Human Longevity Facts

Chapter 19

Sometime around 1975-1980, a group of scientists concluded that human beings could live to a maximum of one hundred and twenty years of age. It was discovered that shortly before reaching one hundred and twenty the process that causes body cells to reproduce fails. The cells then die as well as the person.

Recently, scientists believe they have discovered what causes this cell division process to halt around the age of one hundred and twenty years. They believe it is caused by what they call telomeres. This they believe is the key to the human life cycle. Telomeres are repeating DNA strings (TTAGGG) that cap chromosomes. Each time a cell divides its telomeres become shorter. When they reach a preset length the cell ceases to divide, ages, and dies. Independently, others came up with exactly the same number as the maximum age for mortal mankind three thousand years ago:

And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years. (Genesis 6:3)

Can this be true when the Bible records that people were living in those times to ages greater than nine hundred years? This has caused readers to lend this verse little credence, if they notice it at all. Let's investigate this verse and see how God accomplished this age limit restriction. This is important because it gives us an idea of how God makes changes. These changes are often introduced through natural processes and physical laws.

The following is a list of people for which the Old Testament gives their age at death. The list is sequential from the first book of the Old Testament to the last, Genesis through Malachi:

And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years... (Genesis 5:5)

And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years:... (Genesis 5:8)

And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years:... (Genesis 5:11)

And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died. (Genesis 5:14)

And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died. (Genesis 5:17)

And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died. (Genesis 5:20)

And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: (Genesis 5:23)

And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years... (Genesis 5:27)

And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died. (Genesis 5:31)

And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years:... (Genesis 9:29)

The next eight individuals, Shem through Nahor, are found in Genesis chapter 11. Their ages require a short calculation. For example:

Shem was a hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood: And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years... (Genesis 11:10-11)

Therefore, Shem lived 100 + 500, or 600 years. If you desire to check this data, it is in Genesis Chapter 11. I will simply list their names and ages here:

Name Age at Death Verse Reference

Shem 600 (Genesis 11:11)

Arphaxad 933 (Genesis 11:12-13)

Salah 433 (Genesis 11:14-15)

Eber 860 (Genesis 11:16-17)

Peleg 239 (Genesis 11:18-19)

Reu 239 (Genesis 11:20-21)

Serug 230 (Genesis 11:22-23)

Nahor 148 (Genesis 11:24-25)

And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years... (Genesis 11:32)

And Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah. (Genesis 23:1)

And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, a hundred threescore and fifteen years. (175 years) (Genesis 25:7)

And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, a hundred and thirty and seven years... (Genesis 25:17)

The whole age of Jacob was a hundred forty and seven years. (Genesis 47:28)

So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old... (Genesis 50:26)

And the years of the life of Levi were a hundred thirty and seven years. (Exodus 6:16)

And the years of the life of Kohath were a hundred thirty and three years. (Exodus 6:18)

And the years of the life of Amram were a hundred and thirty and seven years. (Exodus 6:20)

And Aaron was a hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in mount Hor. (Numbers 33:39)

And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died... (Deuteronomy 34:7)

Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being a hundred and ten years old. (Joshua 24:29)

After this lived Job a hundred and forty years... (140+ years old) (Job 42:16)

When we reach the book of Psalm, the life span of man in general is seventy to eighty years. That is, man is able to live a little over half of the maximum possible life span of one hundred and twenty years:

The days of our years are threescore years and ten; (70 years) and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years (80 years). (Psalm 90:10)

Some people see this as a contradiction to Genesis 6:3 where the maximum life span of one hundred and twenty years is defined. However, that is not the case. The above verse is simply the present life expectancy during this period based on the style of living at that time. The average is around seventy years, some by reason of strength may reach eighty years.

Observe the summary listed below and notice the pattern that occurs after God creates the one hundred and twenty year age limit on mankind.

Summary in order from the Old Testament:

Person Age at death Notes

Adam 930

Seth 912

Enos 905

Cainan 910

Mahalaleel 895

Jared 962

Enoch 365

Methuselah 969

Lamech 777

Limit of 120 years placed on

life of man at Genesis 6:3

Noah 950

Shem 600

Arphaxad 933

Salah 433

Eber 860

Peleg 239

Reu 239

Serug 230

Nahor 148

Terah 205

Sarah 127

Abraham 175

Ishmael 137

Jacob 147

Joseph 110

Levi 137

Kohath 133

Amram 137

Aaron 123

Moses 120

Joshua 110

Job 140+

People in General 70-80 Average life expectancy

when Psalm was written

Today in USA Men 73 Average life expectancy

Women 79 from 1996 data

Notice that God did not simply say the word and everyone immediately started dying at or before the age of one hundred and twenty years. No, it happened over a period of time as indicated above, but rather quickly after the modification was made. How did He perform this feat? Very possibly it was a mutation to the DNA as recently discovered by scientists. This would not have affected people who were already alive. Methuselah, Noah, and others were very probably already born. In any event, once God implemented the limit through natural means, it very quickly took effect. For a certainty Moses knew that this limit was placed on the life span of man three thousand years ago when he wrote the book of Genesis. Coincidentally, Moses lived to exactly one hundred and twenty years of age. Moses wrote this fact down in the scriptures and identified the one responsible for implementing the change:

And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years. (Genesis 6:3)

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