What does it mean when the Bible says someone lived for nine hundred and thirty years?
Listen: 83 Question 4
It is said of Adam in Genesis 5:5, “And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.” That’s a very long time to live, but Adam did not live the longest. That distinction belongs to Methuselah. We read of his life span in Genesis 5:27, “And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.” That’s a very long life, isn’t it? I can’t say that I would want to live that long on the earth. When the Bible mentions the ages of these men, it is literal. Adam actually lived to be 930 years old. Methuselah actually lived to be 969 years old.
It does sound odd that men once used to live so long. Before the flood that the Lord sent upon the earth because of its great sinfulness, men lived much longer than they do today. After the flood, man’s lifespan began to quickly dwindle. I encourage you to read Genesis 5, and note the lifespans of those in that chapter. Then, read Genesis 11, which speaks of incidents after the flood. You’ll notice that the lifespans of men there are much less than before the flood.
Psalm 90 is a prayer of Moses, who is called the man of God. We read in Psalms 90:10 that, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” This is given to us as a normal life span, although Moses himself lived longer than this. Deuteronomy 34:7 says, “And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died…” So, although people used to live much, much longer before the flood, the average lifespan today is seventy years, or possibly eighty years.