In brief
Methuselah is the son of Enoch and the grandfather of Noah. He fathered Lamech at 187 and died at 969, the greatest age the Bible gives. His name appears in the genealogy from Adam to Noah, in Genesis 5 and 1 Chronicles 1, and in the genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3. The Bible tells no episode of his life. We remember God's patience and the continuity of the line leading to Noah.
What does the name Methuselah mean?
The origin of the name Methuselah is debated, and the Bible gives no explanation of it. Some link it to the expression "man of the javelin," without certainty. English Bibles spell it Methuselah in Genesis 5 and in Luke 3:37.
The world of Methuselah
Methuselah belongs to the earliest time the Bible recounts. His life is given in the genealogy of Genesis 5, called the book of the generations of Adam, which follows the line from Adam to Noah through Seth in ten generations: Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech and Noah. For each one the chapter repeats the same pattern: his age when the next son is born, the years he lived afterward, the birth of sons and daughters, the sum of his days, and then the words and he died. Only Enoch is an exception, since God took him (Genesis 5:24). The ages are very high, and the Bible gives no date in years before Christ. The setting is that of humanity before the flood, when the wickedness of man grows great on the earth (Genesis 6:5). Methuselah stands at the center of this line, between Enoch, who walks with God, and Noah, whom God will save with his household. Genesis gives him only three verses, but these verses carry figures that allow his life to be placed in relation to those of his relatives.
The story of Methuselah
The line of Seth, from Adam to Enoch
Genesis 5:1-20Chapter 5 opens the book of the generations of Adam by recalling that God made man in his likeness. Adam, at the age of one hundred and thirty, fathers a son in his own likeness, after his image, and names him Seth. The line continues through Enosh, Kenan and Mahalalel, then through Jared, who fathers Enoch at the age of one hundred and sixty-two. For each one the text gives his age at the birth of the son, the number of years he lives afterward and the total length of his life. This is the line that leads to Methuselah, and the chapter presents it as an unbroken succession of generations, without any particular episode.
Son of Enoch
Genesis 5:21-22Enoch, at the age of sixty-five, fathers Methuselah. The text notes that after the birth of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God for three hundred years, and that he fathered sons and daughters. Methuselah is therefore born in the house of a man who walks with God. His father's name returns in the New Testament: Jude cites Enoch as the seventh from Adam, who prophesied (Jude 14), and the letter to the Hebrews says that he received the testimony that he pleased God (Hebrews 11:5). The Bible does not say what Methuselah thought or did during those years.
Enoch's departure
Genesis 5:23-24All the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. Counting the years given in the chapter, Enoch is sixty-five at the birth of Methuselah and three hundred and sixty-five at his departure: Methuselah was therefore three hundred years old when his father was taken by God. The text tells of no farewell and quotes no word from Methuselah at that moment. Hebrews 11:5 explains that it was by faith that Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death.
Father of Lamech
Genesis 5:25-27Methuselah, at the age of one hundred and eighty-seven, fathers Lamech. He then lives seven hundred and eighty-two years and fathers sons and daughters. All his days were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died. The text does not name his other children, and it says nothing of his trade, his house or his character. The only thing Genesis keeps of him is his place in the chain: son of Enoch, father of Lamech. And the sum of his days, which exceeds that of all the other men in the list, including Jared, who lived nine hundred and sixty-two years.
Grandfather of Noah
Genesis 5:28-32Lamech, at the age of one hundred and eighty-two, fathers a son. He gives him the name Noah and says that this one will comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, because of the ground which Yahweh has cursed. Methuselah is therefore the grandfather of the man whom God will choose to save his family from the flood. Lamech lives five hundred and ninety-five years more after Noah's birth, then dies at seven hundred and seventy-seven. According to these figures, Methuselah outlives his son Lamech. Noah, at the age of five hundred, fathers Shem, Ham and Japheth.
The year of the flood
Genesis 6:5-8; 7:6Genesis then describes a world where the wickedness of man is great on the earth, where every thought of the heart is only evil continually, but where Noah finds favor in the eyes of Yahweh (Genesis 6:5-8). Noah is six hundred years old when the flood of waters comes on the earth (Genesis 7:6). Adding up the ages, one hundred and eighty-seven at the birth of Lamech, one hundred and eighty-two at the birth of Noah, then six hundred at the flood, gives nine hundred and sixty-nine, the age at which Methuselah died. The calculation therefore places his death in the year of the flood. The Bible does not say how he died, nor whether his death comes before the flood or is linked to it.
In the genealogy of Jesus
Luke 3:36-37; 1 Chronicles 1:1-4Methuselah appears outside Genesis as well. Chronicles open their genealogies with Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech and Noah (1 Chronicles 1:1-4). In the Gospel of Luke, the genealogy of Jesus goes back to Adam, and Methuselah appears there between Lamech, his son, and Enoch, his father (Luke 3:36-37). Thus a man of whom Genesis tells almost nothing is named in the line that leads to Christ. God has led this history from generation to generation, until the fulfillment of his promise.
Methuselah's family
- great-grandfather
- Mahalalel Genesis 5:15
- grandfather
- Jared Genesis 5:18
- father
- Enoch Genesis 5:21
- son
- Lamech Genesis 5:25
- grandson
- Noah Genesis 5:28-29
- great-grandson
- Shem Genesis 5:32
- great-grandson
- Ham Genesis 5:32
- great-grandson
- Japheth Genesis 5:32
Test your knowledge
What Methuselah teaches us
- God keeps the thread of his promise from generation to generation: Methuselah is a link in the line leading to Noah, then to Jesus Christ.
- Even a very long life ends with the words then he died. This invites us to number our days with wisdom.
- A father's faithfulness is lived out over time: Enoch walked with God three hundred years after Methuselah's birth (Genesis 5:22).
- A name can appear in Scripture without us knowing much about the person, and God still knows him: the Bible forgets no one.
Key verses
After Methuselah's birth, Enoch walks with God for three hundred years. This verse shows us the home in which Methuselah grew up, the son of a man close to God.
All the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty-nine years, and then he died. This is the longest lifespan in the whole Bible.
Luke lists Methuselah, son of Enoch, in the genealogy of Jesus. This shows that Methuselah belongs to the line that runs from Adam to Christ.
Frequently asked questions
How old was Methuselah when he died?
Methuselah lived nine hundred sixty-nine years (Genesis 5:27). He was 187 when Lamech was born, then lived another 782 years. This is the greatest age attributed to any man in the Bible, according to the genealogy of Genesis 5.
What does the name Methuselah mean?
The meaning of the name Methuselah is uncertain, and the Bible does not explain it. Some link it to man of the javelin, others propose other meanings. It is better not to build theories on his name and to stay with what Genesis says about his life.
Where is Methuselah's story found in the Bible?
Methuselah appears in the genealogy of Genesis 5:21-27, then in 1 Chronicles 1:3. The New Testament lists him in the genealogy of Jesus, in Luke 3:37. These are the only places in the Bible that mention him.
Did Methuselah die before or during the flood?
The Bible does not say. Genesis 5:27 gives the length of his life, nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and then he died. If one adds up the ages given in the chapter, Methuselah is one hundred and eighty-seven at the birth of Lamech, Lamech one hundred and eighty-two at that of Noah, and Noah six hundred at the flood (Genesis 7:6). The total is nine hundred and sixty-nine years: according to these figures, Methuselah dies in the year of the flood. The text does not say whether he died before the waters came, nor whether he perished in the flood, nor what he died of. Only Noah, his wife, their sons and their sons' wives enter the ark (Genesis 7:7). We cannot therefore assert either one, and we must be careful.
Why did the men of Genesis live so long?
The Bible gives no reason. It states only the figures, which range from 777 years for Lamech to 969 for Methuselah (Genesis 5). Later Yahweh says that man's days will be one hundred and twenty years (Genesis 6:3), and the psalm attributed to Moses speaks of seventy years, or eighty for the strong (Psalm 90:10). Readers have proposed various explanations: a different world before the flood, years counted differently, symbolic figures. These views differ, and the text does not decide. We can keep what Genesis says clearly: even a very long life ends with the words and he died, and death enters the world with the fall (Genesis 3:19; 5:5).
Which other men in the Bible lived almost as long?
The ages in Genesis 5 are these: Adam 930 years, Seth 912, Enosh 905, Kenan 910, Mahalalel 895, Jared 962, Enoch 365, Methuselah 969 and Lamech 777. Noah lives nine hundred and fifty years (Genesis 9:28-29). After the flood the ages fall: Shem lives six hundred years (Genesis 11:10-11), then Abraham dies at one hundred and seventy-five (Genesis 25:7). The psalm attributed to Moses speaks of seventy years, or eighty for the strong (Psalm 90:10). Methuselah thus holds the Bible's record, ahead of Jared, 962 years, and Noah, 950 years. Enoch is the exception with his 365 years, because God took him (Genesis 5:23-24).
Are there two Lamechs in Genesis?
Yes. The Lamech who is the father of Noah, son of Methuselah, belongs to the line of Seth (Genesis 5:25-29). Another Lamech belongs to the line of Cain: Enoch fathered Irad, Irad fathered Mehujael, Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech (Genesis 4:17-18). This Lamech takes two wives, Adah and Zillah, and speaks a song of vengeance (Genesis 4:19-24). The names are similar: there is an Enoch in Cain's line and an Enoch in Seth's, a Methushael in Cain's line and a Methuselah in Seth's. But these are different persons, from two different families. The Methuselah of Genesis 5 is the son of the Enoch who walked with God, not of the Enoch who was a son of Cain.
Did Methuselah know Adam?
If one adds up the ages of Genesis 5, the answer is yes. Seth is born when Adam is 130, Enosh when Seth is 105, Kenan when Enosh is 90, Mahalalel when Kenan is 70, Jared when Mahalalel is 65, Enoch when Jared is 162, and Methuselah when Enoch is 65. That gives 687 years after Adam's creation. Adam lives 930 years (Genesis 5:5): he therefore dies 243 years after the birth of Methuselah. This calculation rests only on the figures in the text and assumes that they follow one another without a gap, which some readers dispute. The text itself does not say that Methuselah knew Adam, nor what Adam would have passed on to him.