Freethought & Rationalism Archive

MikePhil · 05-28-2006, 02:01 PM

So i have been reading this again; its kinda of a stupid question i think but id like to know your opinion about all those people that lived 800 and 900 years. Whats the christians view on this ? Text on genesis is being used in figure of speech or what ? Sorry, but im confused here.

Hawkeye · 05-28-2006, 02:19 PM

Well, I'm not a Christian myself but one explanation I've heard from one is that man have a shorter lifespan nowadays due to inbreeding which in turn is caused by the fact that we all come from Noah and his family.

k_smith123 · 05-28-2006, 09:25 PM

A history teacher at the Christian academy that I attended told me that before the flood the atmosphere held greater quantities of water which prevented harmful radiation from reaching the earth and as a result people were able to live much longer. (Sort of like global warming in reverse.) This extra water was released during the flood. Of course this is bullshit, but it seems to make sense to many Christians.

Chili · 05-28-2006, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikePhil

So i have been reading this again; its kinda of a stupid question i think but id like to know your opinion about all those people that lived 800 and 900 years. Whats the christians view on this ? Text on genesis is being used in figure of speech or what ? Sorry, but im confused here.

They lived in the Thousand Year Reign of God that is also in our midst. IOW they were eternal beings in that reign but died just like we do, give or take a year or two.

Smullyan-esque · 05-28-2006, 11:43 PM

I have always thought that, maybe, the 900 "years" is a mis-translation from some old, archaic means of measuring age. Maybe it's actually 900 "seasons", or, even more likely, 900 "moons". 900 "moons" comes out to be about 70 years, which would be pretty darn old in those old pre-iron-age civilizations, and would almost certainly be remarked upon.

braces_for_impact · 05-29-2006, 01:02 AM

Isn't inflating the ages of heroes kind of common in ancient literature?

WishboneDawn · 05-29-2006, 03:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikePhil

So i have been reading this again; its kinda of a stupid question i think but id like to know your opinion about all those people that lived 800 and 900 years. Whats the christians view on this ? Text on genesis is being used in figure of speech or what ? Sorry, but im confused here.

The ages were added by a priestly source, for some reason, to older myths and stories. The myths are likely from one source while the ages and geneologies are from a different source. I'm not sure why they were added but I always find it easy to spot the priestly source in Genesis because it suddenly becomes really anal.

John Kesler · 05-29-2006, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by braces_for_impact

Isn't inflating the ages of heroes kind of common in ancient literature?

Even conservative sources admit that the Bible is not alone in reporting high ages for notables. The NIV Study Bible, page 5, heading "Ancient Texts Relating to the Old Testament," contains this entry:

Quote:

KING LISTS
Sumerian--late 3rd millennium B.C.
The reigns of Sumerian kings before the flood are described as lasting for thousands of years, reminding us of the longevity of the pre-flood patriarchs in Ge 5.

Here is an interesting quote from Philip Davies and John Rogerson, as quoted here, which deals more specifically with Enoch, said to have lived 365 years (Genesis 5:23):

Quote:

"The legend [of Enoch] begins...with the Sumerian King List. This is a list of rulers before the Flood, and is preserved in several forms, including Berossus. Here one of the kings, often given as the seventh (as Enoch is in his list), is called Enmeduranki or Enmeduranna. He is generally associated with the city of Sippar, which was the home of the cult of the sun god Shamash. Moreover, in other texts this Enmeduranki was the first to be shown, by Adad and Shamash, three techniques of divination: pouring oil on water, inspecting a liver, and the use of a cedar (rod), whose function is still unclear. These were to be transmitted from generation to generation, and in fact became the property of the guild of baru, the major group of diviners in Babylon.
"These details show how the biblical portrait of Enoch may have been compiled from Enmeduranki: each is seventh in the antediluvian list; the biblical 365 preserves the affinity to the sun, rather than the sun god; walking with God (or perhaps, 'angels'?) suggests the intimacy between god(s) and man. The final connection links not with Enmeduranki, but with a fish-man (apkallu), with which each of the first seven kings associated and from whom they learnt all kinds of knowledge. Enmeduranki's apkallu, called Utu'abzu, is mentioned in another cuneiform text, where he is said to have ascended to heaven. This last link remains provisional, but at all events, the writer of Genesis 5:21-24 appears to either have created Enoch as a counterpart of Enmeduranki or, equally probably, to have alluded to an already existing Jewish tradition about Enoch, already modeled on the earlier figure."

Her pinkness saves · 05-29-2006, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smullyan-esque

I have always thought that, maybe, the 900 "years" is a mis-translation from some old, archaic means of measuring age. Maybe it's actually 900 "seasons", or, even more likely, 900 "moons". 900 "moons" comes out to be about 70 years, which would be pretty darn old in those old pre-iron-age civilizations, and would almost certainly be remarked upon.

thats what i've always thought... (moons).
i seem to recall an old jewish quote like this: “the People of Israel are similar to the moon, and therefore count according to the moon.”

WishboneDawn · 05-29-2006, 08:56 AM

Nevermind!

05-28-2006, 02:01 PM	#1
MikePhil Junior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Portugal Posts: 8	Genesis question So i have been reading this again; its kinda of a stupid question i think but id like to know your opinion about all those people that lived 800 and 900 years. Whats the christians view on this ? Text on genesis is being used in figure of speech or what ? Sorry, but im confused here.

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05-28-2006, 02:19 PM	#2
Hawkeye Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Sweden Posts: 806	Well, I'm not a Christian myself but one explanation I've heard from one is that man have a shorter lifespan nowadays due to inbreeding which in turn is caused by the fact that we all come from Noah and his family.

05-28-2006, 09:25 PM	#3
k_smith123 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Wyoming Posts: 25	A history teacher at the Christian academy that I attended told me that before the flood the atmosphere held greater quantities of water which prevented harmful radiation from reaching the earth and as a result people were able to live much longer. (Sort of like global warming in reverse.) This extra water was released during the flood. Of course this is bullshit, but it seems to make sense to many Christians.

05-28-2006, 11:43 PM	#5
Smullyan-esque Contributor Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: California Posts: 18,543	I have always thought that, maybe, the 900 "years" is a mis-translation from some old, archaic means of measuring age. Maybe it's actually 900 "seasons", or, even more likely, 900 "moons". 900 "moons" comes out to be about 70 years, which would be pretty darn old in those old pre-iron-age civilizations, and would almost certainly be remarked upon.

05-29-2006, 01:02 AM	#6
braces_for_impact Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: In a nondescript, black helicopter. Posts: 6,637	Isn't inflating the ages of heroes kind of common in ancient literature?

05-29-2006, 08:56 AM	#10
WishboneDawn Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Nova Scotia, Canada Posts: 4,287	Nevermind!

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