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Painting/photo of Jerusalem Temple-Casual English Bible

Did people really live hundreds of years?

Stephen M. Miller
clay prism
QUARTER-MILLION EMPIRE. Inscribed almost 4,000 years ago, during the world’s first known empire at Sumer in what is now Iraq, this clay prism says eight kings ruled the empire—for a total of 241,200 years. That’s an average of about 30,000 years per king. The prism says their dynasty ended with the great flood. Photo by Ashmolean Museum.

Here’s an excerpt from the bestselling Complete Guide to the Bible. It’s a short sidebar feature in the section of the book devoted to Genesis.

BEFORE THE DEVASTATING FLOOD, people generally lived for centuries according to the Bible. Some lived almost 1,000 years.

Methuselah lived longest: 969 years. If people lived that long today, Richard the Lionhearted might still be telling his war stories—from the Crusades.

As high as these numbers are, they’re dwarfed by those in other ancient records. A clay prism from the world’s first known civilization, Sumer in what is now Iraq, says only eight kings ruled the land up until the flood—and those eight ruled for a total of 241,200 years. The shortest reign was 18,600 years.

Maybe the ancients measured time differently than we do, some history experts guess. Or maybe these are polite exaggerations, a way of honoring beloved leaders—perhaps a bit like giving some folks today honorary doctorates even though they didn’t spend a day in college.

Others wonder if the numbers might be accurate. Perhaps the flood somehow changed the world in a way that drastically cut life spans. Maybe constant cloud cover before the flood gave way to blue skies and harmful sun rays. Or maybe the geysers released toxins previously buried deep in the earth.

For an earlier blog on this topic, see Did people before the flood live for centuries?

Also see Theories abut people living for centuries.

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About Stephen M. Miller

STEPHEN M. MILLER is an award winning bestselling Christian author of easy-reading books about the Bible and Christianity and author of the Casual English Bible® paraphrase. His books have sold over two million copies and include The Complete Guide to the Bible and Who’s and Where’s Where in the Bible.

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