Methuselah

And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech.
And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:
And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
-- Genesis 5: 25-27 (KJV)

Though only Methuselah is still renowned in phrase and fable, other prehistoric biblical figures are no slouches, either. Sure, Methuselah lived a stunning 969 years, but a certain Jared racked up 962, and Methuselah's grandson Noah was already 500 when he began fathering offspring. Several other figures lived to be over 900.

It is the "Priestly" author (P) who is responsible for calculating these prodigious life spans down to the year. He seems to have relied in some cases on various numerological principles (Enoch lived 365 years, Lamech 777, etc.), but, whatever his reasons, P's numbers don't add up at all.

References in English to Methuselah's longevity first appeared in the fourteenth century, while the saying "as old as Methuselah" dates to Thomas Shelton's 1620 translation of Cervantes's Don Quixote. But it was only in the 20th century that the name "methuselah" was given to a massive wine bottle, holding eight reputed quarts, or 225 fluid ounces. Put away a couple of those, and you won't even see your next birthday.

(We'll learn more about biblical names for oversize wine bottles in the forthcoming entry, "A Jeroboam.")

 
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Michael Macrone is Associate Site Producer of GraceCom and the author of nine books on language, literature, and ideas, including the best-selling Brush Up Your Shakespeare!