Considering Long Lives in the Genesis Account

Anthony Williams | September 21, 2025

One of the many things that scoffers like to scoff at when it comes to the Bible is the idea that there were men who lived to be hundreds of years old prior to and after the flood. Can we really be serious about these long lives in times past, and should it matter to a Christian?

Summary of Ages

In case you haven’t memorized the Biblical begotten’s, I will offer a quick summary of some of the long-livers. Genesis is read in a straightforward manner. In chapter 5 of the Book of Genesis, the lives and years of the patriarchs are laid out as follows:

“When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.” (Genesis 5:3-5)

Ten similar summaries span from Adam (the first created human) to Noah, whose three sons and three daughters-in-law repopulated the earth after the flood. The average lifespans of these first ten generations listed were 912 years, aside from Enoch, who God seemingly spared an earthly death altogether by taking him to Heaven.

Interesting Overlaps

Consider the interesting overlaps that would have been occurring if these timelines were accurate. Using the timeline provided by the Bible, there were only about 1,650 years from the time of Adam to the flood, when all humans but Noah and his family were lost in the flood. Noah’s father was named Lamech. Lamech was born 56 years before Adam’s death. While not mentioned in the Bible, it is possible that Noah’s father could have met Adam. He would have been a very busy great-grandpa to thousands or millions by that time, but it is certainly possible. Perhaps the oral traditions were maintained so well for so many generations because the people who lived the stories were still alive.

After the flood, the lifespans take a drastic fall. It is suggested by many that the reason for this is the genetic bottleneck that would have occurred when only 8 humans repopulated the earth. The loss of so much potential genetic variation that God likely started with Adam was reduced. This would have sped up the genetic entropy, now worsening with each generation since the fall in the garden. Still, Noah’s son Shem would have still been alive until Abraham’s son Isaac was 50 years old!

God and gods

Aside from the Bible, there are other indications of long lives lived by people of old (pun intended). Ancient recordings from the earliest cultures of the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Egyptians include lists of kings or “gods” who lived and ruled for very long periods of time. The Sumerians, Babylonians, Akkadians, and Jewish cultures all had flood stories as part of their historical records. Flood legends are extremely prevalent in African, Native American, Asian, Pacific Island, and South American cultures.

Many are familiar with the idea of the gods of Greece and Rome, who were “immortal” and lived very messy lives. While some assume these “gods” were invented out of thin air, it is a fair question to ask if they were humans who were genetically able to live long lives, who were mythologized with some of the messy details remaining through time. Consider that the offspring of these “gods”, including Achilles (son of Thetis, the sea goddess), Theseus (son of Poseidon), Cadmus (son of Ares and Aphrodite), Hercules (son of Zeus), and others, have graves that were venerated by people in ancient times, with the locations of some still known to this day.

Viability

While the historical evidence may be interesting, how feasible is it that humans would live for even a few hundred years? In a prior writing, I discussed genetic entropy. Basically, the mutations that occur with each generation are becoming more and more damaged as time goes on. Think of a book that is written and then copied by hand. The first copy would be what the author intended, but the copier may make a few mistakes. The message would have some small changes, but is still clear. However, if that copy is copied, the mistakes of the first copier get passed along with any new mistakes of the next copier.

With every copy, the mistakes compound. The original design is less and less precise to the author’s intent. This makes things hard to understand. This is a good metaphor for what is occurring with our human family. So, from this, we must assume that the first version of us, Adam, would have been without errors. The Author of Life made a human being in God’s image that was designed to live forever, with access to the tree of life that somehow helped sustain him.

In addition to the perfectly created genetic signature of God, it is likely that the earth and atmosphere were very different from what we experience today, especially after a worldwide global flood that wiped out so much of creation that God called “very good” before Adam and Eve made the fateful decision to eat the forbiodden fruit and defy God’s only command at that time.

Why it Matters

The evidence that men and women once lived longer lives serves as evidence that the Biblical story of creation is accurate, and the all too well-understood reality that humans do not live exceptionally long anymore is evidence of the reality of the fall. That is where the good news comes into play.

Man was designed to live forever, in the presence of God. The fall changed how this world and human lives would look for many generations. However, with the perfect life lived by God’s Son, Jesus Christ, His death at the hands of His guilty creation, and His coming back to life, we can still look forward to long lives, in fact, lives that never end. That life will surely be more amazing than we can imagine, in a place with God, where “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

About the Author

Tony Williams

Tony Williams is a retired police officer from Southern Illinois and currently lives in Kentucky with his family. He has been studying apologetics in his spare time for two decades, since a crisis of faith led him to the discovery of vast and ever-increasing evidence for his faith. Tony received a bachelor's degree in University Studies from Southern Illinois University in 2019. His career in law enforcement has provided valuable insight into the concepts of truth, evidence, confession, testimony, cultural competency, morality, and most of all, the compelling need for Christ in the lives of the lost. Tony plans to pursue postgraduate studies in apologetics in the near future to sharpen his understanding of the various facets of Christian apologetics.