Decreasing Lifespans of Biblical Characters

In this post, I'd like to illustrate to you how the lifespans of biblical characters steadily decreased over time, and how there were periods when it stayed approximately the same prior to the next decrease.

In the chart above that I created, you can make the following six observations:

1. Life spans were very consistently close to 1,000 years during the period from Adam through Noah. The two exceptions were Enoch, who was raptured and Lamech who died at 777, which was for a reason.

2. Then life spans dropped to a new plateau that was slightly descending from Shem through Eber. Shem was like a pre-flood transition guy, so his life span was in the intermediate level between those of the pre-flood period and those of the men in the initial post-flood period (Arphaxad through Eber). Note that Shem's firstborn son,  Arphaxad was born right after the flood. So from Aprhaxad through Eber, their life spans remained pretty similar (436 - 464 yrs old).

3. After Eber, you can see another slightly descending plateau from Peleg through Abram, where they lived until they were 148-242 years old. Or you could look at that era in two phases, the first one being from Peleg through Serug (living until they were 232 - 242 yrs old), and then the second phase being from Nahor through Abram (living until they were 148-205 yrs old). This plateau should include Jacob, too, who lived to be 147. He was from that same era, but his sons did not live to be that old. 

4. After Jacob, according to the Bible, Joseph died at the age of 110, while Simeon died at the age of 120. The ages of the other sons of Israel at their deaths are not recorded in Scripture, but there are Jewish traditions and sources that give us an idea:

Ages at Death (as provided by the Bible or Jewish tradition):

Joseph: 110 years old.

Simeon: 120 years old (according to the Talmud).

Reuben: ~125 years old (according to rabbinic sources).

Judah: Possibly 119 or 129 years old (according to rabbinic sources).

Asher: 123 years old (according to rabbinic sources).

This life span range of 110 – 129 seemed to continue for at least another 450 years or so through the time of Moses, who lived to be 120, Aaron who lived to be 123, and Joshua, who lived to be 110. 

5. However, Eli the priest was 98 years old, and his eyesight had failed so that he couldn't see. That was 1405 years after Joshua died, so well over a millennium later we see the life span not quite reaching 100 years old.

6. By the time we get to the era of King David, who was born about 70 years after Eli died, he only lived to be 70 years old, dying around 970 BC, which is very similar to today’s era. We know that about 1,000 years later, the apostle John is believed to have died around the year 100 AD, at the age of approximately 93. So that 70 – 93 year-old life span during the era from King David until John during the first century is consistent with life spans today. That means that from David’s time until now (the past 3,000 years), human life spans have remained around 70 – 93 years old.

 

 

The average life expectancy around the time of Jesus is estimated to be between 20 and 35 years. However, this figure is heavily influenced by the high infant mortality rate. Those who survived childhood could reasonably expect to live into their fifties or sixties, or even longer. 

Closing Words

In conclusion, we could say that people have lived to be 70-93 years old since around the time or Eli the priest, which is the past 3,100 years. 

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the Home page, such as Oral Account of Creation from Adam to Abraham, Jacob Was 77 Years Old When He Married, The Bible is the Word of God, All Scripture must be fulfilled, and The Bible Never Fails. You may also access other articles on the Home page for this blog, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.