Longevity has always fascinated man, it also has its place in the Bible. Although Methuselah is only mentioned in the Book of Genesis, his age is impressive. And it is from the name of this character that the terms Methuselah age and Methuselah years come from. We are looking more closely at Methuselah, and at the same time also at world record holders in terms of life expectancy.
Contents:
- Methuselah age - what does it mean?
- Methuselah (Methuselah) - who was he?
- Methuselah in culture
- Methuselah age - the longest-lived woman in the world
- Methuselah age - record breakers among men
Data on who actually lived the longest in history is never certain. We do not have information on all age-old people who walked the earth. Nevertheless, the French Jeanne Calment is most often mentioned, and the Oldest.org website, which specializes in such record holders, has its own registers of the oldest people.
Methuselah age - what does it mean?
The Methuselah age is simply extremely ancient years. Of course, it is difficult to clearly indicate when they start, but usually they are over 90 years old.
In addition, we will meet the terms metasalem years, as well as metasalem features - all of course mean the same, i.e. an impressive age that someone has managed to achieve. These interesting phraseologisms have their biblical origin, and more specifically the Book of Genesis.
Methuselah (Methuselah) - who was he?
We learn about Methuselah in the fifth chapter of the Book of Genesis. This Genesis passage is about the description of the first humans. Since Cain killed Abel and was condemned to wander as a punishment - in addition with an ugly mark on his body, a memento of his crime - the history of mankind could end in disgrace.
Fortunately, God was so kind that Eve gave birth to a third son - Set, in exchange for Abel. It is from Seth that all people come. It is true that the question of who his wife was remains open, but he gave rise to the Setite family.
The first people lived a long time anyway. According to the Book of Genesis, Adam himself lived to be 930 years. However, the real record holder was the aforementioned Methuselah, who reached the age of 969. When he was 187 years old, he gave birth to himbecame (!) the son of Lamech. As he reached the age of 782, it is estimated that the father and son died in one year.
Actually, this is all we know in Methuselah, or Methuselah (this name appears in the modern Polish translation from the original languages - the Millennium Bible).
A very interesting story, however, is related to Matuzalem's father, Henoch. As we read in the Book of Genesis:
"So Enoch lived in friendship with God, and then he disappeared because God took him away" (Genesis chapter 5 verse 24, Millennium Bible Edition 1990).
What does this mean exactly? An explanation can be found in a footnote - it concerns "the exclusion of a man of extraordinary perfection from the general law of death. Only Elijah has a similar privilege in Scripture".
And if we continue the topic of kinship, the ancient Methuselah was the grandfather of the well-known Noah. In fact, this is where the biblical story of the impressive "rankings" of life ends. People have become so corrupt that God sent a flood. Noah's descendants were no longer literally reaching the Methuselah age. The average human life span has remained the same as we know it today.
Methuselah in culture
The impressive age of Methuselah allowed this character to be remembered for good not only in language but also in culture.
The name Methuselah is also borne by the oldest long-lived pine specimen in the world growing in California. The record of the tree is estimated to be over 4,700 years!
Matuzalem can also be found in art and even role-playing games. A good example is "Vampire: The Masquerade", where Methuselahs are vampires who have lived over a thousand years.
From other curiosities - the Methuselah Foundation operates in the USA, supporting research on life extension. It awards the Methuselah Mouse Prize for good performance in the case of mice (in the hope that the results can be "extended" to humans).
The term "Methuselah" was even used by Bugs Bunny in the 1944 cartoon "The Old Gray Hare" - "So long, Methuselah!".
Methuselah age - the longest-lived woman in the world
122 years and 164 days - this is how long lived French Jeanne Louise Calment, considered to be the most long-lived person in history. Contrary to the legendary Methuselah, we know much more about her.
She was born on February 21, 1875 in Arles, France. In 1896, she married a we althy husband, which allowed her to enjoy her life to a large extent - enjoy the benefits of theater, opera, play tennis, ride a bicycle or learn fencing. But as you can guess, there was no shortage of worries - her only daughter died of pneumonia, and her husband …dessert made of rotten cherries made by Aunt Jeanne and for that reason he said goodbye to the world.
The long-lived French woman also outlived her only grandson, who died as a result of injuries sustained after a car accident.
At 90, Jeanne Calment had no one to leave her property with, so she struck a deal with attorney François Raffray. He was to pay her an annuity for the ownership of the house. He probably did not expect it to last more than 30 years, and to make it more interesting - he did not even live to see that moment, because he himself had died of cancer earlier. The pension was continued by his widow.
Sam Jeanne Louise Calment said goodbye to her life on August 4, 1997 - also in Arles.
Living her Methuselah age, Jeanne Calment gained great fame all over the world. She witnessed the turmoil of the 20th century, and even - in her childhood - she had the opportunity to meet Vincent van Gogh, who visited Arles. Unfortunately, she didn't remember him well. Apparently he was rude, and in addition ugly and sick.
Countrymen nicknamed Calment Jeanne d'Arles (after Joan of Arc), and President Jacques Chirac called her the grandmother of all French people after her death.
There is also a conspiracy theory in all of this. In 2022, the Russian mathematician Nikolai Zak expressed the opinion that Jeanne Calment died in 1934, and her daughter Yvonne was impersonated by her in order not to pay the inheritance tax …
Methuselah age - record breakers among men
Oldest.org collects information on longevity records in various categories. This also applies to people who have reached impressive age.
1. According to Oldest.org, the longest-lived man in history was Japanese Jiroemon Kimura, who lived 116 years and 54 days and died in 2013. The 2012 and 2013 editions of the Guinness Book of Records list him as the oldest person at the time. What was Kimura doing? During World War II, he worked in Korea as a communications employee of the Japanese government. Later, he got a job at the post office, and also worked in agriculture. Anyway, longevity is family with him. Four siblings have lived to be over 90 years old, and his younger brother has reached the "hundred".
2. The second person on the Oldest.org rankings is Danish Christian Mortensen, who lived in the United States. He lived 115 years and 252 days. Over the course of his long life, he did many things: sailing, working in a restaurant and factory, and even delivering milk.
3. Puerto Rican Emiliano Mercado del Toro closes the podium of longevity - he reached the age of 115 and 156 days. Main activities? Work on a sugar cane plantation until the age of 81. Interestingly, he didn'tneither wife nor children, although he did mention two great loves. He left his homeland only once - during World War I he served in the American army.
Here are the other people mentioned in the Oldest.org ranking :
4. W alter Breuning, American - 114 years and 205 days5. Yukichi Chuganji, Japanese - 114 years and 189 days 6. Joan Riudavets, Spaniard - 114 years and 81 days7. Fred Hale, Sr., American - 113 years 354 days8. Yisrael Kristal, an Israeli born in Poland - 113 years and 330 days9. Tomoji Tanabe, Japanese - 113 years and 274 days10. John Ingram McMorran, American - 113 years and 250 days
As you can see, Japan and the United States are in the lead in the top ten. The former country is always the home of a record number of centenarians.
Methuselah age - record holders among women
1. When it comes to long-lived women, the ranking was published, for example, on Titlemax.com. At the forefront we find, of course, the aforementioned Jeanne Calment. Statistically, ladies live longer than men, which can also be seen in the Methuselah ranking.
2. Second place, after Calment, is taken by the American Sarah Knauss, who lived 119 years and 97 days (died at the end of 1999). When she first heard that she is - at any given time - the longest-lived person in the world, she replied with a smile: "So what?"
Her recipe for longevity is, first and foremost, not to worry. Sounds smart!
3. The female podium is closed by the American Lucy Hannah (Née Terrell) with a result of 117 years and 248 days. She died in 1993, and it was only about 10 years after her death that her Methuselah age came to light. Because of this, we don't know much about her - except that in her youth she fled the southern United States from racial persecution (she was African-American) and settled in Detroit.
Other women who have reached their metamorphic years are over 117 years old:
4. Canadian Marie-Louise Fébronie Meilleur5. Japanese Nabi Tajima6. Jamaica Violet Brown7. Italian Emma Morano8. Japanese girl Misao Okawa