And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:
Mahalaleel was sixty-five years old when Jared was born to him, standing in the line of patriarchs before the Flood who lived nearly a thousand years. Those ages were literal years of nine hundred to a thousand, averaging 912 years for nine generations before the Flood against 332 years after it and only about seventy years by the time of Moses and David. That long, healthy life came from the life-perpetuating power of the tree of life transmitted from Adam to his descendants, belonging to a record that names each age and death without illness or prolonged suffering. By it Jared entered a living chain of eyewitnesses, for Adam was still alive in Methuselah's day and truth was handed down by word of mouth from Seth through Enoch to Noah with strong memory and unimpaired testimony. That length of life gave rare power to plan and execute in order to serve God and make His name a praise, but that generation gave loose rein to iniquity and was destroyed by the Flood, while shortening life afterward came through the curse and continued violation of physical law.
Longevity Before the Flood
Mahalaleel fathered Jared at sixty-five, and stands among the patriarchs from Adam to Noah who, with few exceptions, lived nearly a thousand years. That genealogy gives each one's age and death without mention of illness or prolonged suffering. The nine generations before the Flood averaged 912 years of life, against 332 years across nine generations after the Flood. That average fell further to seventy years in the time of Moses and David, to about thirty to thirty-five years at present in Europe and the United States, and to twenty years in great cities.
Those early ages are literal years between nine hundred and a thousand, not the result of a different method of computing time. Afterward they tapered gradually to between one and two hundred years by the time of the Egyptian vassalage. The race was created with ten times more vital force than it now has, for its known violations of all the laws of health and life would long since have extinguished it altogether. Awful violations of God's laws of health and life cut down the years of man to contemptible brevity and filled them with pain.
As part of that long-lived record, the verse belongs to a period of health in contrast with the sickness and mortality of the present generation, when those afflicted with all manner of diseases were brought to Christ from every city, town, and village for healing. That protracted life came from the life-perpetuating power of the tree of life, which as long as Adam and Eve ate of it prevented death. That life-giving power was transmitted from Adam and Eve to their descendants, which made their lives long. Only a short time after Adam had access to that tree the race still retained much early vigor, so existence was still measured by centuries.
The shortening of life and increase of disease through successive generations was caused by the curse, accumulated transgression, and continued violation of physical and natural law. The effects were not felt as quickly in the first generations as later, but since the days of Noah length of life has tapered and disease has steadily increased. Because of continued violation of the laws of life mortality has increased to a fearful extent and the years of man have been shortened. So the present generation passes to the grave even before the age at which the generations of the first few thousand years after creation came upon the stage of action.
Overlapping Witness and Accountability
Mahalaleel fathering Jared is one link in the genealogy in which the first patriarchs overlapped in life, for Adam was still alive when Methuselah was 243 years old, Methuselah was still alive when Shem was 98, Shem lived 150 years after Abraham was born and 50 years after Isaac was born, and Abraham lived until Jacob and Esau were 15 years old while Isaac lived until they were 120. By that overlapping the knowledge of all that God taught Adam could be passed directly from person to person, 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. For hundreds of years seven generations lived upon the earth contemporaneously, having opportunity to consult together, with each profiting by the knowledge and experience of all. Though without books or written records, they had great physical and mental vigor and strong memories able to grasp and retain what was communicated to them and to transmit it unimpaired to their posterity. Adam lived through nine centuries, learned the history of creation and all wisdom pertaining to the material world from the Creator, witnessed the events of nine centuries, and imparted his knowledge to his descendants, so Jared by being begotten entered that living chain of eyewitness instruction.
The verse stands in the line from Seth through Enoch to Noah by which truth was handed down from human lips from one generation to another. In that history of Abel, Seth, Enoch, and Noah Daniel and his companions were later educated, cherished the truth thus received, and had the image of God engraved upon the heart by it. That long-lived race included righteous men such as Seth, Enoch, Noah, Methuselah and others who presented the truth and kept the knowledge of God continually before the world. The people despised that 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.
Only a short time had passed since Adam had access to the tree that prolongs life, so human existence was still measured by centuries and the race still retained much of its early vigor. That long life gave rare powers to plan and execute. That long life and power were given to serve God, to make the Creator's name a praise in the earth, and to answer the purpose for which life was given. They failed to do this and gave loose rein to iniquity, with guilt in proportion to skill and mental ability.
Mahalaleel was sixty-five years old when Jared was born to him, standing in the line of patriarchs before the Flood who lived nearly a thousand years. Those ages were literal years of nine hundred to a thousand, averaging 912 years for nine generations before the Flood against 332 years after it and only about seventy years by the time of Moses and David. That long, healthy life came from the life-perpetuating power of the tree of life transmitted from Adam to his descendants, belonging to a record that names each age and death without illness or prolonged suffering. By it Jared entered a living chain of eyewitnesses, for Adam was still alive in Methuselah's day and truth was handed down by word of mouth from Seth through Enoch to Noah with strong memory and unimpaired testimony. That length of life gave rare power to plan and execute in order to serve God and make His name a praise, but that generation gave loose rein to iniquity and was destroyed by the Flood, while shortening life afterward came through the curse and continued violation of physical law.
Longevity Before the Flood
Mahalaleel fathered Jared at sixty-five, and stands among the patriarchs from Adam to Noah who, with few exceptions, lived nearly a thousand years. That genealogy gives each one's age and death without mention of illness or prolonged suffering. The nine generations before the Flood averaged 912 years of life, against 332 years across nine generations after the Flood. That average fell further to seventy years in the time of Moses and David, to about thirty to thirty-five years at present in Europe and the United States, and to twenty years in great cities.
Those early ages are literal years between nine hundred and a thousand, not the result of a different method of computing time. Afterward they tapered gradually to between one and two hundred years by the time of the Egyptian vassalage. The race was created with ten times more vital force than it now has, for its known violations of all the laws of health and life would long since have extinguished it altogether. Awful violations of God's laws of health and life cut down the years of man to contemptible brevity and filled them with pain.
As part of that long-lived record, the verse belongs to a period of health in contrast with the sickness and mortality of the present generation, when those afflicted with all manner of diseases were brought to Christ from every city, town, and village for healing. That protracted life came from the life-perpetuating power of the tree of life, which as long as Adam and Eve ate of it prevented death. That life-giving power was transmitted from Adam and Eve to their descendants, which made their lives long. Only a short time after Adam had access to that tree the race still retained much early vigor, so existence was still measured by centuries.
The shortening of life and increase of disease through successive generations was caused by the curse, accumulated transgression, and continued violation of physical and natural law. The effects were not felt as quickly in the first generations as later, but since the days of Noah length of life has tapered and disease has steadily increased. Because of continued violation of the laws of life mortality has increased to a fearful extent and the years of man have been shortened. So the present generation passes to the grave even before the age at which the generations of the first few thousand years after creation came upon the stage of action.
Overlapping Witness and Accountability
Mahalaleel fathering Jared is one link in the genealogy in which the first patriarchs overlapped in life, for Adam was still alive when Methuselah was 243 years old, Methuselah was still alive when Shem was 98, Shem lived 150 years after Abraham was born and 50 years after Isaac was born, and Abraham lived until Jacob and Esau were 15 years old while Isaac lived until they were 120. By that overlapping the knowledge of all that God taught Adam could be passed directly from person to person, 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. For hundreds of years seven generations lived upon the earth contemporaneously, having opportunity to consult together, with each profiting by the knowledge and experience of all. Though without books or written records, they had great physical and mental vigor and strong memories able to grasp and retain what was communicated to them and to transmit it unimpaired to their posterity. Adam lived through nine centuries, learned the history of creation and all wisdom pertaining to the material world from the Creator, witnessed the events of nine centuries, and imparted his knowledge to his descendants, so Jared by being begotten entered that living chain of eyewitness instruction.
The verse stands in the line from Seth through Enoch to Noah by which truth was handed down from human lips from one generation to another. In that history of Abel, Seth, Enoch, and Noah Daniel and his companions were later educated, cherished the truth thus received, and had the image of God engraved upon the heart by it. That long-lived race included righteous men such as Seth, Enoch, Noah, Methuselah and others who presented the truth and kept the knowledge of God continually before the world. The people despised that 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.
Only a short time had passed since Adam had access to the tree that prolongs life, so human existence was still measured by centuries and the race still retained much of its early vigor. That long life gave rare powers to plan and execute. That long life and power were given to serve God, to make the Creator's name a praise in the earth, and to answer the purpose for which life was given. They failed to do this and gave loose rein to iniquity, with guilt in proportion to skill and mental ability.