Impossibly Old…The Patriarchs?
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, October 3, 2025 (Donate)
Letter, unedited:
Regarding the ancient
patriarchs living for several centuries I don’t believe that would be possible.
Apart from the fact that the nose and ears continue to grow, so a 900 man would
look like an elephant, there is senility. It happens to 1 in 5 over 80’s, and I
should imagine if people could live for even 200 years, it would be close to
100%. The main problem however is potential. 200 years ago, most were dead by
age 40. They had the same potential as us, but living conditions meant they
died early. For the patriarchs, they would not have had medical care or
medicines. They would not have had sanitary conditions. They would have had a
very poor diet (hard things like seeds would quickly have ruined their teeth so
after the first century, they would have lived on soups). They would have
worked very hard. Like people in Jesus’s time, even with a possibility of
living over 900 years, most would have been dead in their thirties. Living so
long was just not possible.
M.H., France
Response:
Thank you for contacting the ministry regarding the article on the age
of the patriarchs. Please see my comments below and note that they are said
with sincerity.
Regarding the ancient
patriarchs living for several centuries I don’t believe that would be possible.
God disagrees in the Bible as witnessed by the genealogies.
So, the issue is trust—you or God? God was there, He eye witnessed it and knows
everything and cannot lie!
Although it is difficult for us to imagine, given current
experience and conditions, someone living as long as the patriarchs lived, this
really isn’t an issue of whether or not someone believes it.
Imagine if someone came up and said “I don’t believe that it
would be possible for liquid water to exist at over 100 degrees Celsius.” Would
such an argument be valid? No, this is dependent upon other variables, such as
pressure (e.g., superheated water).
Apart from the fact
that the nose and ears continue to grow, so a 900 man would look like an
elephant, there is senility. It happens to 1 in 5 over 80’s, and I should
imagine if people could live for even 200 years, it would be close to 100%.
But how do we know at what rate did the ears and nose grow
for those who lived around 900 years, 5000 years ago? The point is that it
would not be wise to assume that their rates of growth and renewal were the
same as today. Obviously, something was different; otherwise, they would have
been dying in only about 1/9 of their life.
Consider if everyone today had the sad and tragic children’s disease
progeria. This is when the body ages and dies by the time the person
reaches age 12 or 13. The bones have osteoporosis; the skin appears severely
aged; the hair grays; etc. If someone would say, “There is no way a person
could have lived to 80 years old,” based on the rates they were experiencing
with progeria, does that mean it couldn’t happen? Of course not.
The main problem
however is potential. 200 years ago, most were dead by age 40-60. They had the
same potential as us, but living conditions meant they died early.
I agree. However, the potential for the patriarchs was much
different, and this is the key.
For the patriarchs,
they would not have had medical care or medicines.
How could one know they couldn’t have known good medical
practices? Genesis doesn’t record this. They could have been much wiser to
medicines and care than we may imagine. However, I don’t believe this was the
primary reason they could sustain such long lives.
They would not have
had sanitary conditions.
How could one know they didn’t have sanitary conditions?
Genesis doesn’t record this. I’m sure someone living for nine hundred years
could surely figure out how to properly dispose of unsanitary items and to
clean things decently.
Additionally unsanitary conditions are a problem because of
disease, which was not much of a problem back then and are often in
overpopulated areas, and that also would not have been such a problem in the
world’s early days.
They would have had a
very poor diet (hard things like seeds would quickly have ruined their teeth so
after the first century, they would have lived on soups). They would have
worked very hard. Like people in Jesus’s time, even with a possibility of living
over 900 years, most would have been dead in their thirties. Living so long was
just not possible.
How could one know they had a poor diet? Genesis doesn’t
record this. In fact, their diets/food may well have been superior—especially
before the Flood.
Do you realize that these last three assumptions are
actually founded in a religious evolutionary perspective? The assumption is
that people were not smart enough to have invented good medical care and not
advanced enough to wash their hands, brush their teeth, or grow nutritious,
sustaining food. In fact, the opposite was likely true.
Mankind was smart right from the start—with Adam being
programmed with language to know what was good, how to clean, how to tend
plants, and so on. To accept these assumptions is to place our understanding
above what is clearly presented in the Bible.
But even so, these things are still probably not the major
factor that allowed them to live so long. Most creationists believe that it was
genetic.
In the same way that a single point mutation in the DNA can
cause the massive age drop to those suffering from progeria, another mutation
or series of mutations over time could easily account for the reduced ages. The
loss of information as mutations continued to accumulate in the human genome
after the Fall and Flood seems to be the best explanation for what the Bible
teaches. Hence, we would have the loss of the great ages as given in Scripture.[1]
With kindness in Christ,
Bodie
□
Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist
since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website.
He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and
researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head
of the Oversight Council.
Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a
personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has
spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and
universities. He is married with four children.
Originally at Answers in Genesis; Edited; Republished by
permission.
[1]
For more please see: New Answers
Book 2, Ken Ham, Gen. Ed., Chapter by Drs. Georgia Purdom and David Menton
entitled: Did People Like
Adam and Noah Really Live Over 900 Years of Age?, Master Books, Green
Forest, AK, 2008; see also the next chapter.
