Abrahamic religions Judaism Several parts of the
Hebrew Bible, including the
Torah,
Joshua,
Job, and
Chronicles, mention individuals with very long lifespans, up to the 969 years of
Methuselah. The
Sefer haYashar narrates that all of the long-lived people belonged to a special class and that Methusaleh was the last member. Methusaleh also lived long enough to evangelize with his grandson Noah in the
antediluvian world.
Christianity Some Christian
apologists explain the extreme ages in the Hebrew Bible (or
Old Testament) as ancient mistranslations that converted the word "month" to "year", mistaking lunar cycles for solar ones: this would turn an age of 969 years into a more reasonable 969
lunar months, or about 78.3 solar years. Donald Etz says that the Genesis 5 numbers were multiplied by ten by a later editor. Both these interpretations introduce an inconsistency: they would mean that the ages of the first nine patriarchs at fatherhood, ranging from 62 to 230 years in the manuscripts, would then be transformed into an implausible range such as 5 to years. Others say that the first list, of only 10 names for 1,656 years, may contain generational gaps, which would have been represented by the lengthy lifetimes attributed to the patriarchs. Those
biblical scholars that teach
literal interpretation give explanations for the advanced ages of the early patriarchs. In one view, man was originally to have everlasting life, but as
sin was introduced into the world by
Adam, its influence became greater with each generation and God progressively shortened man's life. In a second view, before
Noah's flood, a "
firmament" over the earth () contributed to people's advanced ages. The Bible's own (brief) explanation for these ages approaches the question from a different angle, explaining instead the relative shortness of normal lives in (CSB): "And the Lord said, 'My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years. Conservative apologist
William Lane Craig believes that the longevity myths should be understood as 'mytho-history', where the ages of culturally significant figures were exaggerated to make a political or theological point. He points to similar practices found in neighboring cultures such as the
Babylonians and argues that both Hebrews and Babylonians were aware that human longevity was biologically unfeasible. Similar arguments were made by professor Robert Gnuse. Here are some more modern examples of Christian longevity claims: • is said to have lived in
Bivona, Italy, 1448–1578 (age ), according to the archive of Monastero di San Paolo in Bivona located in Palermo. • Around 1912, the
Maharishi of Kailash was said by missionary
Sadhu Sundar Singh to be a Christian hermit of over 300 years of age in a Himalayan mountain cave, with whom he spent some time in deep fellowship. Singh said the Maharishi was born in
Alexandria, Egypt, and baptized by the nephew of
St. Francis Xavier.
Islam Ibrahim (إِبْرَاهِيم) was said to have lived to years. His wife
Sarah is the only woman in the
Old Testament whose age is given. She died at 127 (). In the
Quran, Noah allegedly lived for 950 years with his people. According to 19th-century scholars, Abdul Azziz al-Hafeed al-Habashi (عبد العزيز الحبشي) lived 673–674 Gregorian years, or Islamic years, between 581 and 1276
AH (equivalent to 1185–1859 AD). In
Twelver Shia Islam,
Hujjat-Allah al-Mahdi is believed to currently be in
Occultation and still alive (age ).
Buddhism •
Vipassī, the twenty-second of
twenty-eight Buddhas, lived for either 80,000 or 100,000 years. In Vipassī's time, the longevity of humans was 84,000 years. •
Taṇhaṅkara, the first Buddha, lived for 100,000 years.
Falun Gong Chapter 2 of
Falun Gong by
Li Hongzhi (2001) states,
Hinduism • The
Hindu god
Rama is said to have ruled his kingdom
Ayodhya for 11,000 years by the time he died according to the
Ramayana. •
Rama's father
Dasharatha lived for more than 60,000 years according to the
Ramayana. •
Bhagiratha did
tapas for 1000
deva or god years (360,000 years in Human years) to please Ganga, to gain the release of his 60,000 great-uncles from the curse of saint
Kapila. So,
Bhagiratha lived for more than 360,000 years. • The
Hindu god
Krishna is said to have lived for 125 years and 8 months from 3228 BCE to 3102 BCE. According to
Hindu scriptures, the age of
Kali Yuga began after he ascended to his abode Vaikuntha. •
Ashwatthama, a hero of the
Mahabharatha, is said to be over 6,000 years old and still alive. •
Devraha Baba (died June 19, 1990) claimed to have lived for more than 900 years. •
Trailanga Swami reportedly lived in Kashi since 1737; the journal
Prabuddha Bharata puts his birth , corresponding to year 1529 of the
Shaka era (age ), upon his death in 1887.
Jainism Extreme lifespans are ascribed to the
Tirthankaras, for instance: •
Neminatha was said to have lived for over 10,000 years before his ascension. •
Naminatha was said to have lived for over 20,000 years before his ascension. •
Munisuvrata was said to have lived for over 30,000 years before his ascension. •
Māllīnātha was said to have lived for over 56,000 years before his ascension. •
Aranatha was said to have lived for over 84,000 years before his ascension. •
Kunthunatha was said to have lived for over 200,000 years before his ascension. •
Shantinatha was said to have lived for over 800,000 years before his ascension. •
Dharmanatha was said to have lived for over 2,500,000 years before his ascension. •
Anantanatha was said to have lived for over 3,500,000 years before his ascension. •
Vimalanatha was said to have lived for over 6,000,000 years before his ascension. •
Vasupujya was said to have lived for over 7,200,000 years before his ascension. •
Shreyansanatha was said to have lived for over 8,400,000 years before his ascension.
Sikhism •
Baba Sri Chand, the founder of
Udasi sect, was said to live 134 years. •
Baba Biram Das, an Udasi saint, is said to have lived for 321 years.
Taoism The term
xian refers to deified persons who have achieved immortality. The
Old Man of the South Pole is a common archetype and symbol for longevity.
Theosophy/New Age •
Mahavatar Babaji is said to be an "
Unascended Master" purportedly many centuries old (said to have been born as early as 203 AD) and is claimed to live in the
Himalayas. The
Hindu guru
Paramhansa Yogananda claimed to have met him and was supposedly one of his disciples. ==Premodern longevity claims==