Seth was 205 years old when Enos was born; Enos was 190 years old when Cainan came into being; Cainan was 170 years old when Maleel was born; Maleel was 165 years when Jared was born; Jared was 162 years old when Enoch was born; and Enoch was 165 years old when Methuselah was born. The total of these ages amounts to 1287 years. Beyond this consideration, an additional 969 years can be added leading up to the flood (Gen. 5:26-32; Gen. 7:6). Thus, from creation to the flood spanned 2256 years, according to the chronology found in the Greek and Church Slavonic texts of the Bible, in alignment with ancient Samaritan records and the writings of Josephus. Notably, the Greek chronology of the antediluvian period suggests a duration approximately 600 years longer than in the Hebrew scriptures, where the first six patriarchs are said to have fathered children a century earlier compared to the Hebrew accounts. The challenge of justifying this discrepancy does not compromise the purity of the salvific doctrine present in the Holy Scriptures.
The extraordinary lifespan of the patriarchs before and after the Flood, continuing up to Abraham, has raised doubts among some. They find it implausible that individuals could have lived for 900, 800, 700, 600, 500, or even 400 years. Some have speculated that Moses might have adapted the years of the patriarchs to monthly intervals, akin to the ancient Egyptians. Yet, this interpretation lacks support from Moses' own narrative. He explicitly distinguishes between a year and a month of 30 days in his account of the flood. For instance, he notes, "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, ... on the seventeenth day of the month, on this very day all the springs of the abyss opened" (Gen. 7:11). Moreover, it is impossible to shorten Moses’ account of a year to a mere three months before the flood and eight months afterward. His description of events during the flood speaks to a complete span of approximately twelve months, initiating on the 17th day of the second month—in our understanding, November—in the 600th year of Noah's life, and concluding on the 27th day of the same month in the 601st year (Genesis 8:13-14). Throughout the duration of the flood, Moses accounts for 150 days—or five months—before noting the gradual receding of the waters on the 17th day of the seventh month, then again on the 1st day of the tenth month, after 40 days, and later indicating the earth's liberation from water by the first day of the first month. If the patriarchal years were equivalent to our months, it would suggest that some patriarchs fathered children at impossible ages; for instance, Arphaxad, who lived 500 years, would have fathered Salah at merely 12 years old, when actually Genesis states he did so at the age of 135 (Gen. 11:12-13). Similarly, Nahor, the father of Abraham, who lived 205 years, would have had a son in the sixth year of his life (Gen. 11:26-32). Another discrepancy arises when Jacob, at 130 years of age, laments to Pharaoh about the brevity of his life, claiming he had not reached the years of his forefathers (Gen. 47:9). What significance would this lament hold if those forefathers had lived not in years but in months? In fact, he would have outlived not only his immediate ancestors but also those from before the Flood.
The remarkable longevity of the patriarchs reflects the divine Providence of God: the longer they lived, the more rapidly humanity multiplied, accruing wisdom and life experience, thus equipping them to guide younger generations—especially crucial in the primitive state of mankind. This longevity also served to safeguard the transmission of divine revelation and godly traditions among those who worshipped the one true God. In a period devoid of the written Word of God, the patriarchs functioned as living testimonies of God's revelations; an individual could share and hear the same divinely inspired truths across generations. For instance, Noah, who lived nearly 600 years before the flood, could have conversed with Maleel, who in turn communicated with Adam. Methuselah, who died in the year of the flood, could convey what he had learned from Enos, Seth's son. Hence, both the later revelations from God and the primordial revelations Adam experienced in Paradise could remain intact and pass into the world after the Flood, preserved in their original purity. In addition to God’s special Providence, aspects of nature played a role in the patriarchs' extraordinary lifespans. The rich natural resources, relatively untainted by sin at that time, alongside a simpler, nature-centered lifestyle contributed to the condition of human bodies, which retained primitive perfections. Fewer ancestors naturally meant lesser hereditary detriments, establishing advantages for those early times in comparison to subsequent eras.
In recounting the generations of patriarchs before the Flood, there arises a consistent theme of birth, the continuation of life until a son was born to perpetuate the righteous lineage, and the solid conclusion that each lived and subsequently died. This underscores an unalterable reality: mankind does not vanish; rather, life is continually refreshed through new generations. The lineage that was destined to preserve the holy seed for the spiritual rebirth of humanity did not perish. However, the sentence decreed upon Adam—“Thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return”—was to be fulfilled upon individual persons, even those who "have not sinned in the likeness of Adam's transgression" (Rom. 5:14). Yet, one figure within this patriarchal legacy stands apart from this universal decree: Enoch. Scripture notes, “And Enoch pleased God, and he was not found, for God had taken him” (Gen. 5:24). Specifically, Enoch “walked with God,” indicating a profound spiritual relationship with the Creator (1 Kings 25:15) characterized by faith and love, earning him divine favor, possibly even experiencing manifestations akin to those Adam enjoyed in the Garden of Eden. When it states, “and he was not found,” it denotes his departure from earthly existence, "for God had transformed him." Regarding this transformation, the Apostle declares: “By faith Enoch was so taken that he did not experience death; and he was lost because God had translated him” (Heb. 11:5) into the realm of glory. This event parallels what occurred later with the prophet Elijah, who was taken up alive (2 Kings 2:10), and anticipates the fate of those who will be caught up alive at Christ's second coming: they shall not face death, but, alongside those resurrected from the dead, will be instantly transformed at the last trumpet, becoming incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). Enoch was taken directly into glory, without undergoing death or even illness. This miraculous act serves to inspire some, amid a world rife with death and decay, while bolstering others' faith in eternal life and the hope of immortality. Moreover, the son of Sirach remarks, “Enoch... was taken as a model of repentance for his contemporaries” (Sir. 44:15). This signifies that those around him could learn about the benefits of a life dedicated to repentance and the battle against sin by observing Enoch's life and fate. Enoch not only instructed his peers in repentance through his example and life circumstances but also through his prophetic messages: the Apostle Jude references his prophetic declarations: “Behold, the Lord cometh with a multitude of His holy angels to execute judgment upon all and to convict all the ungodly for all their ungodly deeds that they have committed in their ungodliness, and for all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 1:14-15). A parallel prophecy can be found in an apocryphal text credited to Enoch, which unfortunately includes a mixture of falsehoods and nonsensical speculations. Yet the authentic prophetic words of Enoch cited by the Apostle Jude undeniably reached him through tradition and were not sourced from the book that blends truth with fabrications.
THEOSIS