And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
Cainan lived a literal lifespan of nine hundred and ten years, part of the pattern from Adam to Noah in which the patriarchs lived between nine hundred and one thousand years, nearly a thousand years, not by a different ancient method of computing time. That longevity came from the vital force of the race as created, ten times greater than now, and from the life-giving power of the tree of life transmitted from Adam only a few generations before, when vegetables, fruits and grains were man's diet and men enjoyed health for nearly one thousand years with no record of sickness, feebleness, or agonizing death. The nine generations before the flood averaged nine hundred and twelve years, in contrast with an average of three hundred and thirty-two years in nine generations after the flood, tapering to between one and two hundred years by Egyptian bondage, to seventy years in the time of Moses and David, and to only about thirty years at present. Since the days of Noah life has tapered because of continued violation of the laws of life and health, corrupt appetites and transgression under the curse, whose effects were not sensibly felt until more than a thousand years had passed, after which infirmity, disease and mortality fearfully increased. Those long overlapping lives allowed what God taught Adam to be communicated directly from person to person for hundreds of years without books, with strong memories transmitting it unimpaired, to serve God and make His name a praise, but men gave loose rein to wrongdoing and violence and despised the truth kept before them by righteous men, so the Lord destroyed that long-lived race by a flood.
Life in the Early World
Cainan's 910 years were a literal lifespan of over nine centuries, not a different ancient method of computing time. He belongs to the pattern from Adam to Noah in which the patriarchs, with few exceptions, lived between nine hundred and one thousand years, nearly a thousand years. His 910 years exemplify that great longevity of most patriarchs before Noah.
He lived in the more than sixteen hundred year period from Adam to Noah when vegetables, fruits, and grains were man's diet. His life was lived in full enjoyment of health nearly one thousand years until the springs of life at last grown weary stood still. The record gives only the measure of his life and its cessation, with no mention of sickness and death of children, feebleness in youth or middle age, fevers, dyspepsia, gout, consumption, local diseases from breakdown of certain organs, sufferings long drawn out, or excruciating agonies in death.
That length of life came from the vital force of the race as created, ten times more than now, without which known violations of all the laws of health and life would long ago have extinguished it. It also reflects the life-giving power of the tree of life transmitted from Adam and Eve, only a few generations after Adam still had access to the tree that prolongs life. Then human existence was still measured by centuries and the race still kept much of its early vigor, physical strength and stature, with rare powers to plan and execute.
Shortening of Human Lifespan
The nine generations before the flood averaged 912 years, and those long lifespans stand in contrast with the shorter lifespans after the flood and in later times as evidence of a decline in human longevity. From that original length the decline went to an average of 332 years in nine post-flood generations, then to seventy years in the time of Moses, and to about thirty-five years at present. After the pattern from Adam to Noah in which the patriarchs lived between nine hundred and one thousand years, lifespans tapered down to between one and two hundred years by the time of Egyptian bondage. That fall from such lifespans proves that violation of the laws of health and life cuts down the years of man, so that by the day of David, about halfway from Adam to the present, the average was only seventy years, and now in Europe and America it is only thirty years, and in great cities only twenty years.
Cainan's 910 years belonged to the nearly thousand-year lives of most patriarchs from Adam to Noah, and such long life is set against the shortening of human life after Noah. Since the days of Noah the length of life has been tapering because of continued violation of the laws of life. The effects of corrupt appetites and violations of physical law were not sensibly felt across the human race until more than a thousand years had passed, after which infirmity and disease increased and life shortened. This longevity belonged to a pattern in which people lived nearly a thousand years, in contrast with the much shorter lives of later generations, as part of the physical strength and stature lost as the human race declined under the curse and the effects of transgression and violated natural law.
Compared with those early generations the average human lifespan has since decreased. The generations of the first two thousand years are contrasted with the much shorter lives and widespread mortality of the present generation. Mortality has increased to a fearful extent, disease was already afflicting people with all manner of diseases when the sick were brought for healing from every city, town, and village, and disease has steadily increased through successive generations since that time. So the present generation passes to the grave even before the age at which the generations that lived the first few thousand years after creation came upon the stage of action.
Purpose, Transmission, and Judgment
The long overlapping lifespans recorded from Adam onward made direct personal transmission possible, so what God taught Adam passed from Adam to Methuselah, from Methuselah to Shem, from Shem to Abraham and Isaac, and from Abraham and Isaac to Jacob, the father of the tribes of Israel. Cainan's 910 years belong to that early line of Abel, Seth, Enoch and Noah that was still known in Babylon, where Daniel and his three companions had been educated in that history. They cherished the truth handed down by human lips from one generation to another, with the image of God engraved upon the heart, and this prepared them to honor the God of heaven and refuse to dishonor Him by idolatry.
For hundreds of years seven generations lived on the earth at the same time, so Adam, formed in God's image, remained among his descendants. He taught them what God had taught him about the material world and the history of creation, adding nine centuries of what he himself had witnessed. Without books or written records, men possessing great physical and mental vigor had strong memories able to grasp and retain what was communicated to them and to transmit it unimpaired to their posterity, with opportunity to consult together so that each profited by the knowledge and experience of all.
Human existence was still measured by centuries only a few generations after Adam still had access to the tree that prolongs life, and the race still kept much of its early vigor with rare powers to plan and execute. That long life and ability was given to serve God and make His name a praise in the earth and to answer the purpose for which life was given, but men failed to do this and gave loose rein to wrongdoing with guilt in proportion to skill and mental ability. Among them were many giants of great stature and strength, renowned for wisdom and skillful in devising cunning and wonderful works. Righteous men including Seth, Enoch, Noah, Methuselah and others kept the knowledge of God continually before that world, but the people despised the truth, the imaginations of their hearts were evil and only evil continually, secret societies were formed to work in darkness to do violence, and the Lord destroyed that long-lived race by a flood.
Cainan lived a literal lifespan of nine hundred and ten years, part of the pattern from Adam to Noah in which the patriarchs lived between nine hundred and one thousand years, nearly a thousand years, not by a different ancient method of computing time. That longevity came from the vital force of the race as created, ten times greater than now, and from the life-giving power of the tree of life transmitted from Adam only a few generations before, when vegetables, fruits and grains were man's diet and men enjoyed health for nearly one thousand years with no record of sickness, feebleness, or agonizing death. The nine generations before the flood averaged nine hundred and twelve years, in contrast with an average of three hundred and thirty-two years in nine generations after the flood, tapering to between one and two hundred years by Egyptian bondage, to seventy years in the time of Moses and David, and to only about thirty years at present. Since the days of Noah life has tapered because of continued violation of the laws of life and health, corrupt appetites and transgression under the curse, whose effects were not sensibly felt until more than a thousand years had passed, after which infirmity, disease and mortality fearfully increased. Those long overlapping lives allowed what God taught Adam to be communicated directly from person to person for hundreds of years without books, with strong memories transmitting it unimpaired, to serve God and make His name a praise, but men gave loose rein to wrongdoing and violence and despised the truth kept before them by righteous men, so the Lord destroyed that long-lived race by a flood.
Life in the Early World
Cainan's 910 years were a literal lifespan of over nine centuries, not a different ancient method of computing time. He belongs to the pattern from Adam to Noah in which the patriarchs, with few exceptions, lived between nine hundred and one thousand years, nearly a thousand years. His 910 years exemplify that great longevity of most patriarchs before Noah.
He lived in the more than sixteen hundred year period from Adam to Noah when vegetables, fruits, and grains were man's diet. His life was lived in full enjoyment of health nearly one thousand years until the springs of life at last grown weary stood still. The record gives only the measure of his life and its cessation, with no mention of sickness and death of children, feebleness in youth or middle age, fevers, dyspepsia, gout, consumption, local diseases from breakdown of certain organs, sufferings long drawn out, or excruciating agonies in death.
That length of life came from the vital force of the race as created, ten times more than now, without which known violations of all the laws of health and life would long ago have extinguished it. It also reflects the life-giving power of the tree of life transmitted from Adam and Eve, only a few generations after Adam still had access to the tree that prolongs life. Then human existence was still measured by centuries and the race still kept much of its early vigor, physical strength and stature, with rare powers to plan and execute.
Shortening of Human Lifespan
The nine generations before the flood averaged 912 years, and those long lifespans stand in contrast with the shorter lifespans after the flood and in later times as evidence of a decline in human longevity. From that original length the decline went to an average of 332 years in nine post-flood generations, then to seventy years in the time of Moses, and to about thirty-five years at present. After the pattern from Adam to Noah in which the patriarchs lived between nine hundred and one thousand years, lifespans tapered down to between one and two hundred years by the time of Egyptian bondage. That fall from such lifespans proves that violation of the laws of health and life cuts down the years of man, so that by the day of David, about halfway from Adam to the present, the average was only seventy years, and now in Europe and America it is only thirty years, and in great cities only twenty years.
Cainan's 910 years belonged to the nearly thousand-year lives of most patriarchs from Adam to Noah, and such long life is set against the shortening of human life after Noah. Since the days of Noah the length of life has been tapering because of continued violation of the laws of life. The effects of corrupt appetites and violations of physical law were not sensibly felt across the human race until more than a thousand years had passed, after which infirmity and disease increased and life shortened. This longevity belonged to a pattern in which people lived nearly a thousand years, in contrast with the much shorter lives of later generations, as part of the physical strength and stature lost as the human race declined under the curse and the effects of transgression and violated natural law.
Compared with those early generations the average human lifespan has since decreased. The generations of the first two thousand years are contrasted with the much shorter lives and widespread mortality of the present generation. Mortality has increased to a fearful extent, disease was already afflicting people with all manner of diseases when the sick were brought for healing from every city, town, and village, and disease has steadily increased through successive generations since that time. So the present generation passes to the grave even before the age at which the generations that lived the first few thousand years after creation came upon the stage of action.
Purpose, Transmission, and Judgment
The long overlapping lifespans recorded from Adam onward made direct personal transmission possible, so what God taught Adam passed from Adam to Methuselah, from Methuselah to Shem, from Shem to Abraham and Isaac, and from Abraham and Isaac to Jacob, the father of the tribes of Israel. Cainan's 910 years belong to that early line of Abel, Seth, Enoch and Noah that was still known in Babylon, where Daniel and his three companions had been educated in that history. They cherished the truth handed down by human lips from one generation to another, with the image of God engraved upon the heart, and this prepared them to honor the God of heaven and refuse to dishonor Him by idolatry.
For hundreds of years seven generations lived on the earth at the same time, so Adam, formed in God's image, remained among his descendants. He taught them what God had taught him about the material world and the history of creation, adding nine centuries of what he himself had witnessed. Without books or written records, men possessing great physical and mental vigor had strong memories able to grasp and retain what was communicated to them and to transmit it unimpaired to their posterity, with opportunity to consult together so that each profited by the knowledge and experience of all.
Human existence was still measured by centuries only a few generations after Adam still had access to the tree that prolongs life, and the race still kept much of its early vigor with rare powers to plan and execute. That long life and ability was given to serve God and make His name a praise in the earth and to answer the purpose for which life was given, but men failed to do this and gave loose rein to wrongdoing with guilt in proportion to skill and mental ability. Among them were many giants of great stature and strength, renowned for wisdom and skillful in devising cunning and wonderful works. Righteous men including Seth, Enoch, Noah, Methuselah and others kept the knowledge of God continually before that world, but the people despised the truth, the imaginations of their hearts were evil and only evil continually, secret societies were formed to work in darkness to do violence, and the Lord destroyed that long-lived race by a flood.