Man’s Lifespan … Gen. 6:3 vs. Psalm 90:10

Q

You have said, “According to Psalm 90:10 an average Biblical life span is 70 years, eighty if we are strong.” It stand in Gods Word and is therefore authentic. But God Himself said something different in Gen 6:3 “And Jehovah said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, in his erring; he is flesh. Yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.” As far as I know, no where in the Bible has God reversed these words. How do you reconcile this?

A

Since both statements are in the Bible they must both be correct, so one of them has to be referring to something else. A look at Bible history tells us that pre-flood lifespans were much longer than 120 years, and even after the flood, they remained so. Genesis 11:10-32 shows lifespans well above the 120 year mark, generations after the pronouncement of Genesis 6:3. For exmpe Abraham lived for 175 years (Genesis 25:7). His grandson Jacob lived to be 147 years old (Genesis 47:28).

Life spans decreased steadily after that until they finally leveled off in the 70-80 year range among the Jews where they’ve been for several thousand years. Until about a hundred years ago Gentiles have typically died at a much younger age. Today, even in countries where health is good, a man reaching 100 years of age is considered a rarity.

So then, what was God talking about in Genesis 6:3? Many scholars, myself included, feel that in Genesis 6:3 God was proclaiming a grace period of 120 years between His announcement of a coming judgment and its actual arrival. He was speaking of the Great Flood. This view seems to be confirmed by the context of Genesis 6 and eliminates the conflict between Genesis 6:3 and Psalm 90:10.