From the Birth of Adam to the Death of Shem
I wrote a previous article entitled, “How old is the earth?”. In it I provided a timeline from the birth of Adam to the flood. Those that do not hold to the view that the earth is millions of years old and that the universe is billions of years old are called “Young Earth Creationists” by some. I would fall into this category. I do not believe the earth is millions of years old. I believe it is only thousands of years old. Why? Because of the timeline, the Bible provides for its readers.
There are some that teach that there must be gaps in the timeline we read in Genesis 5; this is where we read how old the father is when his son is born. For instance, we read in Genesis 5:3 that Adam was 130 years old when he had Seth. Some would argue that Seth was perhaps Adam’s grandson or great-grandson, and not his son implying there are gaps in the timeline and perhaps names omitted from the record. I do not know of any documentation discovered with missing names in this timeline. Moses who is the author of the book of Genesis was a meticulous, and very careful writer who paid attention to extreme detail. He was one hundred percent honest in his presentation of the facts. His scholarship was impeccable – a great historian who was guided by the Holy Spirit (II Peter 1:21).
With that said, I will now present the Biblical Chronology in Genesis Chapter 5:
Adam begot Seth at 130 years old – vs. 3
Seth begot Enosh at 105 years old – vs. 6
Enosh begot Cainan at 90 years old – vs. 9
Cainan begot Mahalalel at 70 years old – vs. 12
Mahalalel begot Jared at 65 years old – vs. 15
Jared begot Enoch at 162 years old – vs. 18
Enoch begot Methuselah at 65 years old – vs. 21
Methuselah begot Lamech at 187 years old – vs. 25
Lamech begot Noah at 182 years old – vs. 28
Noah was 500 years when he begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth – vs. 32[1]
In Genesis 6:14-15 God commands Noah to build the ark because he is going to send a flood over all the earth. He told him to seal inside outside with pitch and provided the measurements: 300 cubits long (450 feet), 50 cubits wide (75 feet), and 30 cubits high (45 feet). A massive vessel even today. The length of the ark would be the length of 1.25 football fields today. The ark was the world’s first ocean liner; a huge wooden box that could float without capsizing.
It took one week for Noah, his family, and the animals to board the ark (Genesis 7:4).
In the 600th year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the rains came on the earth for forty days and nights (Genesis 7:12). The waters remained on the earth for 150 days – 5 months (Genesis 7:24).
God caused the wind to blow on the earth so the water could recede from the earth which began in the seventh month, and the seventeenth day of the month. The ark rested on top of Mount Ararat in modern day Turkey. The elevation of this mountain is about 17,000 feet above sea level or 3.2196 miles high. The waters continued to recede. By the tenth month and first day, the tops of the mountains could be seen (Genesis 8:5).
Forty days later, Noah opened the window of the ark and sent out a dove; the dove returned because it could not find anywhere to nest. He sent a raven out also which did not return to the ark. Two weeks later, Noah sends out the dove again, and it did not return because it had found a place to nest; the waters were continually abating from the earth.
In Noah’s 601st year, second month, twenty-seventh day of the month the entire earth is dry (Genesis 8:14).
In total Noah, and his family were in the ark for 378 days (One year, eighteen days).[2]
God covenanted with Noah by putting his rainbow in the sky promising never to destroy the earth with the waters of the flood (Genesis 9:14).
Noah died at 950 years old – 350 years after the flood (Genesis 9:29).
Some interesting facts
Adam lives long enough to see nine generations of his family. When Noah’s father Lamech was born, Adam was 874 years old. He would die 56 years later at 930 years old.[3] Noah was born 126 years after Adam’s death.
Lamech Noah’s father died five years before the flood and mostly likely helped build the ark. Noah was 595 years old at the time of his father’s death. Shem son of Noah was 93 years old. The year was 1651 YAC;287 years before the birth of Terah, father of Abraham, and 417 years before Abraham was born.
Methuselah was born in the year 687 YAC. He lived 969 years; the oldest man to ever live. The year he died is when the flood came – the year 1656.
Abram (later Abraham) was born thirty-two years after Noah’s death; 382 years after the flood. It was the year 2038 YAC. Shem the son of Noah who is the progenitor of the Semites, and the Messianic line lives to be 600 years old. He dies in 2158 YAC when Abraham is 120 years old. Abraham's son Isaac is 20 years old. This is 40 years before Jacob and Esau the twins are born. Shem lives long enough to see nine generations of his family. When Abraham was born, Shem is 480 years old. Shem dies 120 years later.
So, from the birth of Adam to the flood was 1,656 years[4] of human history or 1,656 YAC (years after creation). From the flood to the death of Noah was 350 years. In total, from creation to Shem’s death covers 2,158 years of human history (YAC).
By this time in history Adam our first father has been dead for 1,228 years.
[1] The author list Noah’s sons not by age, but by significance. Shem is listed first because he is the ancestor
Of Jesus Christ. He was the second born of his brothers. Japheth was first and Ham third. We see the same thing
With the sons of Terah: Abram, Nahor and Haran. Abram (renamed Abraham). Abraham is a direct ancestor of Christ, but he was born last of his brothers. Haran was most likely the oldest because he had 3 children already: Lot, Milchah, and Iscah (Genesis 11:27,29), then Haran, and then Abraham who was born when Terah was 130 years old.
[3] The life span of those patriarchs is literal, not symbolic. The reason people lived so long is that some have
Said the earth was protected by a water canopy (some sort of natural invisible shield) which prevented the
Sun’s ultraviolet rays from penetrating the earth allowing for very long life. When the rains came during the flood,
The canopy was destroyed shortening the life span dramatically after the flood.
[4] This figure comes from adding the age of the fathers when they had their sons above.
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