Question about the Bible?

Question

How come in Genesis chapter 6 it says that GOD said that man's days will be 120 years, but there were people after that who lived longer. Isn't this an error? I know it's a small thing, but if this is an error isn't there a possiblity that there are other errors in the Bible. Maybe this shouldn't bother me but it does. I am a Christian, and I have been trying to read the Bible more. However, i am not sure if I should because I have doubts about whether it is completely accurate.

I don't care if Snow White is accurate it has no effect on my life, and I am not reading it for divine guidance.

Thanks for the responses and alternate explanations of that scripture. I never thought about it as meaning 120 days to the flood.

Answer 1

At Genesis 6:3 God says: "My spirit shall not act toward man indefinitely in that he is also flesh. Accordingly his days shall amount to a hundred and twenty years."

God was not referring to the age of Man but to the time that would elapse between the moment he said the above and the coming of the Flood.

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Thanks, Ladydi & Darth! The support is appreciated.

Answer 2

You're misinterpretting the passage...what it means is that God made up His mind to destroy the world and He gave "man" or mankind 120 years to repent and for Noah to build the Ark. Adam, Methuselah and others lived well beyond 900 years so it doesn't make sense to think this passage is referring to the age of people....it's referring to how many years God gave "man" of the time to repent before the Flood which it seems nobody did because he only took Noah and his family on the Ark...would seem to have been a pretty wicked world if only eight people were worthy of saving.

Genesis 6:1 When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal ; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."
The Bible is true and accurate---it's how people misinterpret the Bible that gets things confused. Satan would love nothing more than for you to doubt the accuracy and truth of the Bible.

Answer 3

unquestionably, you may substitute your wording in common terms a touch: Hebrew Bible Roman Catholic Bible Protestant Bible The Jewish scholars finished the version of the Hebrew Bible in related to the third century. That textual content fabric is roofed in the two the RC and Prot. Bible. The order of the books is distinctive, because of the fact of underlying assumptions. The Christian Bible (the recent testomony) wasn't extremely nailed down until eventually almost the 10th century or so. After that, it replaced into locked in. This replaced into achieved in a chain of Church Councils. this text is the comparable in the two the RC and Prot. Bible, and the outdated testomony is fairly plenty the comparable in the two of those Bibles, different than that the order could be slightly distinctive. the only distinction between the RC and Prot. Bibles is the presence of the Apocrypha -- countless books that have been unknown in Hebrew, yet have been lined mechanically in Greek language translations of the outdated testomony that have been in familiar use around the time of the early Church. That Greek translation of the outdated testomony (reported as the Septuagint) replaced into so familiar (maximum Jews did not at that factor undergo in ideas a thank you to talk or study Hebrew anymore) that whenever you detect the outdated testomony quoted contained in the recent testomony, it extremely is often the Septuagint textual content fabric they're quoting.

Answer 4

I think I heard a preacher say that this 120 years referred to how many more years God would allow people to keep getting worse before He destroyed the earth by flood.
I haven't done the math lately, but if you look back to the geneology in the previous chapter, you can add up the years and figure out that all the ancestors of Noah were dead before the flood occurred--apparently God was waiting for them because they weren't wicked and He didn't destroy them. I think I have also heard somewhere that it took Noah a long time (perhaps as long as the 120 years) to build the ark and gather the animals.

Ask the Lord to help you with your doubts. Even one of Jesus disciples, Thomas, is famous for expressing his doubts.

I don't understand all the Bible, and I don't expect to this side of heaven, but I keep studying it and learning new things, and living according to it as best as I understand it now, and taking the rest on faith.

If you spend much time on here with all the scoffers, you will sure enough get confused. Get in a Bible study group and in a Bible-teaching church, and keep your mind and heart open to the Holy Spirit. Also, I stick with KJV or at least NKJV version, some of the more modern translations are supposedly not true to the original text. You have to realize that the language and cultures of the times in which the texts were written are so foreign to us that sometimes we just can't interpret them the way they were originally intended--that's a shortcoming on our part, not God's. But as a whole, the book is the inspired Word of God, and I believe that God Hand was at work to select what was included and to preserve it until now.


Satan got Eve to doubt the Word of God in the garden, didn't he? Satan will use anything he can, twisting the Word of God or something another Christian (or someone claiming to be) says or does to make you doubt yourself, or God Himself.

God bless you!

Answer 5

JC, Iron Serpent and 9_lady_di are correct. 120 years until the flood.
God more than enough time to Noah to build the ark and to prepare for the flood. Mankind had the opportunity to follow Noah and get saved in the ark, however none outside his family took the opportunity in time.

That sentence also took effect on the average lifespan of men and they started to live less than the people bron before the flood. Later in the Psalms is registered that the average lifespan for men was reduced again to 70 years (80 years if a strong person). Psalms 90:10

Answer 6

God was basically saying that man's days were counted. It is very likely that the 120 years refer to when the flood was going to hit the earth. 120 years after, the ark was finished and the Flood came over the earth. I know there is a way to figure out the chronology in this matter. I'll get back to you with that.

Answer 7

Although somewhat a minor matter, I'd say that you make a mental note of that for now. You will find other inconsistencies and curious oddities along the way that you will certainly take notice of as well.

But I strongly suggest that you keep on reading the Bible in its entirety until the very end of Revelation, the final book... no matter how long it may take you to get there.

And by then you will become more conversant about the contents of the Bible, rather than being misinformed by others along the way.

Peace be with you.

Answer 8

It is not an error, God does not make mistakes. I think it is a type of prophesy. Man was meant to live eternally but after the sin Adam only lived 930 years. Noah lived to 950 years of age but after the flood the life spans started going down. Shem only lived 600 years Abraham only 175, Jacob 147 and Joseph only 110 years. Mans life span has been as low as about 40 years but it is now climbing back up to the late 70's early 80's. Maybe someday in the future people will be living to over 100 again.

I stand corrected - Iron Serpent is correct.

Answer 9

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The Bible is a series of stories put together to instruct illiterate desert nomads. There are UNIVERSAL truths in the Bible but if you read it for 100% aaccuracies, you will be disappointed. It was a political document cobbled together to satisfy Constantine by the Council of Nicea and was assembled to agree with itself...Much was omitted also

There are completely different stories of creation, the flood and Jesus' suffering and Crucifixion in the KJV so relax.

You might want to consider the story of Cain and Abel. Our Bible leads us to believe that there were four people in the earth..Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel......Ready for this?

Cain kills Abel then goes and gets married.....Where did his wife come from? Dunno.

You can be a practicing Christian and love Jesus with all your heart. I am a Christian too but I ain't stupid.

Consider this "By Grace are ye saved, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." Grace, the undeserved love of God.....See anything in that statement that says you have to swallow everything in the bible? I don't

Answer 10

There is a simple explanation. He wasn't talking about then. He was talking about now. Do you see anyone living more than 120 yrs? No. He meant in the future people will no longer live past 120. The people back then slower started living shorter lives and now no one lives past 120. There is always an explanation. E-mail me if you have any more questions.