As old as Methuselah
Extremely old
When he died, Methuselah was no longer in his prime, as we learn from the Book of Genesis, which provides this account:
When Methuselah was one hundred eighty-seven years old, he became the father of Lamech. After the birth of Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred eighty-two years and became the father of sons and daughters[1]. The total length of Methuselah’s life was nine hundred sixty-nine years, and then he died.
He was the grandfather of Noah, who was the last of the pre-Flood patriarchs to live a very long life[2], God having then decided that the average human lifespan would no longer be more than one hundred and twenty years.
Still, since that good old Methuselah lived to be 969 years old, it is easy to understand why he served as a reference in an expression like ours.
The least we can say in his favor is that he was still in remarkably good health for his age, the old devil!
Let us not forget that Adam himself lived to be 930 years old, and Noah to 950. I can’t imagine the number of family members who must have been invited to the final birthdays of these patriarchs!
We spoke very highly of the virtues of this Colonel Bozzo-Corona; the press lavished daily praises on him that resembled the paid advertisements of certain medical shops. He was as old as Methuselah, and that increased respect. Yet, a few vague doubts hovered around this charitable glory.
Paul Féval – The Black Garb – 1863
It is worth noting, as a bit of trivia, that one version of the Bible contains a glaring error, as the date of Methuselah’s birth would mean he died after the Flood ().
However, the latter left nothing alive on Earth, and according to our latest information, he was not registered as a passenger aboard the Ark.
Marylena