Enos had Cainan when he was 190, Cainan fathered Maleel at the age of 170, Maleel had Jared at 165, Jared fathered Enoch when he was 162, and Enoch became the father of Methuselah at 165. The sum of these years totals 1287. Additionally, when looking beyond this segment, there were 969 years before the flood (Gen. 5:26-32, Gen. 7:6). Thus, from the creation of the world to the Flood, a total of 2256 years is recorded. This aligns with the chronology found in the Greek and Church Slavonic texts of the Bible, which has been corroborated by the ancient Samaritan records and the writings of Josephus (Bibl. Hist. izd. 1852 gstr. 24-25). Notably, the Greek account of pre-Flood chronology indicates nearly 600 years more than the Hebrew version, where each of the first six patriarchs is listed as becoming a father at an earlier age than recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. ‘The difficulty of explaining satisfactorily the origin of this difference does not hinder the pure teaching of the saving doctrine in the Holy Scriptures.’ 2) The extraordinary longevity of the pre-Flood patriarchs, and those who lived until the time of Abraham when human lifespans began their gradual decrease, has been the subject of skepticism by some. Many find it difficult to believe that individuals could live as long as 900, 800, or even 600 years, suggesting that Moses might have meant to denote months rather than years, similar to how the ancient Egyptians abbreviated the time. However, there is no basis for this interpretation in Moses' writings. For instance, he distinctly separates a year from a month of 30 days in the account of the Flood, stating, ‘In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, ... on the seventeenth day of the month, all the springs of the abyss opened’ (Gen. 7:11). Furthermore, it is impossible to condense the year into three months before the flood and eight months after it. Moses clearly implies that there were 12 months in the year of the Flood, beginning on the 17th day of the second month (which we consider to be November) in Noah’s 600th year and concluding on the 27th day of the second month in the 601st year (Genesis 8:13-14). Between the onset and conclusion of the Flood, Moses records 150 days (or five months) of sustained flooding, indicating a gradual receding of the waters on the 17th day of the seventh month in April and the 1st day of the tenth month in July after 40 days, culminating in the land being freed of water by the first day of the first month. If we were to assume that the lifespans of the patriarchs equated to our months, it would imply that some patriarchs became fathers at impossibly early ages, such as Arphaxad, who lived 500 years but would have had to father Salah at just 12 years old (Genesis indicates he became a father at the age of 135 (Gen. 11:12-13). Similarly, Farrah, Abraham's father, who lived to 205, would have had a son at the age of six (Gen. 11:26-32). Additionally, Jacob, at 130, laments to Pharaoh about the brevity of his life, stating that his years do not compare to those of his ancestors (Gen. 47:9). This lament would lose its significance if the lives of his forefathers were measured in months rather than years. In sheer longevity, Jacob would have outlived not only his immediate ancestors but also the pre-Flood patriarchs. Recognizing the prolonged lives of these patriarchs reflects an extraordinary act of divine Providence: the longer the patriarchs lived, the more quickly humanity multiplied, the richer their insights and wisdom became, and thus the better leaders they could be for subsequent generations. This was especially crucial during mankind's primitive state; it ensured the preservation of divine revelation and sacred traditions among the worshippers of the true God. In an age before the Scriptures were written, the patriarchs served as the living embodiment of God's revelations. A singular individual could share the same divine truths and precepts for hundreds of years. For instance, Noah, who lived roughly 600 years before the Flood, could have conversed with Maleel, and Maleel with Adam. Methuselah, who perished in the year of the Flood, could have imparted to his contemporaries the knowledge he had received from Enos, son of Seth. Therefore, not only the later revelations of God but also the original truths given to Adam in Paradise could transition into a post-Flood world, preserving their freshness and integrity. Natural factors, along with God’s special Providence, contributed to the patriarchs’ long lives. The abundance of untainted natural forces, their simpler lifestyles that aligned closely with nature, and the relatively perfect condition of the human body—less prone to degeneration due to fewer ancestral imperfections—were all advantages of these early times compared to the later. 3) The chronicler documents the pre-Flood patriarchs, noting the age of each at the time of their child’s birth, the duration of their lives up to that point, the continuation of their existence until the birth of the son who would carry on their blessed lineage, and concludes each record with the phrase ‘and died.’ This reflects the unchangeable decree of mortality! Humanity does not cease to exist; rather, life is continuously renewed through the arrival of new generations. The lineage from which the holy seed was prepared for the spiritual rejuvenation of the entire human race persisted. However, the sentence pronounced upon Adam, ‘For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return,’ was destined to be realized for individuals, even though they ‘have not sinned in the likeness of Adam's transgression’ (Rom. 5:14). Among all the patriarchs, Enoch stands apart from this universal fate. Of him, it is written, ‘And Enoch pleased God, and was not found, for God had taken him’ (Gen. 5:24). ‘And Enoch pleased God.’ A more accurate translation from the Hebrew is ‘and Enoch walked with God,’ indicating a profound spiritual relationship with God (1 Kings 25:15). He drew closer to Him through faith and love, earning His special approval, perhaps even experiencing divine manifestations akin to those enjoyed by Adam in the garden. ‘And he was not found,’ meaning he was no longer present, for God had transformed him. The Apostle elaborates, ‘By faith Enoch was so moved that he did not see death; and he was no more, because God had transfigured him’ (Heb. 11:5) into the dwelling of the blessed. What occurred with Enoch closely resembles what would later happen to the prophet Elijah, who was taken up alive (4 Kings 2:10), and what awaits those who are alive at Christ’s second coming: they will not face death, but will, together with those resurrected, be changed in an instant, at the last trumpet, becoming incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). Enoch was taken directly into glory without experiencing death or illness. Why this miracle? To inspire some amidst the pervasive presence of death and decay, and to strengthen others' belief in eternal life and the hope for immortality. Furthermore, the son of Sirach states, ‘Enoch ... was taken as a model of repentance for his contemporaries’ (Sir. 44:15). This signifies that Enoch’s life exemplified the great reward for a life dedicated to repentance and the struggle against sin, serving as instructive for his contemporaries. Enoch不仅通过自己的例子和结局，也通过传道影响了他同时代的人：他是一位先知。使徒犹太引用了他的预言，‘看哪，主带着他众圣天使降临，将对所有人进行审判，并要责备其中的邪恶，对所有恶人所行的恶行，和恶人所说的侵害神之言’（犹大书 1:14-15）。一段相似的预言同样出现在一本归于以诺的伪经中，充满了幻觉和关于星星、天使与人类女儿婚姻等荒谬的推测。但使徒犹大所引用的以诺先知的言语无疑是通过传统传递给他的，而不是从这本书中借用，其中真理与各种谎言混合。
THEOSIS