human lifespan - 120 years

If we look in our actuarial tables we find they only go up as far as 120 years.
Why 120? Anything to do with Genesis 6:3?

Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."

 

Amazing discovery

 

Genesis 19: 4-8

Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom--both young and old--surrounded the house. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof."

Yup that old testament sure said some interesting stuff.

 

This 120year lifespan seems to be a commonly accepted thing across all civilizations. Vedic astrology for example has the same 120year period defined.

There seems to be no scientific basis for this though, and the entire thing looks to have been based on .... absolutely nothing.

 

That must be why.

 

Interesting but very sad passage - can I ask why you quoted it? What do you think it means?

 

Of course you may. I quoted it because it was the first choice google gave me after searching, "Insane bible quotes genesis"

Not sure really I guess it depends. If the bible is a true story then it could mean people thousands of years ago were equally as sadistic as they are now. If the bible isn't a true story then it could mean people thousands of years ago were equally as funny as they are now.

 

OK Cubix that's fine. I'm just aware that there are dishonest people out there who set up websites and misquote scripture out of context to try and ridicule it.

Yes, people were just as (& if not more) depraved thousands of years ago, sadly. A poor example of being a father there by Lot, it must be said.

 

Anyway, going back to the original point - I think this is an interesting hypothesis raised by scarlets.

It could be that the tables stop at 120 because pretty much everyone is dead by then, so its all zeros after that.

Alternatively, it could be because those life table making actuaries like that first chapter of that old book you mentioned so much, and didn't worry too much about the actual numbers. (But didn't like the bit that refers to three score years and ten so much).

(Genesis is probably my favourite bit actually, so I could understand if they did that. The bit where he makes the world the sun and adam and eve (from a rib (?)), then later noah gets all the animals in his boat because g0d tries to kill everything else with a big flood - I love it when he gets angry.).

I wonder which one it is.

 

Maybe Adam and Eve were actuaries who originally created the actuarial tables!

 

120 also has the useful property that it is divisible by 1,2,3,4,5,6,8,10,12, and 15.

 

But people died much sooner than that in the past, so why go up to 120.

Also, quit sneering at scripture- it doesn't impress.

 

Maybe I misunderstood your point about the actuarial table - are you talking about tables from a very long time ago, or recent ones? Are you saying really old actuarial tables went up to 120, even though everyone died long before that? That would be interesting. Obviously current tables would reflect recent mortaility experience, where a statistically significant number of people live beyond 100 (but probably not 120).

Btw, I wasn't sneering - those are my favourite bits of the book you mentioned. It wasn't intended to impress you.

 

They didn't. Halley's table of the Breslau experience went up to 84 (with only a summary figure for deaths beyond this age), the famous Northampton Table (compiled in 1783 and used into the twentieth century, no small feat for a table based on two English provincial towns!) ran up to 96, and the Equitable life table covering experience 1768-1825 ran up to 97. The Combined Experience table, the first British combined office experience investigation went to 99. The American Experience Table, published in 1868, also ran up to 95. The first English Life Table went to 104, but ELT2-6 stuck to 100. ELT15 runs to 109 for males...