Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

As indicated in the passage cited in the question, Methuselah (whose name means, "when he dies it will come") was one of the individuals in the "godly" line of descent from Adam (through his son Seth) to Noah (Methuselah's grandson), in contrast to the "ungodly" line of descent from Adam through Cain. Methuselah was thus also one of the distant ancestors of Jesus through David.

Methuselah had the longest lifespan recorded in the Bible (969 years). In keeping with the meaning of his name, his death immediately preceded the sending of the Flood through which God destroyed all life on earth except for Noah's family (including his three sons and their wives), and the animals that Noah was carrying aboard the ark that God had commanded him to build. (Adding the ages of each of the patriarchs starting with Methuselah at the births of their sons, plus Noah's age when the Flood came (as given in the Bible), results in a sum of 969 years.) (However, Methuselah did not die in the Flood itself, but immediately prior to it.)

June 28 2019 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

Methuselah
(this was not the Methuselah, giant tortoise in Rapid City, SD, who lived the longest of them, which our family went to see on our family vacation).

Born	Ancient Near East

Died	Ancient Near East
Other names	Methushelach
Known for	long life
Children	Lamech, and other sons and daughters

Parent(s)	•	Enoch (father)

Methuselah (Hebrew, read from right to left: מְתוּשֶׁלַח Məṯūšélaḥ, in pausa מְתוּשָׁלַח Məṯūšā́laḥ, "Man of the javelin" or "Man of Selah"; Greek: Μαθουσαλά Mathousalá) [1] was a biblical patriarch and a figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Said to have died at the age of 969, he lived the longest of all figures mentioned in the Bible. According to the Book of Genesis, Methuselah was the son of Enoch, the father of Lamech, and the grandfather of Noah. Elsewhere in the Bible, Methuselah is mentioned in genealogies in 1st Chronicles and the Gospel of Luke.

His life is described in further detail in extra-biblical religious texts such as the Book of Enoch, Slavonic Enoch, and the Book of Moses. Bible commentators have offered various explanations as to why the Book of Genesis describes him as having died at such an advanced age; some scholars believe that Methuselah's age is the result of mistranslation, while others believe that his age is used to give the impression that part of Genesis takes place in a very distant past. Methuselah's name has become synonymous with longevity, and he has been portrayed and referenced in film, television, and music.

Methuselah is a biblical patriarch mentioned in Genesis 5:21–27, as part of the genealogy linking Adam to Noah. The following is taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible:

21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah.
22 Enoch walked with God after the birth of Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters.
23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years.
24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more because God took him.
25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech.
26 Methuselah lived after the birth of Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters.
27 Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.

—Genesis 5:21-27

According to the chronology of the Bible, Methuselah died during the year of the flood; however, whether his death was caused by the flood, or preceded it, the Bible is silent. He was also the oldest of all the figures mentioned in the Bible. 
Methuselah is mentioned once in the Hebrew Bible outside of Genesis; in 1 Chronicles 1:3.

Methuselah is mentioned a single time in the New Testament when the Gospel of Luke traces Joseph's lineage back to Adam in Luke 3 (Luke 3:23-38).

July 02 2019 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report