Biblical Lifespans: Adam to Christ

Septuagint (LXX) Chronology
c. 5508 BC (Adam) — AD 33 (Crucifixion)

The same lifespan scatter plot using the Septuagint's expanded begetting ages from Genesis 5 and 11, including the second Cainan (Luke 3:36). Birth years shift earlier; some post-Flood lifespans differ from the Masoretic Text.

LXX vs. Masoretic — what changes in this chart: Birth years shift significantly earlier (Adam at 5508 BC vs. 4004 BC). The pre-Flood lifespans remain the same except Lamech (753 vs. 777). Post-Flood lifespans differ in several cases. An additional generation — Cainan (son of Arpachshad) — appears, confirmed in Luke 3:36. From Abraham onward, the two traditions converge.
The Methuselah problem (LXX): In the Masoretic Text, Methuselah dies precisely in 2348 BC — the year of the Flood. But the standard LXX figures place his birth at 4221 BC with the same 969-year lifespan, giving a death date of 3252 BC — fourteen years after the Flood (3266 BC). This is a well-known textual difficulty. Some LXX manuscripts resolve it by reading Methuselah's begetting age as 187 (matching the MT) rather than 167, which would place his death at the Flood. The discrepancy is one of the key arguments in the Masoretic-vs-Septuagint chronology debate.
Pre-Flood · Genesis 5 LXX

Same Lifespans, Earlier Dates

The LXX adds ~100 years to most begetting ages, pushing birth years back without changing total lifespans — except Lamech (753 in LXX vs. 777 in MT). Notably, the standard LXX figures place Methuselah's death 14 years after the Flood — a known textual difficulty (see note above).

Genesis 5:1–32 (LXX)
Post-Flood · Genesis 11 LXX

Cainan & Expanded Ages

The LXX includes Cainan between Arpachshad and Shelah (confirmed by Luke 3:36) and gives slightly higher lifespans for several post-Flood patriarchs — Arpachshad 535 (MT: 438), Eber 504 (MT: 464).

Genesis 11:10–32 (LXX) · Luke 3:36
Patriarchs · Genesis 12–50

Convergence from Abraham

From Abraham onward, the LXX and MT largely agree on both lifespans and internal chronology. The absolute dates differ by about 1,500 years, but the pattern is the same.

Genesis 25–50
Leaders & Kings

Identical in Both Traditions

Moses (120), Joshua (110), David (70) — from the Exodus onward, the LXX and MT record the same lifespans. The chronological framework is essentially identical.

Deut 34:7 · 1 Kings 2:11
Approximate BC dates derived from Septuagint begetting ages (Byzantine chronology, Adam ≈ 5508 BC).
Lifespans from LXX Genesis 5, 11; later books same as Masoretic. ✦ = taken by God, not death.
◇ = LXX-only generation (Cainan). Kings' lifespans from accession age + reign length.