T 42 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I saw the thread on it and couldn't be bothered. That's odd. He thinks the same of yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number Six Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 How did this thread turn in to a discussion of Robin Hood? Does anyone think people actually lived hundreds of years? If not, there isn't much to discuss. The bible is wrong. Hold the front page. (not that the OT is a 'proper' bit of the bible according to Grahame's signature) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cressida Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 There is no solid evidence (that I'm aware of) to explain how those ridiculous figures were arrived at. Some people believe that the writers of Genesis were counting people's lifespans in lunar months, not solar years - that would mean that Methuselah only lived to be about 78, rather than 969. Prior to their exile in Babylon, it's not clear whether the Jews had any concept of a calendar year or not, and it was during that exile that the earliest parts of Genesis were written. The Babylonians made a big thing of the lunar month - the Hebrew word Sabbath comes from the Babylonian "Sappatu" meaning the full moon festival. The also provided the Jews with the seven-day week - for which the Jewish priests had to invent a reason that had nothing to do with Babylonian gods - and with the tale of the worldwide flood. (The Tigris-Euphrates valley did suffer an enormous flood in the period after civilisation developed but before writing was invented - and to the Babylonians, of course, that valley was "the whole world.") I agree, they didn't have the calendar as we know it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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