[3] Overall, the ages display clear mathematical patterns, leading some people to conclude that number symbolism was used to construct them.
[6] Translations from the Masoretic Text are preferred by Western Christians, including Roman Catholics and Protestants and by followers of Orthodox Judaism, whereas the Greek version is preferred by Eastern Christians, including Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Ethiopic, Jacobite and Armenian.
"[10] This has led to speculation that a single original genealogical descent had diverged during independent transmission, only to be brought back together and put to different uses when the Book of Genesis was compiled from its Jahwist and Priestly sources.
[11][12] Following the Genesis flood narrative, a large multi-branched genealogy presents the descendants of the sons of Noah.
The numbers in the Masoretic, Samaritan, and Lucianic Septuagint versions of Genesis are shown in this table:[21] The following table lists the patriarchs that appear in the Vulgate and the Septuagint, but their names are spelled as they appear in the King James Version of the Bible.
Anno Mundi (AM, or 'in the year of the world') can be calculated by adding 2 to any given value in either the "Birth" or "Death" columns.
1According to most interpretations, including the New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews, Enoch did not die,[43][non-primary source needed] but was taken away by God (at an age of 365).
[45][non-primary source needed] The extra-biblical Book of Jasher also mentions that Noah was 502 years old when his wife Naamah bore Shem.
[46][non-primary source needed] The following table lists all the ages of the patriarchs from Adam to Moses in the Masoretic Text, which add up to 12,600.
[citation needed] The current formal usage of the Anno Mundi calendar era is implemented based on the calculations of Maimonides in Mishneh Torah (completed in AD 1178).
[48][non-primary source needed] It is the official method of calculating years for the Hebrew calendar currently in use.
Based on a calculation using the Masoretic Text recorded in the Seder Olam Rabbah (c 160 AD) of Rabbi Jose ben Halafta, the first five days of creation in Genesis were in Anno Mundi 1,[29] and the creation of Adam was on 1 Tishrei (Rosh Hashanah) in Anno Mundi 2[26][27] which corresponds to 3760 BC.
Years represented in Anno Mundi dates could be interpreted to be in alignment with Rosh Hashanah and are counted according to its annual occurrence.
Based on Noah being at least 500 years old when he began to beget children[55][non-primary source needed] and Noah's sons each having an age difference,[56][57][non-primary source needed] it is not uncommon to encounter chronologies that list Shem as being 98 years old when the flood began.
The three versions agree on some of the total ages at death, but many of the other numbers differ by exactly 100 years.
[71] There is one discrepancy between the antediluvian chronologies of different texts of the Septuagint - the age at which Methuselah gave birth to Lamech: 167 or 187 years.
[citation needed] The Priestly source illustrates history in Genesis by compiling the genealogy beginning with the "generations of the heavens and the earth" and continuing through Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac to the descendants of Jacob and Esau.
[73] Some versions of the latter (not including the oldest known version, where no flood is mentioned)[74] consist of a list of implausibly long-lived figures, followed by a flood, followed by a list of figures with long but gradually shortening lifespans that move into normal historical lengths.