How many people were on Earth at the time of the Flood?
The general estimate by some scholars of about 750 million seems low in view of long life spans. Since a generation is 33.3 years, if a person lived to be say 777 years of age, their tenure on earth lasted long enough to have many first-generation children, as well as generations of grandchildren etc. The bible lists Noah with one wife and three sons and their wives who survived the flood, being a total of eight persons. Today, 7.6 billion people are the descendants of Noah and his three sons, Japheth, Shem and Ham. But we are not having ten or more children! At the time of the flood, however, the math is intriguing. The life-span of pre-flood patriachs (Adam through Noah) was 777 years to 969 years. Each of the patriachs is described as having other sons and daughters in addition to the ones mentioned in the bible. Therefore, each of them had at least ten children. Also, the patriarchs continued to have children when they themselves were 200 years of age and older. Josephus, the famous Jewish historian of the first century reported that Adam and Eve had 56 children, 33 sons and 23 daughters. Noah’s three known sons had at least 16 sons between them. Seven of the grandsons of Noah had at least 38 sons. After the flood, one could calculate an average of 10 or 11 children per family. This is a low estimate considering the high rate of longevity. There could easily have been a poplulation pre-flood of 10 trillion people! Zowie! That is a lot of wicked people! Realizing that there were only eight righteous people out of about ten trillion persons (Enoch and his city had already been taken from the earth), one might agree that the earth needed some cleansing. Hence, the analysis of historians that mankind were animal-like creatures residing inside of caves who first had to discover the thumb, then fire, before they could civilize themselves, is just plain silly. Plato’s “tale” of Atlantis lends itself more to truth than speculation. It seems reasonable that this grand city pre-dated the flood and that the legend of his disappearance was told down the ages. Surely the flood buried plains and mountains and great civilizations deep in the cavities of the earth. Yet, even unto this generation, mankind is just now beginning to discover underwater the footprints of the past. The idea that the Egyptians, descendants of Ham (who came after the flood) used thousands of slaves to haul things around and construct pyramids, seems to say “gosh, those people were dumb!” The Atlanta exhibit at the Civic Center of the tomb of King Tut displays some unusual creative talent. Among the treasures of the life-style of King Tut, were numerous cart and wheels, and notably, a miniature “gear” constructed of steel and perfect in every detail. Yet, the wisdom is that the Egyptians did not have gears, nor wheels, only slaves. Our generation is yet to find all of the pyramids or ancient cities of the earth, much less properly interpret and assign the proper era to that which is discovered. Which begs the question, do ideas, and the technological innovations of today exceed those of the past in ingenuity and brilliance, or, are we simply “catching up?” #ncgenealogy #northcarolinapioneers
