his days shall be 120 years

DamianWarS · Nov 12, 2019

Gen 6:3
Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”

what does this text tell us?

before the text it would suggest God's spirit abided in man "forever" (referencing, of course, the Hebrew concept)
after the text, humans are limited to a 120-year life span (suggesting before it was longer)
man is flesh, not spirit.

do you agree/disagree with these conclusions of the text? Do you want to add anything? how do we reconcile that even today there are those, albeit rare, who live past 120 years?

Someone that comes to mind is Moses who lives to the 120 mark right on. Is there a connection with the two? Moses' life was divided into three 40 yr periods, 40 years in Egypt, 40 years out of Egypt and 40 years in the desert. Often Eastern thinking sees details like these as fluid, their focus is to build a greater goal so will adjust things to declare the goal best, because the goal is the most important part and the details that build the goal are there to support it not to challenge it. So I find it curious that Moses hit this mark so exactly and his life was organized the way it was. Even in his death, it is clear that it was not Moses' failing health that contributed to his death as scripture tells us he was strong but that it was time for him to die as ordained by God. Moses climbs a mountain, saw the promised land and I infer that God removed His spirit from him and he died, affirming Gen 6:3.

GraceBro · Nov 12, 2019

DamianWarS said:
Gen 6:3
Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”

what does this text tell us?

before the text it would suggest God's spirit abided in man "forever" (referencing, of course, the Hebrew concept)

after the text, humans are limited to a 120-year life span (suggesting before it was longer)

man is flesh, not spirit.

do you agree/disagree with these conclusions of the text? Do you want to add anything? how do we reconcile that even today there are those, albeit rare, who live past 120 years?

Someone that comes to mind is Moses who lives to the 120 mark right on. Is there a connection with the two? Moses' life was divided into three 40 yr periods, 40 years in Egypt, 40 years out of Egypt and 40 years in the desert. Often Eastern thinking sees details like these as fluid, their focus is to build a greater goal so will adjust things to declare the goal best, because the goal is the most important part and the details that build the goal are there to support it not to challenge it. So I find it curious that Moses hit this mark so exactly and his life was organized the way it was. Even in his death, it is clear that it was not Moses' failing health that contributed to his death as scripture tells us he was strong but that it was time for him to die as ordained by God. Moses climbs a mountain, saw the promised land and I infer that God removed His spirit from him and he died, affirming Gen 6:3.

I just see the 120-year span as the amount of time God ordained before He flooded the earth, not an age limit on the life of man. There were people that lived longer than 120 years of age after the Flood and many more who didn't even come close. Even today the average lifespan is only in the upper 60s for the average human depending on where you look, with a handful of people in certain areas living over 100. It's too random to say 120 is the limit, in my opinion. But, it's an interesting topic.

ewq1938 · Nov 12, 2019

People born after the flood:

Arphaxad-438 years
Salah 433 years
Eber 464 years
Peleg 239 years
Reu 239 years
Serug 230 years
Nahor 148 years
Terah 205 years
Abraha 175 yeras
Isaac 180 years
Jacob 147 years

ewq1938 · Nov 12, 2019

1. 120 year general lifespan limit (no one after the flood will live past 120 years)
2. 120 years left for Adam to live
3. 120 years before the flood.

Number 3 is the correct one IMO.

joshua 1 9 · Nov 12, 2019

DamianWarS said:
how do we reconcile that even today there are those, albeit rare, who live past 120 years?

"The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away." (Psalm90:10)

The average life is around 80 years. There are things that people can do to add years to their life. For example: "My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee." (Provebs 3:1,2) The main scripture is: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth.” (Eph6:1-3) "Parents in the Lord" would be the elders in the Church. We have mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters and children in the Lord. This is our relationship with each other.

My grandmother lived to be 100. She got saved the last year of her life. I think it was her best year because she finally had the peace that she wanted all of her life.

Sketcher · Nov 12, 2019

DamianWarS said:
Gen 6:3
Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”

what does this text tell us?

before the text it would suggest God's spirit abided in man "forever" (referencing, of course, the Hebrew concept)

after the text, humans are limited to a 120-year life span (suggesting before it was longer)

man is flesh, not spirit.

do you agree/disagree with these conclusions of the text? Do you want to add anything? how do we reconcile that even today there are those, albeit rare, who live past 120 years?

Someone that comes to mind is Moses who lives to the 120 mark right on. Is there a connection with the two? Moses' life was divided into three 40 yr periods, 40 years in Egypt, 40 years out of Egypt and 40 years in the desert. Often Eastern thinking sees details like these as fluid, their focus is to build a greater goal so will adjust things to declare the goal best, because the goal is the most important part and the details that build the goal are there to support it not to challenge it. So I find it curious that Moses hit this mark so exactly and his life was organized the way it was. Even in his death, it is clear that it was not Moses' failing health that contributed to his death as scripture tells us he was strong but that it was time for him to die as ordained by God. Moses climbs a mountain, saw the promised land and I infer that God removed His spirit from him and he died, affirming Gen 6:3.

It was not a limit on how long individual human lifespans would be. It was a countdown until he flooded the Earth.

DamianWarS · Nov 12, 2019

GraceBro said:
I just see the 120-year span as the amount of time God ordained before He flooded the earth, not an age limit on the life of man. There were people that lived longer than 120 years of age after the Flood and many more who didn't even come close. Even today the average lifespan is only in the upper 60s for the average human depending on where you look, with a handful of people in certain areas living over 100. It's too random to say 120 is the limit, in my opinion. But, it's an interesting topic.

What are you're examples of those who lived longer than 120 years after the flood in the bible? We know Noah lived 350 years after the Flood and Shem 500 years after the flood... but maybe they are the exception given they were born pre-flood earth. Not that I've done an exhaustive search, just curious to know what the examples are.

edit: @ewq1938 put a list here

DamianWarS · Nov 12, 2019

ewq1938 said:
People born after the flood:

Arphaxad-438 years
Salah 433 years
Eber 464 years
Peleg 239 years
Reu 239 years
Serug 230 years
Nahor 148 years
Terah 205 years
Abraha 175 yeras
Isaac 180 years
Jacob 147 years

good list. so what does this tell us about this 120 years?

DamianWarS · Nov 13, 2019

ewq1938 said:
1. 120 year general lifespan limit (no one after the flood will live past 120 years)
2. 120 years left for Adam to live
3. 120 years before the flood.

Number 3 is the correct one IMO.

so are you saying when God said this he meant there was 120 left before the flood came?

ewq1938 · Nov 13, 2019

DamianWarS said:
good list. so what does this tell us about this 120 years?

That it's unrelated to human life span limits.

ewq1938 · Nov 13, 2019

DamianWarS said:
so are you saying when God said this he meant there was 120 left before the flood came?

Yes .

DamianWarS · Nov 13, 2019

Sketcher said:
It was not a limit on how long individual human lifespans would be. It was a countdown until he flooded the Earth.

more dynamic translations disagree
NLT: In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.
MSG: from now on they can expect a life span of 120 years.
CGV: No one will live for more than 120 years
GNT: From now on they will live no longer than 120 years
ISV: Their lifespan will be 120 years
GWT: They will live 120 years

I couldn't find one that agreed with the countdown theory, the others, of course, have the more ambiguous wording of something along the lines of "their days will be a hundred and twenty years". to be honest I've never considered it as a countdown and always read it as 120 years = lifespan

DamianWarS · Nov 13, 2019

ewq1938 said:
That it's unrelated to human life span limits.

what are your sources because it seems this is not so agreed upon.

GraceBro · Nov 13, 2019

DamianWarS said:
What are you're examples of those who lived longer than 120 years after the flood in the bible? We know Noah lived 350 years after the Flood and Shem 500 years after the flood... but maybe they are the exception given they were born pre-flood earth. Not that I've done an exhaustive search, just curious to know what the examples are.

edit: @ewq1938 put a list here

This has since been addressed by other posters.
Be blessed

ewq1938 · Nov 13, 2019

DamianWarS said:
what are your sources because it seems this is not so agreed upon.

I already proved it with the list of people born after the flood.

Jonaitis · Nov 13, 2019

It was not about a man's lifespan, but mankind's expiration date at that time. They were given 120 years before judgment, enough time for Noah to build the Ark.

Sketcher · Nov 13, 2019

DamianWarS said:
more dynamic translations disagree
NLT: In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.
MSG: from now on they can expect a life span of 120 years.
CGV: No one will live for more than 120 years
GNT: From now on they will live no longer than 120 years
ISV: Their lifespan will be 120 years
GWT: They will live 120 years

I couldn't find one that agreed with the countdown theory, the others, of course, have the more ambiguous wording of something along the lines of "their days will be a hundred and twenty years"

Abraham lived 175 years. Jacob lived 147 years. Job lived 140 years.

CGV, GNT, and GWT can be interpreted as a countdown. The others appear to be wrong. I rely on the ESV, KJV, NKJV, NASB, and 1984 NIV myself.

SkyWriting · Nov 13, 2019

DamianWarS said:
Gen 6:3
Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”

what does this text tell us?

before the text it would suggest God's spirit abided in man "forever" (referencing, of course, the Hebrew concept)

after the text, humans are limited to a 120-year life span (suggesting before it was longer)

man is flesh, not spirit.

do you agree/disagree with these conclusions of the text? Do you want to add anything? how do we reconcile that even today there are those, albeit rare, who live past 120 years?

Someone that comes to mind is Moses who lives to the 120 mark right on. Is there a connection with the two? Moses' life was divided into three 40 yr periods, 40 years in Egypt, 40 years out of Egypt and 40 years in the desert. Often Eastern thinking sees details like these as fluid, their focus is to build a greater goal so will adjust things to declare the goal best, because the goal is the most important part and the details that build the goal are there to support it not to challenge it. So I find it curious that Moses hit this mark so exactly and his life was organized the way it was. Even in his death, it is clear that it was not Moses' failing health that contributed to his death as scripture tells us he was strong but that it was time for him to die as ordained by God. Moses climbs a mountain, saw the promised land and I infer that God removed His spirit from him and he died, affirming Gen 6:3.

Within the next 20 years we may reach health "singularity." That's the point where each year, health research will advance to were each living person can gain more than one extra year. If you plot out current advances on a graph, it looks like we will get there inside 15 to 20 years. The plot line for life extension is not linear, but is an exponential curve.

Linear-blue-line-and-exponential-red-line-temperature-growth-scenarios.png

DamianWarS · Nov 13, 2019

Sketcher said:
Abraham lived 175 years. Jacob lived 147 years. Job lived 140 years.

CGV, GNT, and GWT can be interpreted as a countdown. The others appear to be wrong. I rely on the ESV, KJV, NKJV, NASB, and 1984 NIV myself.

How does the ESV, KJV, NKJV, NASB and NIV inform us how it should be understood? All I was doing is showing some translation have more interpretation than word for word (even if you don't accept them), of these they agree that 120 years is for the lifespan of a human. Perhaps some are arguably ambiguous but there is no translation that directly says it is 120 years before the floods will come. Do you have other sources?

DamianWarS · Nov 13, 2019

Jonaitis said:
It was not about a man's lifespan, but mankind's expiration date at that time. They were given 120 years before judgment, enough time for Noah to build the Ark.

People keep saying this but no one lists sources.

his days shall be 120 years

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