on the time period, culture, world events, etc.), but I would venture to say something like 30-33 1/3 years. So 89 generations would be somewhere between 2670 and 2966 years. King David lived about 3,000 years ago, so this is plausible. In my own family, there is a separation of 141 years between my father’s, father’s father (born 1863) and my son (born 2004). 4 generations in 141 years is 35.25 years per generation - so if that pattern continued for 89 generations you’d be at 3,137 years - before King David’s birth.
70 years is the Biblical length of a typical life (once you got past the childhood diseases) free of combat, NOT the length of time between generations.
I made
my post 31 before I read your post. My observations about my own family substantiate your figures. Pretty cool.
I should note that the Civil War forestalled my great grandfathers parenting by about five years. Other wars or similar disasters through the ages may have had the same effect on some generations.
I read somewhere that 28 years is the average separation between generations but don't know if that is true.
My Revolutionary War ancestor had 21 children by 3 wives...the youngest child was 5 years old when her father died aged 78, but the child I am descended from was about 42 years older.
Just did a quick calculation back to my great-grandparents. My oldest great-grandfather was born 114 years before I was, the youngest was born 85 years before I was...it averages out to 33 2/3 years. With my great-grandmothers it averages out to 30 2/3 years.