Bible Figure
Methuselah
oldest person in the Bible, Biblical Patriarch
Methuselah was the son of Enoch, the father of Lamech, and the grandfather of Noah. Genesis records that he lived 969 years, the greatest age explicitly attributed to any person in the Bible. His role is primarily genealogical, linking the generation of Enoch with the generation of Noah and the Flood.
Biography
Genesis 5 identifies Methuselah as the son of Enoch. He became the father of Lamech at the age given in the genealogy and later had other sons and daughters. His recorded lifespan of 969 years is the longest in the biblical genealogies. Through his son Lamech he became the grandfather of Noah. Scripture does not record particular deeds, sayings, or events from Methuselah's life, so attempts to construct a fuller biography go beyond the information supplied by the biblical text. His place in Scripture is chiefly within the genealogy that traces the human family from Adam through Seth to Noah.
Biblical Significance
Methuselah's significance is genealogical. He belongs to the line through which Genesis carries the story from creation and the fall toward Noah and the Flood. His extraordinary recorded longevity also contributes to the distinctive picture of the earliest generations in Genesis, while the absence of further narrative cautions against attaching unsupported traditions to him.