The Untold Truth Of Methuselah

It seems like the title of "oldest man ever" would be a pretty big deal, all things considered. Sure, there are other notables in the Bible and other religious texts who have achieved great things, but you would expect complicated figures like King David or Abraham to also share space with the oldest old guy out there (at least according to the Jewish and Christian religious traditions). Yet, for all that, Methuselah is only mentioned in passing in a few Bible verses. In fact, if you happen to sneeze while reading through Genesis, you could very well miss his existence entirely.

According to Britannica, the key passage in question that established his age, at least within the Bible, is Genesis 5:27. The verse reports that he lived to be 969 years old, far more than any of the other ages reported in the text. He also gets a brief shout-out in a rather dry lineage list in I Chronicles 1:3, and another genealogy breakdown for Joseph, Jesus' earthly father, in Luke 3:23-38. 

And, well, that's pretty much it. Searching through Hebrew and Christian scriptures produces practically nothing else about Methuselah, no matter how much you look. However, later commentaries, folklore traditions, and a few myths that predate the scriptures will help to round out the story of this supposedly very, very ancient man.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunCCj2pta2lfqbWmedSnq6iklGLBs8HToWSonl2isrW01KycpZmYZA%3D%3D