Whats the reason for this biblical exageration?

Question

I'm not religious, but i have a great deal of respect for most christian churches.
The other day i stumbled upon a Bible and decided to read it and found out that in the Genesis people lived like 900 years.
Why is this? What are they trying to say? how do you interpret that?..or if it's not a metaphore of some kind, why would they tell that?

Sceptics feel free to answer...try to keep it respectfull tho...

Answer 1

people tend to exaggerate things from the past, especially when they want you to think those people were better than they were

Answer 2

Those of us that take the Bible literally believe exactly that. People lived to about 10 tiems longer than they do now. The reason is thought to be because there was not the disease and contamination around since the world was newly created, and also many Christians believe that the whole laws of nature were different then. It is thought that the world was enveloped in a canopy of water or ice, thus making the world like a giant greenhouse. There was no rain, no seasons, and no polar ice caps. That is why dinosaus became so big, because they were reptiles, and reptiles have no adult size. The longer they live, the larger they grow. So if and iguanna lived 100 years and grew to be 3 feet long then he would be 30 feet long at 1000 years of age, and called a dinosaur. There is some scripture to back this idea up. Anyway, here is what we believe for what it is worth.

Answer 3

Some Bible literalists believe that people really did live that long in those days. They usually credit it to a protective cloud covering that shielded the Earth in the planet's early days. This covering went away when it was used to flood the Earth during Noah's time. Therefore, people weren't able to live as long.

I'm a bit skeptical myself, but not totally closed-minded about it. But anyway, that's usually what people say.

Answer 4

We were never supposed to die we die as a result of sin and prior to the flood humanity live a very long time indeed. However after the flood the world was changed and God shortened our lifespan as a blessing. Also imagine if we still lived that long there would be so many people on the planet life would be unsustainable as they also had children for most of those years

Answer 5

I must say it is a mystery that man could live to 900 years, my own logic, and reasoning says that back then how was a year in time interpreted, as they did not have clocks like we do today, on the other hand if they did really live that long, I can only say it is a great mystery, just imagine what it would be like to live for that many years.

Answer 6

What the Bible is saying is that before the flood, people lived a long time. During the pre-flood time, there were few diseases and the genetic pool was still relatively pure. After the flood, people did not live as long and you see a gradual disappearance of people living those extraordinarily long lives.

Answer 7

I believe that back in the day, people really did live those long years. Think about it. Healthier air, water, more wholesome foods. I bet they didn't have half the diseases and problems we have now.
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Answer 8

Methinks you have to look at the time. It was clean. There is no mention of pollution in Genesis.

Answer 9

yes people did live that long then.
Why? Other than that was Gods plan then I don't know.
Ask Him.

Answer 10

I thought you were going to post the one about the woman lusting over the men who were hung like donkeys who shot loads like that of horses.

Some say that it is not an exaggeration. They say that before the flood there was a layer of water surrounding the atmosphere. Such a layer would have crushed any living animal to death, but hey, that's the Biblical explaination.