Methuselah

 

All anyone can really say about Methuselah is he was Noah's grandfather and was really, REALLY old when he died.

According to the Book of Genesis, Methuselah lived 969 years, assuming folks before the flood counted them like we do.

Beyond his age, we don't know much about the old guy. (Despite Anthony Hopkins' portrayal of the patriarch in Darren Aronofsky's Noah [2014]). We know he did what biblical patriarchs did -- had sons and daughters. Probably many of them in addition to Noah's father over all of those years.

We don't know if Methuselah was a herdsman or a farmer, or if he was a good companion and parent, whether he was a loyal friend, gave honest counsel, was a joy to be around.

Folks assume Methuselah was a good person because he was granted so many years, but I don't think that's a safe assumption. Old people can be pretty ornery, but let's be charitable and say Methuselah was a decent fellow.

I can imagine Methuselah figuring out a thing or two about life over his 9 1/ 2 centuries. Stuff like ...

Chew your food well.

Walk slower.

Choose your words with care.

Spend your time wisely.

Give away what you can't use or don't need.

Leave before you're asked to.

Give no one reason to regret knowing you.

I've been granted 60-plus years so far and have finally gathered how important these very things are. An aging body has a way of getting the message across.