A reader of Gospel Gazette Online wrote and asked, “Did Methuselah Die after the Universal Flood?” Methuselah was the grandfather of Noah, and he lived 969 years (Genesis 5:25-29). Genesis 5 provides the ages of the first 10 patriarchs, between and including the Adam and Noah, when their firstborn sons were born. Adding together the ages of those patriarchs when their firstborn sons were born provides, plus adding the 600 years that Noah lived before the flood occurred, shows that the age of the earth at the time of the flood was 1,656 years since creation.
Now, adding together the ages of the first seven patriarchs when their firstborn sons were born, through the father of Methuselah – Enoch, one learns that Methuselah was born in the year 687 since creation. Next, add the number of years that Methuselah lived – 969 years, and the result is 1,656 years since creation.
Hence, it becomes clear that Methuselah died the same year as the universal flood of Noah’s day. Some suppose that Methuselah died months before the great deluge occurred, whereas others wonder if, instead, Methuselah died in the flood. There is not enough biblical genealogy and chronology to determine whether Methuselah died in the year of the flood before it occurred, or whether he died in the flood with the rest of humanity – except the eight souls on Noah’s Ark (1 Peter 3:20). It is clear, though, that Methuselah did not survive the flood, and he died the year of the flood.
