How did Moses live to be 120?

Answer 1

The Bible records many legendary heroes who were reputedly older than 100 when they died. They fall into two separate groups, although there is some apparent overlap between the groups. The first group occurs in the Book of Genesis, with biblical heros whose lifespans are based on elegant formulas using the number 17. This group includes all those who supposedly lived to extreme ages, but also some who lived only moderately long lives. The second group of people, from traditions based on the period after the legendary patriarchs. have lifespans that are round numbers, easy for oral storytellers to remember. This group includes Moses.

The oldest man in the Bible was Methuselah, who supposedly lived to the grand old age of 969, which is 57 X 17, and even had his first child at the age of 187, which is 11 X 17.

Most of the others with extreme lifespans follow a particular formula that hides the number 17 from those unfamiliar with Hebrew numerology, for example the first five biblical generation from Adam set a pattern for succeeding generations:

Name ................. Lifespan ........PatternAdam ................ 930 ...............7x9 + 51x17 [3x17x17]

Seth .................. 912 .............. 5x9 + 51x17

Enos ................. 905 ............... 8x9 + 49x17

Cainan ............. 910 ............... 6x10 + 50x17

Mahalalel ........ 895 ............... 5x9 + 50x17

The patriarchs are also described in the Book of Genesis and also belong to the tradition that used the number 17, but their lifespans were much closer to that of Moses:

1. Abraham lived to 175 (5 X 5 X 7)
2. Isaac lived to 180 (6 X 6 X 5)
3. Jacob lived to 147 (7 X 7 X 3

• Each lifespan involves a perfect square (5, 6, then 7 in a numeric series),
• the third factor also forms a series (7, 5, 3)
• in each case the sum of the factors is 17.

Genesis says Sarah lived to 127 years, which is the sum of these consecutive square numbers plus 17 (127 = 52 + 62 + 72 + 17). Joseph, sometimes called the fourth patriarch, lived to 110 years, which is the sum of these consecutive square numbers (110 = 52 + 62 + 72).

The later tradition lacks these elegant formulas and simply attributes round-number periods that are easy to remember, such as 120 years for Moses. Presumably the tradents also chose numbers that would not eclipse the Patriarchs. This preference for round numbers applies not only to lifespans but to the period of wandering in the wilderness, the periods associated with each major Judge and even the reigns of David and Solomon (40 years each). No harm is done by this, as most scholars say that Moses did not really exist, and the stories of the Judges and the United Monarchy are so coloured by legend and myth that little real history can be discerned.

Answer 2

By Moses' time, the normal life span was down to 70 or 80 years (Psalms 90:10). Genesis 6:3 was fixing for humans a maximumlifespan of 120 years, not the norm.

Answer 2

Read Genesis ch.11, and you'll see that lifespans shortened gradually after the Flood, as part of God's plan, with 120 becoming the new maximum by the time of Moses. All those whose ages approached 1,000 were born before the Flood.

Many ancient nations and historians have records of "unnaturally" long lifespans of the ancients:

Manetho, Berosus, Mochus, Hestiaeus, Hieronymus the Egyptian, Hesiod, Hecataeus, Hellanicus, Acusilaus, Ephorus and Nicolaus all state that the ancients lived around a thousand years.

Such records are found in the histories of ancient Sumeria, China, Greece, Persia, Vietnam and India. Such widespread agreement can only be because it (like the Creation) is a worldwide tradition based upon more than mere myth.

Answer 3

Read Genesis ch.11, and you'll see that lifespans shortened gradually after the Flood, as part of God's plan, with 120 becoming the new maximum by the time of Moses. All those whose ages approached 1,000 were born before the Flood.

The idea of the ancient nine-hundred-year lifespans "bothers" us only because it seems impossible today. Seeming impossibility, however, is not disproof. Any disproof would have to come from physical evidence, not conjecture or numerology.

Many ancient nations and historians have records of "unnaturally" long lifespans of the ancients:Manetho, Berosus, Mochus, Hestiaeus, Hieronymus the Egyptian, Hesiod, Hecataeus, Hellanicus, Acusilaus, Ephorus and Nicolaus all state that the ancients lived around a thousand years.

Such records are found in the histories of ancient Sumeria, China, Greece, Persia, Vietnam and India. Such widespread agreement can only be because it (like the Creation) is a worldwide tradition based upon more than mere myth.
See also:

Longevity

Reliability of the Hebrew Bible

Evidence of the Flood

Answer 4

Because, He served the LORD his whole life and God honored that. God allowed him to live to be 120.