Thank you for the question on the age of Adam and Methuselah, “How is Methuselah the oldest person that ever lived when the Bible shows that Adam lived 130 years before he had said and 800 years after and then obviously he lived God knows how long before he ate the forbidden fruit?”
If I understand your question correctly that you are asserting that Adam lived longer than Methuselah based on your reading of the biblical text.
Genesis 5 says this, “When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. 4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5 Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died” (A searchable online Bible in over 150 versions and 50 languages). Bible citations are from the New International Version.
Here are some thoughts for one’s consideration in addressing that Adam lived a shorter life than Methuselah.
A. God created Adam and Eve with a beginning (Gen. 1:26–27).
There is no date given as to when God created Adam and Eve except that it was on the sixth day of creation.
B. God blessed Adam and Eve with two sons, Cain and Abel (Gen. 4:1–2).
There is no date or age when Cain and Abel was born to Eve. It is also likely that daughters were born to Eve either before Cain and or after Abel. The children were old enough to care for the animals and to help with the planting and harvesting of food.
C. Cain killed Abel as an “adult”.
There is no date or age given when Cain killed Abel except that they were old enough to make sacrifice and care for the livestock and crops. Cain leaves Adam and Eve to begin his own life (Gen. 4:16–18).
Up to this point, there is no age given of Adam and Eve, Cain or Abel, or when daughters were born to Adam and Eve.
In Genesis 5, we have the first date given. The text states that when Adam was 130 years old, Eve had another son, Seth. This means that all the events happened within the 130 years, his existence, birth of Cain, Abel, daughters, and the death of his second born son, Abel. How long between Abel’s death and the birth of Seth is unknown except at Adam’s age of 130 he had his third son, Seth. From the time of Seth birth, Adam lived another 800 years. His total life span was 930 years. The Scripture is silent as to when Eve died or whether Adam remarried after Eve died.
As to Methuselah, the text states this, “25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 26 After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died” (NIV).
Methuselah lived to 187 years old when he had his first son born to him. After his first born son, he lived another 782 years Thus his total lifespan was 969 years Adam almost lived as long as Methuselah. The differences are not that significant for they saw generations of their children born to them.
SUMMARY: The Biblical text states that Adam lived a shorter life than Methuselah by 39 years.
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