Abraham's Age

In proposing the view of Genesis  1-11 that I prefer, which is to interpret it as a proto-history with strong figurative elements, I tend to focus on fantastical elements in the narrative that seem to be (a) not the result of God’s miraculous agency and (b) that occur without explanation or surprise in the narrative.  So while I accept the possibility and reality of miracles, I think that when these elements are present that we have strong evidence that we’re in a figurative genre.  Take the dragons in the book of Revelation, for instance.  They are fantastical, do not seem to be the result of a miraculous action of God, and just seem to be a part of the narrative world.  This, along with common sense and a comparative literature analysis, shows that the Apostle John is not committed to the actual existence of dragons.

One element of the Genesis 1-11 proto-history that seems to exemplify these characteristics is the fantastic ages of the patriarchs, hitting close to 1,000 year lifespans.  It’s a natural argument to take these ages as suggestive of a figurative genre.  But there’s a problem with this.  I think, starting in Genesis 12, that the genre switches to straightforward historical narrative.  Yet the long life spans, though diminished, remain.  Abraham lives to be 175 years of age.  Isaac lives to be 180 years of age.  Jacob lived to be 147 years of age.  This is less fantastic than Methuselah’s 969 years, but still fantastic.  Moreover, these ages seem to exemplify both (a) and (b) above - so does this not show that Genesis 12 and onward are also partially figurative-history?  The author of Genesis would have known that these ages were fantastic - see Psalm 90:10.

One option is to take these numbers to refer to the “corporate personality” around the individuals.  So it’d be that each individual has a clan, or immediate family, or household, that lives beyond the man and are the actual target for the long lifespans.  So it isn’t that Abraham himself lived to be 175, but his household or clan or immediate family.  Though I do like this option, I’m still not sure.

Others have seen highly symbolic meanings contained within the ages.  There have been arguments that the listed ages of the patriarchs follow some sacred and intentional, but obscure, pattern.  Arguments for this position include a careful analysis of the frequency with which the ages occur and the factorization they exhibit, which seems to be based on numbers understood in the Ancient Near East to be special and significant.  Others have taken it that there might be multipliers at work, wherein the person's actual age is multiplied by some significant number (Kenneth Kitchen).  Perhaps the author is trying to convey some sort of theological meaning with the ages. But doesn’t this option open the floodgate and let symbolic elements creep into the narrative after chapter 12?  Wouldn’t this justify a rejection of chapters 12-50 as straightforward history?

Perhaps to some extent.  There are figurative elements in the text, even after chapter 11.  But that’s not too surprising - genres can contain subgenres.  Luke is overwhelming an historical narrative, but contains parables.  Should we therefore classify Luke as a parable?  Nah.   So even if there are figurative elements after chapter 11, it still remains the case that there is a significant genre switch starting in chapter 12, per WLC’s and other’s arguments.

Besides, admitting figurative elements in these later chapters does not endanger the historicity of the miracles mentioned therein, such as the floating pot that sealed the covenant.  For the floating pot, though fantastic, fails to satisfy (a) and (b), and thus seem to be intended by the author as an historical event.

One potentially potent objection to this line of reasoning is the purported explanation given in Genesis 6:3 itself for the patriarch's long lifespans.  I'll let McLatchie answer: One may object to the arguments adduced here that God, in Genesis 6:3, shortly before the deluge, stated that from henceforth man’s lifespan would be limited to 120 years: “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” Many take this to suggest that the ages before this point were typically more than this. This interpretation of Genesis 6:3, however, runs into problems given that the individuals listed in Genesis 11 (and even individuals described later on in Genesis, such as Abraham) are said to have lived for much more than 120 years. Another very plausible interpretation of this text, though, is that God was giving a countdown until the flood — that is, God was announcing that the deluge would take place in 120 years.