Genesis 5:5

And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years,.... Not lunar years, as Varro (d), but solar years, which consisted of three hundred and sixty five days and odd hours, and such

And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. All the days that Adam lived. What vicissitudes must the personal history of Adam have comprised!

The long lives of men in ancient times, here noted, are also mentioned by heathen authors; and it was wisely so ordered by God, both for the more plentiful increase of mankind in the first age of the world, and for the more effectual propagation of true religion and other useful knowledge to the world. And many natural reasons might be given why their lives were then longer than afterwards.

Genesis 5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.Ver. 5. Nine hundred and thirty years.] Till the fifty-sixth year of the patriarch Lamech. In all which time he doubtless instructed his good nephews in all those great things which himself had learned from God’ s mouth, and “ proved” in his own experience "what that good, and holy, and acceptable will of God was". Moreover, out of his mouth, as out of a fountain, flowed whatsoever profitable doctrine, discipline, skill, and wisdom is in the world. And he died.] This is not in vain so often iterated in this chapter; for there is in us by nature a secret conceit of immortality, and we can harldy be beaten out of it. That all must die, every man will yield; but that he may live yet, a day longer at least, there is none but hopes. We can see death in other men’ s brows, but not in our own bosoms. It must make forcible entry, and break in violently. God must “ cut” men “ in twain,” and tear their souls from their bodies, ere they will yield to die. The best are too backward, and would not “ be unclothed, but clothed upon,” if they might have their will. Moses himself prays, “ Lord, teach us so to number our days, that we may apply,” or, as the Hebrew hath it, that we may cause “ our hearts” to come “ to wisdom.” Cause them to come, whether they will or not; for naturally they hang off, and would not come to any such bargain. How needful is it therefore to be told us, that Adam died, that Seth, Enos, and Cainan died, &c.; that this may be as a handwriting on the wall, to tell us that we must also die, and come to judgment.

(5) The days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years.—The numbers in the Bible are involved in great difficulty, owing to the Hebrew method of numeration being to attach numerical values to letters, and add them together; and as the words thus formed are unmeaning, they easily become corrupted. Hence there is a great discrepancy in the numbers as specified by the three main authorities, the Hebrew text making the length of time from the expulsion from Paradise to the flood 1656 years, the Samaritan text only 1307, and the LXX. 2262, while in almost all cases they agree in the duration of the lives of the several patriarchs. There is, however, an appearance of untrustworthiness about the calculations in the LXX., while the Samaritan transcript must rank as of almost equal authority with the Hebrew text itself. St. Jerome, however, says that the best Samaritan MSS. in his days agreed with the Hebrew, but none such have come down to us. Not only is there no doubt that the Bible represents human life as vastly prolonged before the flood, while afterwards it grew rapidly briefer, but it teaches us that in the Messianic age life is to be prolonged again, so that a century shall be the duration of childhood, and a grown man’s ordinary age shall be as the age of a tree (Isa. Ixv. 20, 22). On the other hand, we may accept the assertion of physiologists that such as man is now, a period of from 120 to 150 years is the utmost possible duration of human life, and that no strength of constitution, nor temperance, nor vegetable diet could add many years to this limit. Hence many have supposed that in the early Biblical genealogies races or dynasties were meant, or that at a time when there were only engraved cylinders or marks scratched on stones or impressed on bricks as modes of writing, a few names only were selected, each one of whom, by the length of years assigned to him, represented an indefinitely protracted period. In proof that there was something artificial in these genealogies, they point to the fact that the tôldôth of Adam are arranged in ten generations, and that the same number of generations composes the tôldôth of Shem (Genesis 11:10-26).; while in our Lord’s genealogy names are confessedly omitted in order to produce three series, each of fourteen names. It is also undeniable that in Hebrew genealogies it was the rule to omit names. Thus the genealogy of Moses contains only four individuals: Levi, Kohath, Amram, Moses (1 Chronicles 6:1-3); while for the same period there are eleven descents given in the genealogy of Jehoshuah (1 Chronicles 7:23-27). All this is sufficient to convince every thoughtful person that we must not use these genealogies for chronological purposes. They were not drawn up with any such intention, but to trace the line of primogeniture, and show whose was the birthright.

5. Nine hundred and thirty years — Widespread heathen traditions preserve the memory of the antediluvian longevity. Persian annals relate that the first Persian kings reigned from five hundred to one thousand years.