by Erik Jones

This verse shows us two important pieces of information:

• Life spans in the antediluvian world were much longer than they are today. Adam lived to the age of 930 years. He was 130 years old when he fathered Seth and lived 800 years after that. Reading through Genesis 5 shows the long ages of the individuals in the genealogical chain from Adam to Noah. There are different possible reasons for these long life spans, including better atmospheric conditions and stronger genetics. It is interesting to note that after the flood (Genesis 7), somehow God saw to it that human life spans would drop dramatically (Genesis 11:10-32).
• Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters. Some wonder how civilization could have grown so rapidly from one couple. The answer is that Adam and Eve fulfilled the command in Genesis 1:28 to “be fruitful and multiply.” We also see that Adam and Eve’s offspring rapidly reproduced as well (Genesis 5:4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 26). Adam and Eve produced children before and after the birth of Seth. Though we cannot know exactly how long Eve’s period of childbearing lasted because of the different physiological conditions of that era, who knows how many dozens of children they produced? With each new generation, it is easy to see how the antediluvian civilization grew rapidly in population.

Family has always played a major role in human history. To learn what the Bible says about raising a godly family, read our informative articles in the section on “Practical Tips for Positive Parenting.”

Tomorrow on the Daily Bible Verse Blog: “Enoch Taken by God.”