Longevity myths
| Biblical longevity | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Age | LXX |
| Methuselah | 969 | 969 |
| Jared | 962 | 962 |
| Noah | 950 | 950 |
| Eve | 940? | 940? |
| Adam | 930 | 930 |
| Seth | 912 | 912 |
| Kenan | 910 | 910 |
| Enos | 905 | 905 |
| Mahalalel | 895 | 895 |
| Lamech | 777 | 753 |
| Shem | 600 | 600 |
| Eber | 464 | 404 |
| Cainan | — | 460 |
| Arpachshad | 438 | 465 |
| Salah | 433 | 466 |
| Enoch | 365 | 365 |
| Peleg | 239 | 339 |
| Reu | 239 | 339 |
| Serug | 230 | 330 |
| Job | 210? | 210? |
| Terah | 205 | 205 |
| Isaac | 180 | 180 |
| Abraham | 175 | 175 |
| Nahor | 148 | 304 |
| Jacob | 147 | 147 |
| Esau | 147? | 147? |
| Ishmael | 137 | 137 |
| Levi | 137 | 137 |
| Amram | 137 | 137 |
| Kohath | 133 | 133 |
| Laban | 130+ | 130+ |
| Deborah | 130+ | 130+ |
| Jehoiada | 130 | 130 |
| Sarah | 127 | 127 |
| Miriam | 125+ | 125+ |
| Aaron | 123 | 123 |
| Rebecca | 120+ | 120+ |
| Moses | 120 | 120 |
| Joseph | 110 | 110 |
| Joshua | 110 | 110 |
Longevity myths are traditions about long-lived people (generally supercentenarians), either as individuals or groups of people, and practices that have been believed to confer longevity, but for which scientific evidence does not support the ages claimed or the reasons for the claims. While literal interpretations of such myths may appear to indicate extraordinarily long lifespans, many scholars believe such figures may be the result of incorrect translation of numbering systems through various languages coupled by the cultural and or symbolic significance of certain numbers.
The phrase "longevity tradition" may include "purifications, rituals, longevity practices, meditations, and alchemy" that have been believed to confer greater human longevity, especially in Chinese culture.
Modern science indicates various ways in which genetics, diet, and lifestyle affect human longevity. It also allows us to determine the age of human remains with a fair degree of precision.
The Hebrew Bible, the Torah, Joshua, Job, and 2 Chronicles mention individuals with lifespans up to the 969 years of Methuselah.
Some apologists explain these extreme ages as ancient mistranslations that converted the word "month" to "year", mistaking lunar cycles for solar ones: this would turn an age of 969 "years" into a more reasonable 969 lunar months, or 78½ years of the Metonic cycle.
Donald Etz says that the Genesis 5 numbers were multiplied by ten by a later editor. These interpretations introduce an inconsistency as the ages of the first nine patriarchs at fatherhood, ranging from 62 to 230 years in the manuscripts, would then be transformed into an implausible range such as 5 to 18½ years. Others say that the first list, of only 10 names for 1,656 years, may contain generational gaps, which would have been represented by the lengthy lifetimes attributed to the patriarchs. Nineteenth-century critic Vincent Goehlert suggests the lifetimes "represented epochs merely, to which were given the names of the personages especially prominent in such epochs, who, in consequence of their comparatively long lives, were able to acquire an exalted influence."
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