Longevity and the Bible: Who were the Antediluvians and why did they live so long?
It is impossible to have a discussion about longevity without discussing what has been called the Antediluvians. Who were the Antediluvians?
In the Christian Bible and Hebrew Torah, the antediluvian period begins with the first man and woman (Adam and Eve), according to Genesis, and ends with the destruction of all life on earth except those saved with Noah in the ark. According to one account from Bishop Ussher's 17th-century chronology, the antediluvian period lasted for 1656 years, from Creation (some say the fall of man) at 4004 BC to the Flood at 2348 BC. Some of the best-known stories in the Bible are used to describe this period – the creation, Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel, followed by the genealogies tracing the descendants of Cain and Seth.
In, A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] Genesis 5:5 is broken down as follows:
The most striking feature in this catalogue is the longevity of Adam and his immediate descendants. Ten are enumerated (Gen. 5:5-32) in direct succession whose lives far exceed the ordinary limits with which we are familiar--the shortest being three hundred sixty-five, [Gen 5:23] and the longest nine hundred sixty-nine years [Gen 5:27]. It is useless to inquire whether and what secondary causes may have contributed to this protracted longevity--vigorous constitutions, the nature of their diet, the temperature and salubrity of the climate; or, finally--as this list comprises only the true worshippers of God--whether their great age might be owing to the better government of their passions and the quiet, even tenor of their lives. Since we cannot obtain satisfactory evidence on these points, it is wise to resolve the fact into the sovereign will of God.
The flood is referred to as a myth in most academic texts, but the Bible is not the only story of a flood. The Sumerian flood “myth” is the antecessor to the biblical flood as well as other Near Eastern flood stories. It is only after the flood that humans ceased to be immortal and the gods distanced themselves. Much like the flood, the question of longevity in ancient text is not cultural, but rather appears to be a subject of debate in all ancient text. The following is taken from The Vishnu Purana, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson in 1840,
The fourth book contains all that the Hindus have of their ancient history. It is a tolerably comprehensive list of dynasties and individuals; it is a barren record of events. It can scarcely be doubted, however, that much of it is a genuine chronicle of persons, if not of occurrences. That it is discredited by palpable absurdities in regard to the longevity of the princes of the earlier dynasties must be granted, and the particulars preserved of some of them are trivial and fabulous: still there is an inartificial simplicity and consistency in the succession of persons, and a possibility and probability in some of the transactions which give to these traditions the semblance of authenticity, and render it likely that they are not altogether without foundation. At any rate, in the absence of all other sources of information, the record, such as it is, deserves not to be altogether set aside. It is not essential to its credibility or its usefulness that any exact chronological adjustment of the different reigns should be attempted. Their distribution amongst the several Yugas, undertaken by Sir Wm. Jones or his Pandits, finds no countenance from the original texts, farther than an incidental notice of the age in which a particular monarch ruled, or the general fact that the dynasties prior to Krishńa precede the time of the great war, and the beginning of the Kálí age; both which events we are not obliged, with the Hindus, to place five thousand years ago.
From the Hebrews to the Hindus, ancient history is filled with examples of extreme longevity. Much research has been done into parallels between the antediluvian biblical list and the Sumerian King’s List as well. The similarities are too many to dismiss. And it is clear that this Sumerian list was not the source for the Genesis antediluvian list. This Sumerian list, which documented kings reigning up to 43,200 years, is accurate to the nearest 600 years; Genesis is accurate to the nearest one year. Hinduism’s Lord Rama ruled for 11,000 years. China’s Eight Immortals lived, before their ascension to immortality, for 14,000 years. Falun Gong’s Chen Jun lived in China for 16,100 years. Then there’s Jainism’s Rishabhanatha, who lived to the ripe old age of 592,704,000,000,000,000,000 years old.
Explanations as to why the antediluvians had such long lives are numerous. Some say the ancients measured time in different ways. Some say years given were actually months. Others suggest that the authors of ancient text did this to show the difference between pre- and post antediluvian humans. Others say it is up to the reader to think as he sees fit. Perhaps one of the more interesting explanations was presented by John Lowell Butler in 1933 in the article Causes Of The Antediluvian Longevity
We have two well-preserved records of the unusual longevity of the men and animals who lived before the great astronomical Flood. One record is in the sample list of antediluvian and postdiluvian patriarchs mentioned in the Bible, and the other record is in many of the unusually large fossils of geology. Just as, today, we are able to trace the energy of many terrestrial activities back to the Sun, so we are now able to show that the unusual longevity of man and many of the animals who lived in ancient times—prior to Noah’s Flood—was primarily due to (1) the influence of a brighter sunlight, when according to the Biblical record, it was fully seven times brighter than it is today; and (2) to the influence of the moonlight when it was as bright as our present sunlight.
In other words, Butler believed that the antediluvians lived longer because of the “brightness of the sun”. The sun (vitamin D) plays such a huge factor in our current longevity regarding immunity and health that it’s not the biggest leap of faith, but the flood only lasted for three years. How did the sun change so much in three years?
Others say that the antediluvians reached sexual maturity much later in life, which contributed to a longer life. Ultimately, when it comes to the pre-diluvian period, there’s a lot we just don’t know. We don’t know the specific conditions on Earth before the Flood—the type of food, atmosphere and general environment of the antediluvians. Perhaps this is why people all over the world continue to search for answers regarding this question. It’s certainly one of the many questions that drives my research.