In today’s episode, I want to consider whether it’s a good idea to use the genealogies in the Bible to prove the age of the Earth.

Young Earth creationists believe that they can estimate the age of the Earth by using the genealogies in the Bible to count backward to Adam and Eve.

Terry Mortenson, a leading Young Earth creationist, says that “The genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11 give us the years from Adam to Abraham, who virtually all scholars agree lived about 2000 BC. This sets the date of creation at approximately 6,000 years ago.”[1]

Unfortunately for Young Earth creationists, there are two glaring problems with these genealogies. The first problem is that the genealogical lists in Genesis 5 and 11 are too short to account for the time humans have been on earth. The second problem is that the extraordinarily long lifespans of the men, especially in Genesis 5, are not biologically possible.

At the outset, I should note that the Bible does not tell us the age of the Earth. And attempts to prove the age of the Earth from its genealogies are wrongheaded because the genealogies do not function as time markers. The purpose of the genealogies is primarily to show lineage. What do I mean?

Bible scholars and historians have shown that the Hebrews and other societies in the Ancient Near East took great care to preserve their family history by compiling genealogical lists. The purpose of this preservation was to maintain their status in the community. The legitimacy, authority, and prestige of kings, priests, administrators, military, and clan leaders were bolstered by records that proved their lineage. In addition to helping legitimize social status, genealogies could be used to prove and protect legal rights, especially for property ownership.

The genealogies are records of the pedigree and ancestry of important people. Think about Jesus’ pedigree. Jesus is repeatedly called the Son of David, King of Israel. Matthew’s gospel traces Jesus’ pedigree back to King David to show the legitimacy of the claim that Jesus is king.

Some Bible scholars take a different approach when it comes to the genealogies. In an attempt to explain the archeological evidence for the presence of homo sapiens on Earth for at least 100,000 years, they propose gaps in the genealogies. They say that the Hebrew word yalad, meaning “to give birth or beget,” may refer to the begetting of grandchildren or great-grandchildren, allowing for gaps and missing names in the genealogical records.

The problem with this approach is that to account for the missing years, the gaps between names would be so great that they would render the genealogies meaningless. We’re not talking about a few missing names or generations. To account for 100,000 years of human history, the genealogies would have to have enormous gaps. And because the purpose of the genealogies is to show direct lineage, such huge gaps or missing names would weaken such claims.

Christians who use the genealogies in the Bible to calculate time are using them incorrectly because the genealogies are not chronological records. They are records of lineage and ancestry that legitimize, protect, and advance the status of rulers and heads of clans. The main argument against using the lists to prove the age of the Earth is that they were not designed to calculate chronology.

Now, you might protest this point, saying, “Hey, wait a minute. These lists show chronology because they record each person’s age at the time of death. This sure sounds like chronology to me.”

Here, too, Young Earth creationists make a mistake. Human biology prevents us from living much more than 100 years. Our cells have about a 100-year limit for how long they can reproduce. After about 100 years, our cells stop dividing and die or enter a non-functional state. We certainly cannot live for 700 or 800 years because our cells have a limit for how long they can reproduce and repair themselves. Lifespans of hundreds of years are simply not biologically possible.

Faced with the inability of humans to live far beyond 100 years, some Christians propose a theory that God created Adam and Eve with nearly perfect genomes. These nearly perfect bodies allowed them to live for hundreds of years. Adam’s sin, however, brought a curse. Because of Adam’s sin, God cursed the Earth, bringing genetic entropy to all life on Earth. Because of sin and the curse, humans experience harmful mutations and genetic deterioration, which decreases our lifespans. The Antediluvians, people who lived before the flood, are said to have lived longer because they lived closer to Adam’s original, more perfect genetic state.

There is, however, no evidence that humans once had nearly perfect genetics. And if this theory were true, genetic entropy would have already wiped out the human race. The truth is that genetic entropy is not happening. We are not on a path to biological extinction. People are living longer lives today than in previous generations. As a theory, genetic entropy cannot explain why the antediluvians had such long lives.

So, how do we explain the long ages of those who lived before Noah’s flood?

The explanation is that the extraordinarily long lives of the antediluvians are not actual history. The long ages are stated for theological and literary purposes. The writers of these genealogies attribute such long lives to the antediluvians to highlight their societal status and importance. This is not actual history, but a story with a literary and theological purpose. Their long lives show that they had God’s blessings.

Such descriptions of extraordinarily long lives function as a type of memorial that elevates the person’s status and shows that they enjoyed God’s favor. Historians call this literary technique heroic idealization.

Heroic idealization is the literary technique of elevating the status of an individual by exaggerating their virtues, bravery, achievements, and wealth. Although such exaggerations may reflect historical circumstances, such descriptions are hyperbolic and should not be considered literally or historically factual.

Job, for example, is described as

blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. (Job 1:1-3)

God allows Satan to take everything Job has and afflict him with disease. At the end of the story, we are told that

the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He had also seven sons and three daughters… there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters… And after this, Job lived 140 years (Job 42:12-16).

Believing that this description of Job is a literal, factual description stretches credulity.

In the same way, the extraordinarily long lives of the antediluvians should not be considered historically factual. The writer is giving these long lifespans to serve a theological and literary purpose, not a historical record.

When challenged to think deeply about these issues, some well-meaning Christians will ask what difference it makes to their salvation or their walk with Jesus.

It may not make any difference to them, but what about the millions of inquisitive young people who are seeking answers to these questions? Often, they are told, “You can either believe God or you can believe science.” This is a false choice, and those who say such things will have to answer to God for the consequences because, unfortunately, when faced with scientific evidence, many young people are turning their backs on the church.

When a young person goes to college and studies geology or astronomy, they are presented with overwhelming evidence for an old Earth. If they study archeology, they learn that humans have been on the planet for at least 100,000 years. And if they study biology or geriatrics, they are given biological and genetic evidence that our bodies cannot live for hundreds of years.

When Christian young people seek answers about these issues, we should not tell them to choose between science and the Bible because this false choice leaves them with a dilemma and turns them away from the Church. All truth is God’s truth. We can believe the Bible and science.

So, while the answer to these questions may not affect your spiritual life, it does affect the spiritual life of young people who are seeking the truth.

Our task as Bible-believing Christians is to accept the fact that the Bible is not a history book or a book about science. The Bible is a book about God. We must stop forcing the Bible to be something it is not. When we stop trying to force the Bible to answer questions about human biology or the age of the Earth, we will begin to read the Bible the way the authors intended—as a book about God. We have a book that tells us about a great God who loves us and sent Jesus to deliver us from our sins. We have a book that can free people from sin and give them life. Let’s not turn it into something that rational, intelligent people cannot believe.

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[1] Terry Mortenson, “Young-Earth Creationist View Summarized and Defended,” Answers in Genesis, February 16, 2011, https://answersingenesis.org/creationism/young-earth/young-earth-creationist-view-summarized-and-defended/. Accessed April 1, 2026.