And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.
Lamech lived seven hundred seventy-seven literal years and then died, a plain record of the length of his life and its close without prolonged suffering or disease. He belonged to the nine generations before the Flood who averaged nine hundred twelve years, standing at the start of a steady fall to three hundred thirty-two years after the Flood, to seventy years in Moses' time, to about thirty-five years at present. That great length of life came from the life-giving power of the tree of life passed from Adam and Eve to their descendants, so that only a few generations removed from Eden the race still kept much of its original vigor and tenfold vital force. Because men lived for centuries, seven generations were alive together and could share knowledge directly, with Adam teaching Methuselah who taught Shem who taught Abraham and Isaac down to Jacob. That long life was given to serve God and make His name praised, but that long-lived race gave loose rein to wrongdoing and despised the truth, so God destroyed it by the Flood.
Longevity Before the Flood
Genesis 5:31 is a literal genealogical notice that Lamech lived 777 years and then died, giving the length of a life and its ending without describing illness or prolonged suffering. Its years mean literal years rather than a different ancient method of computing time. The verse belongs to the long period of vegetarian living before the Flood.
Lamech stands among nine generations before the Flood that averaged 912 years, at the beginning of a steady decrease in human longevity to a 332-year average in the nine generations after the Flood, to seventy years in Moses' time, to about thirty-five years at present. This shows humanity's original physical strength and its woeful deterioration. The patriarchs from Adam to Noah lived between nine hundred and a thousand years, and after that period lifespans tapered down to between one and two hundred years at the time of the Egyptian vassalage. The years of human life began to decline after Noah and continued to shorten through successive generations. Average human life span decreased after that period, with Lamech's death at 777 years standing within the long lifespans of the patriarchs from Adam to Noah. Vitality ran rapidly down to an average of threescore years and ten by the time of David about halfway from Adam to the present day, and to thirty years in Europe and the United States and twenty years in great cities now.
The great length of life before the Flood came from the life-giving power of the tree of life transmitted from Adam and Eve to their descendants. The tree of life had power to perpetuate life so that while they ate of it they could not die, and that vitality passed from them to the generations after them and protracted their lives to hundreds of years. Only a few generations had passed since Adam had access to the tree that prolongs life, so the race still kept much of its early vigor and human life was still measured in centuries, as in Lamech's 777 years. Mankind was created with ten times more vital force than it now possesses.
The shortening of life was caused by awful violations of God's laws of health and life that cut down the years of man to contemptible brevity and fill them with pain and disease assailing the infant from birth. Otherwise known violations would long ago have extinguished the race, which proves the original tenfold vital force shown by such great age. The record of long lives in the early generations contrasts with the sickness and widespread mortality of the present generation.
Knowledge, Service, and Judgment
Because men lived for centuries before the Flood, for hundreds of years seven generations were alive on the earth at the same time and had opportunity to consult together so that each profited by the knowledge and experience of all. Adam himself lived through nine centuries, learned the history of creation from the Creator and received instruction in all wisdom pertaining to the material world. He witnessed the events of that long period and imparted his knowledge to his descendants. 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.
The lifespan record including Lamech's 777 years makes a direct handing down of what God taught Adam possible. Adam was still alive when Methuselah was 243 years old, and Methuselah was still alive when Shem the son of Noah was 98 years old. Shem lived 150 years after the birth of Abraham and 50 years after the birth of Isaac. Abraham lived till Jacob and Esau were 15 years old, and Isaac lived till they were 120, so that knowledge could be communicated directly from Adam to Methuselah to Shem to Abraham and Isaac to Jacob, the father of the tribes of Israel.
The verse belongs to the family history leading to Noah, whose preaching warned the old world of the coming Flood and whose family helped build the ark. In Lamech's lifetime Seth, Enoch, Noah, Methuselah and others kept the knowledge of God continually before the world by presenting the truth. This long-lived people had rare powers to plan and carry out works. Life was given them to serve God, to make His name a praise in the earth, and to answer the purpose for which He gave them life.
They failed to do this, for among them were many giants of great stature and strength, renowned for wisdom and skillful in devising most cunning and wonderful works, whose guilt in giving loose rein to wrongdoing was in proportion to their skill and mental ability. The people despised the truth as people despise truth today, with the imaginations of their hearts evil and only evil continually. They formed secret societies to work in darkness to do violence, and for this God destroyed that long-lived race by a Flood.
Lamech lived seven hundred seventy-seven literal years and then died, a plain record of the length of his life and its close without prolonged suffering or disease. He belonged to the nine generations before the Flood who averaged nine hundred twelve years, standing at the start of a steady fall to three hundred thirty-two years after the Flood, to seventy years in Moses' time, to about thirty-five years at present. That great length of life came from the life-giving power of the tree of life passed from Adam and Eve to their descendants, so that only a few generations removed from Eden the race still kept much of its original vigor and tenfold vital force. Because men lived for centuries, seven generations were alive together and could share knowledge directly, with Adam teaching Methuselah who taught Shem who taught Abraham and Isaac down to Jacob. That long life was given to serve God and make His name praised, but that long-lived race gave loose rein to wrongdoing and despised the truth, so God destroyed it by the Flood.
Longevity Before the Flood
Genesis 5:31 is a literal genealogical notice that Lamech lived 777 years and then died, giving the length of a life and its ending without describing illness or prolonged suffering. Its years mean literal years rather than a different ancient method of computing time. The verse belongs to the long period of vegetarian living before the Flood.
Lamech stands among nine generations before the Flood that averaged 912 years, at the beginning of a steady decrease in human longevity to a 332-year average in the nine generations after the Flood, to seventy years in Moses' time, to about thirty-five years at present. This shows humanity's original physical strength and its woeful deterioration. The patriarchs from Adam to Noah lived between nine hundred and a thousand years, and after that period lifespans tapered down to between one and two hundred years at the time of the Egyptian vassalage. The years of human life began to decline after Noah and continued to shorten through successive generations. Average human life span decreased after that period, with Lamech's death at 777 years standing within the long lifespans of the patriarchs from Adam to Noah. Vitality ran rapidly down to an average of threescore years and ten by the time of David about halfway from Adam to the present day, and to thirty years in Europe and the United States and twenty years in great cities now.
The great length of life before the Flood came from the life-giving power of the tree of life transmitted from Adam and Eve to their descendants. The tree of life had power to perpetuate life so that while they ate of it they could not die, and that vitality passed from them to the generations after them and protracted their lives to hundreds of years. Only a few generations had passed since Adam had access to the tree that prolongs life, so the race still kept much of its early vigor and human life was still measured in centuries, as in Lamech's 777 years. Mankind was created with ten times more vital force than it now possesses.
The shortening of life was caused by awful violations of God's laws of health and life that cut down the years of man to contemptible brevity and fill them with pain and disease assailing the infant from birth. Otherwise known violations would long ago have extinguished the race, which proves the original tenfold vital force shown by such great age. The record of long lives in the early generations contrasts with the sickness and widespread mortality of the present generation.
Knowledge, Service, and Judgment
Because men lived for centuries before the Flood, for hundreds of years seven generations were alive on the earth at the same time and had opportunity to consult together so that each profited by the knowledge and experience of all. Adam himself lived through nine centuries, learned the history of creation from the Creator and received instruction in all wisdom pertaining to the material world. He witnessed the events of that long period and imparted his knowledge to his descendants. 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.
The lifespan record including Lamech's 777 years makes a direct handing down of what God taught Adam possible. Adam was still alive when Methuselah was 243 years old, and Methuselah was still alive when Shem the son of Noah was 98 years old. Shem lived 150 years after the birth of Abraham and 50 years after the birth of Isaac. Abraham lived till Jacob and Esau were 15 years old, and Isaac lived till they were 120, so that knowledge could be communicated directly from Adam to Methuselah to Shem to Abraham and Isaac to Jacob, the father of the tribes of Israel.
The verse belongs to the family history leading to Noah, whose preaching warned the old world of the coming Flood and whose family helped build the ark. In Lamech's lifetime Seth, Enoch, Noah, Methuselah and others kept the knowledge of God continually before the world by presenting the truth. This long-lived people had rare powers to plan and carry out works. Life was given them to serve God, to make His name a praise in the earth, and to answer the purpose for which He gave them life.
They failed to do this, for among them were many giants of great stature and strength, renowned for wisdom and skillful in devising most cunning and wonderful works, whose guilt in giving loose rein to wrongdoing was in proportion to their skill and mental ability. The people despised the truth as people despise truth today, with the imaginations of their hearts evil and only evil continually. They formed secret societies to work in darkness to do violence, and for this God destroyed that long-lived race by a Flood.