Genealogy Shows the Shortening of Life

In response to the second rebellion of mankind, the sons of God marrying the daughters of man, God states in Genesis 6:3, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

This didn’t happen immediately, as the table below demonstrates. Following the age at death column, notice how the life spans shrunk through the generations.

Another interesting note is the Shem, Noah’s son, was still alive when Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were born.

Once again, we see that a closer look at a genealogy, this time the one in Genesis 11, shows fascinating information behind the mundane read of numbers and hard to pronounce names.

Much of the bible is the same way. A casual read can be confusing and boring, but understanding what was written and why can open up wonderful truths and insights that bring the ancient Scriptures to life.