Why Did People in the First Millennia Live for So Long?

It seems, according to some scientists that earth’s atmosphere including atmospheric pressure was different early on which may have made our lifespan much longer (nearly 1000 years). Also remember the tree of Life in the garden (not the tree of good and evil) which bore fruit may be an indicator of the effect that what humans ate back then favoured a longer lifespan. Also consider carefully the Biblical stories and the diminishing lifespan over generations after Noah and the Flood such as the lifespan of Abraham down to David and so on is quite a clear indication of how we came down to about 100 years today. Yet I have never yet encountered anyone whether Jew or Christian who believes that any man ever lived 900 years as recorded in the Bible no matter how Holy they consider it to be ? Reply

I heard once a scientific explanation that before the flood there was a heavy layer of water in the atmosphere which filtered the sun's rays much more efficiently than today's atmosphere. After the flood, humans no longer had this protection thus suffering from an accelerated aging process. How does Chabad look at these type of explanations? Agree or disagree, and why? Reply

The rabbi in my childhood synagogue said it was a mistranslation, with the measurements being smaller than they were translated as. I don't remember exactly what the difference was. Reply

According to this response or answer, it states that souls are reincarnated.
Where does scripture confirm this line of thinking?
According to Genesis 47:29, Yisra’El reached the end of his appointed or pre-determined life span. Reply

Maybe the Earth spun slower in its early days ?? (I'm alluding to the time it took to spin on its axis and around the sun). Reply

I mostly appreciate and agree with the comments of Ben and Rudy. Some years ago I focused on this question of our earliest ancestors living such unbelievably long lives and found it quite easy to follow in Genesis and later books of the Bible. It is quite clear that starting from Adam & Eve and for many generations the life span was about 1000 years but it decreased over time and specially after Noah we see it diminish to 250 and later 100 years in David’s day and today. Although more people live to 100 and even 116 in some rare case, our lifespan will not like increase. In Genesis it is recorded of God saying that “my life giving spirit will not always be on man and his life span will be limited to 120 years”. Of course Sin mostly and other factors came into play in time such as in our genes, changes in our atmosphere including perhaps atmospheric pressure, in vegetation and our way of life including pollution more recently. It seems that way of measuring time has never changed much. Reply

Why did Adam live for only 930 years instead of 1000 years? Reply

When did this concept of reincarnation enter Judaism? I don’t see this concept anywhere in the TaNaCh. Reply

If heaven has no races no countries no religion too I just can't wait to go back to be with G-d! Well, maybe G-d created this planet just to discipline souls then, well! just a passing thought Rabbi! Reply

In one aspect it sounds great to have lived maybe 500 years, but in another aspect you would probably be so tired of living you might be begging G d to relieve you of your burdens and allow you to die. However, if you were very strong and could overcome not such great conditions, and you were able to achieve many things then it would be worthwhile. But In today’s world, the population has almost exploded, therefore we aren’t given too many roads to travel up an down to achieve what we were put here for. Then in another sense it seems people want to live longer today, but are they accomplishing worthwhile accomplishments or just spending time enjoying the sweet fruits of life. G d knows best what each soul is capable of before he sends us on our way, but we must figure everything out so we don’t have to keep coming back an back. Reply

Dear Rabbi Aron Moss,

I was deeply upset by a view expressed by your article where you write:

'We know that each soul that comes into the world arrives with a set of missions to fulfil. The person housing that soul is given a lifespan that is long enough to complete these missions.'

On what grounds do you claim that 'we know' this? A close friend of mine was recently killed in a tragic road accident. He was 19 years old and one of the most gifted, brilliant people I have ever met. How can this paragraph apply to him?

I hope to hear from you soon. Reply

We're no longer having a longer life span due to the fact that our body system has been polluted with processed foods. Reply

First of all I will do a Rabbinic style that I have learned and that is to answer a question with question. I have come to believe that this is the way that Rabbi's make us think. Let's suppose that the early Hebrews used numbers figuratively then 900 could just mean this person lived a long life and was full of wisdom. Indicating that they were to be honored and believed because of their longevity. If so then to keep records of this number might not be accurate or important. We would just have to recognize that this person has lived longer than us and has accumulated more knowledge then we have. We do have an indication that our society has grown and went from not keeping records to starting a lunar calendar to accept the roman calendar over time there have been different ways to record historic times. Yet to me I do not see any evidence to accept the reasoning that the ancient people had larger souls and now we have fragmented ones. I would like a better explaination for that Reply

Your interpretation of Scripture regarding long life in Adam's day seems logical, is interesting and even amuzing but is still an interpretation or theory although a good one. The Torah and the Bible give no such clear view or explanation, maybe because it is not an important subject relevant to our lives today. Even after many decades of Church attendance and reading this subject never comes up although it fascinates me. Thank You for sheading some light on this. Reply

if we could travel back 5000 years, the first thing we would do is be physically sick or even pass out,as we breathe in the unpolluted air that we do today.your food would taste much stronger containing more minerals and not poisoned by the pesticides and preservatives, the fish wouldn't be full of mercury, we wouldn't be eating processed food full of nasty chemicals, Reply

The decline in ages from Adam to Noah and then to Abraham fits a biological decay curve almost perfectly. Why do any of us age? Because over time we accumulate mutations as our cells divide. As we accumulate mutations the cells are less able to carry out their function. We are at a disadvantage that Adam and those early generations did not have: we start off with mutations that we inherit from both are parents, Adam and Eve were created perfect without mutations. After they were placed under the curse their bodies slowly accumulated mutations resulting in death. Imagine needing to pass a physics exam and you were given a physics textbook to study from and if you studies the textbook perfectly you could in theory receive a passing grade of 100%. Now, let's say the class in the following semester is only allowed to receive a copy of the original textbook, but everytime you copy the textbook about 5 to 10% on the information will be loss. After enough information loss, genetic meltdown is Reply

I have been following this for quite some time and I am inclined to agree somewhat with Anonymous of Earth that because Adam and Eve were the first created they were created more perfect and lived a wonderful life until they fell into sin and then things began to change. So it is possible for those who were created more towards the beginning to be made more perfect and could live longer then those who came generations later. While the calendars did change slightly it would not have come to a few hundred years different. Yet numbers did have a different meaning back then and were often placed in writings to show a religious significance. So perhaps this might have been part of their reasoning as well. In those days years meant wisdom; our society today does not give older people the respect of years in the same way anymore. Reply

You guys were so funny without even trying. You really made my day. Thanks a lot. Reply

When did the shoes transform into pants? Reply

Adam/Eve were created perfect. Perfect bodies, hearts, health, etc. With the inability to get sick or suffer old age. They were not going to die...that is, until they sinned. After that, the perfection disappeared and theu began to age/suffer sickness/etc. The reason people lived so long back then Adam, his children, etc, is because they weresi close to perfection.... having those perfect genes.

It's like buying a new pair of shoes. When you first where them they're clean and new, let's say you give them to your son, and he to his son, etc. Eventually the pants won't look new anymore, but instead they become worn. Reply