# Genesis ages and factorization



## arapahoepark (Aug 7, 2012)

Recently, I have come across the idea that the long ages of Genesis may have been factorizations, I think umburto cassio believes that and I originally came across this idea from Kitchen (though he says it's only speculations). I dismiss these claims but, one thing stands out: the fact that in the ANE the numbers were more qualitative than quantitative, which I am still wrapping my head around. So in other words they could have been conveying something in the language that we don't get. I have heard of positions of both sides...so what do you guys think?


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## Peairtach (Aug 7, 2012)

What about the likelihood that in the early ages of the Earth, people _did_ live longer because genetic weakenesses and susceptibilities hadn't multiplied in the human gene pool?

At the Fall human death was introduced, but God at that time didn't say "Your average age at death will be about 70 or 120".

Of course, before Adam sinned he would no doubt have lived for a very long time before being translated to a higher state of things.

It seems quite appropriate that things would eventually get worse - shorter lifespans - before they got better, through the Lord instructing Mankind in His providence in the Christian era, the blessed Last Days.

Who knows how far the Lord will allow Mankind to get in their reversal of the curse?



> No more shall there be in it
> an infant who lives but a few days,
> or an old man who does not fill out his days,
> for the young man shall die a hundred years old,
> and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.( Isa 65:20, ESV)



I know that the above is - at least partly - metaphorical language that speaks of the prosperity of the Last Days, and also of the Heavenly Eschatalogical Kingdom, including the New Heavens and the New Earth.

But prophecies sometimes have a metaphorical fulfillment, together with a somewhat literal fulfillment.

What is "factorisation" ?


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## VictorBravo (Aug 7, 2012)

arap said:


> Recently, I have come across the idea that the long ages of Genesis may have been factorizations



Factorizations of what? I'm familiar with the idea of factorization, but that's only in the realm of polynomials or matrices. Is this some sort of numerology based upon the the letter values?


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## arapahoepark (Aug 9, 2012)

Didn't know anyone commented on this.

I suppose some people advocate the idea to get the real ages you would divide a number, for instance in Sumeria the list of pre-flood kings were in the thousands and that's because they multiplied the numbers by 60...i don't know if that makes sense.
Anyway, I guess it doesn't matter what they (sumerians and ANE) did. The Bible record is true.


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## Peairtach (Aug 9, 2012)

> The Bible record is true.



It is. But what you speak about is not impossible if external evidence draws attention to it, and we find corroborating internal biblical evidence for it.

But I'm not aware of any internal biblical evidence for "factorisation" and was wondering if you knew of some.

We have to beware too of interpretations, of course, that are just trying to avoid perceived "difficulties", though because a difficulty is avoided by an interpretation doesn't mean that it's automatically wrong.

There may have been an awareness in the ANE that men once lived to a great age, but for various reasons this got exaggerated in the inter-generational transmission among the non-covenantal descendants of Noah, just as accounts of the Flood, etc, got garbled (?)


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