People in early Bible times lived a lot longer than we do today. For example, Adam lived 930 years (Genesis 5:5), Seth lived 912 years (Genesis 5:8), Enosh lived 905 years (Genesis 5:11), Kenan lived 910 years (Genesis 5:14), Mahalalael lived 895 years (Genesis 5:17), Jared lived 962 years (Genesis 5:20), Enoch lived 365 years before God took him up (Genesis 5:22–24), Lamech lived 777 years (Genesis 5:31), and Noah lived for 950 years (Genesis 9:29). However, the very oldest man in the Bible was Methuselah. He lived to be 969 years old (Genesis 5:27).

Not much is said about Methuselah except that he was the grandfather of Noah (Genesis 5:21–29). Methuselah's name could mean "man of the spear" or "his death shall bring." There is teaching outside of the Bible that says Methuselah's son was given a prophecy from God about Methuselah. This prophecy said that the flood would not occur until Methuselah's death. If this is true, his name would mean, "his death shall bring the flood."

This seems to be correct since Methuselah died the year of the flood according to the calculation of his son's and grandson's ages (Genesis 5:25–27; 7:6). Although this prophecy is not recorded in the Bible, it is interesting that the timing adds up. There is not much else we know about Methuselah, but he made history by being the oldest man in the Bible.