Methuselah.
Methuselah, meaning "Man of the javelin" or "Death of Sword", was a biblical patriarch and a figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Description[]
Said to have died at the age of 969, he lived the longest of all figures mentioned in the Bible. According to the Book of Genesis, Methuselah was the son of Enoch, the father of Lamech, and the grandfather of Noah.
Bible commentators have offered various explanations as to why the Book of Genesis describes him as having died at such an advanced age; some believe that Methuselah's age is the result of a mistranslation, while others believe that his age is used to give the impression that part of Genesis takes place in a very distant past. Methuselah's name has become synonymous with longevity.
Overview[]
The revelations of Enoch were transcribed by him and entrusted to be preserved for future generations by his son, Methuselah. Enoch recounts two visions he has had to Methuselah. The first is about the Genesis flood narrative, and the second chronicles the history of the world from Adam to the Last Judgment. In the latter vision, men are represented as animals - the righteous are white cattle and sheep, the sinners and enemies of Israel are black cattle and wild animals. Following his father's death, Methuselah is designated by God as a priest, while Methuselah's grandson, Noah's brother Nir, is designated by God as his successor. In Slavonic Enoch, Methuselah asks his father for a blessing, and is given instructions on how to live righteously. After their father ascends into heaven, Methuselah and his brothers build an altar and made "a great festivity, praising God who had given such a sign by means of Enoch, who had found favor with Him."
Rabbinic literature states that when Noah was four hundred and eighty years old all the righteous men were dead, except Methuselah and himself, who were of immense stature as they were descended from the sons of God. At God's command they both announced that one hundred and twenty years would be given to men for repentance; if in that time they had not mended their evil ways, the earth would be destroyed. But their plea was in vain; even while Noah was engaged in building the ark the wicked made sport of him and his work, saying: "If the Flood should come, it could not harm us. We are too tall; and, moreover, we could close up with our feet [which were of monstrous size] the springs from below." They resorted to these tactics; but God heated the water, and their feet and the flesh of their bodies was scalded.