Methuselah (Hebrew: מְתוּשֶׁלַח / מְתוּשָׁלַח, Modern Metušélaħ / Metušálaħ Tiberian Məṯûšélaḥ / Məṯûšālaḥ ; "Man of the dart/spear", or alternatively "his death shall bring judgment") is the man reported to have lived the longest at the age of 969 in the Hebrew Bible. Extra-biblical tradition maintains that he died on the 11th of Cheshvan of the year 1656AM (Anno Mundi, after Creation), seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood. Methuselah was the son of Enoch, the father of Lamech, and the grandfather of Noah.

In the Bible

Methuselah is mentioned in one passage in the Hebrew Bible, Genesis 5:21–27, as part of the genealogy linking Adam to Noah. The genealogy is repeated, without the chronology, at 1Chronicles 1:3, and at Luke 3:37. The following is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

The verses are available in three manuscript traditions, the Masoretic, the Septuagint and the Samaritan Torah. The three traditions do not agree with each other. The differences can be summarized as follows:

Methuselah is a 7003484700000000000♠4,847-year-oldGreat Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) tree growing high in the White Mountains of Inyo County in eastern California. For many years it was the world's oldest known living non-clonal organism, until superseded by the discovery in 2012 of another bristlecone pine in the same area with an age of 7003506500000000000♠5,065 years (germination in 3050 BC).

Geography

Methuselah is located between 2,900 and 3,000 m (9,500 and 9,800 ft) above sea level in the "Methuselah Grove" in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest within the Inyo National Forest. Its exact location has not been publicly disclosed.

Status as oldest known tree

Methuselah was 4,789 years old when sampled (likely in 1957) by Edmund Schulman and Tom Harlan, with an estimated germination date of 2833 BC. Methuselah was for many years considered the world's oldest living tree, until 2012 when an older bristlecone pine was discovered and later announced in 2013.

Other ancient trees

Methuselah, a Biblical figure, was known for living a long time. Methuselah may also refer to:

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