1. Biblical Ages How long did the partiarchs live?
Adam : 930 yrs
Methusela : 969 yrs
Noah: 950 yrs
Oldest man who ever lived (Guinness book of records) died at 129
That’s with the benefit of:
6 billion people to choose from
Modern medicine
Abundant food and running water
Shelter, heating, transport etc.
Archaeological records show that the average life expectancy in the Bronze age, around 5000 BC, was years
Yet only one of the patriarchs died before 900 (and he was 777)!
Habib Miyan, Died at 129
Oldest man on Earth?
Image from BBC News
Figures from
© Colin Frayn, 2008

2. High Oxygen Can high oxygen levels help us to live longer?
We know that oxygen levels have not substantially changed for millions of years
So they were not higher in the early days of the Old Testament
Would high oxygen lead to long lives?
Actually there’s evidence that the reverse is true – low oxygen leads to longer lives. (Baibas et al., 2005)
Oxygen study :
N. Baibas, A. Trichopoulou, E. Voridis, D. Trichopoulos, J Epidemiol Community Health. 2005 April; 59(4): 274–278.
© Colin Frayn, 2008

3. Protection by Atmospheric Water
Would a vapour canopy protect us?
Firstly, the vapour canopy is umbiblical
The Bible talks about the stars of the heavens, but these would have been obscured by a water canopy.
Secondly, the canopy would have acted like a thick cloud
To have enough to block out harmful radiation, you would also need to block out much of the useful light
How would plants thrive without enough light?
When the canopy ‘fell’, we would have been left out in the open, without any natural sun protection
Everyone would have burned, then died of cancer!
© Colin Frayn, 2008

4. After the flood Why didn’t ages suddenly drop? Seth – 912 years
Jared – 962 years
Kenan – 910 years
Methuselah – 969 years
Lamech – 777 years
Noah – 950 years
Flood……………………………
Shem – 600 years
Eber – 464 years
Serug – 230 years
Nahor – 148 years
Terah – 205 years
If the vapur canopy was keeping people alive, then why did the ages only come down slowly?
Alternative hypothesis: The ages are fictional.
© Colin Frayn, 2008

5. Hunza People How long do they live?
A recent study said:
Men : 53 years
Women: 52 years
Claims of great ages are probably fabricated for tourists
“The great Hunza secret to old age turned out to be its absence of birth records. The illiterate elders didn't know how old they were, and they tended to overestimate their ages by a decade or two, as I discovered by comparing their recollections with known historical events. Hunza didn't have an unusual number of centenarians, it turned out, and its traditional way of life was not a formula for good health. “ John Tierney, The New York Times, September 29th, 1996
© Colin Frayn, 2008