Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Markus Karzelek" <markus AT karzelek.com>]

Hi,
James C. Read wrote:
> [...] By Moses day people could expect to live to 70 years or if they were
> particularly strong up to 80 years. But such was not the case in Abram's
> day. Let's consider Genesis 11:32 where Abram is about to become the new
> family head:
> [...]
> This is how Aram started to get rich. Let's, for arguments sake, say that
> Sarah was between 50 and 70 at the time. Dividing by three that
> puts here in the 16-24 age bracket by modern standards. Nothing
> surprising about her being good looking there.

hm - you make a good point, but there are some verses which you overlooked:

let's take Gen 17,15ff as an example
+++++++++++++++++
 15 Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call
her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
 16 "I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will
bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come
from her."
 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will
a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is
ninety years old, bear a child?"
+++++++++++++++++

It seems like even in the times of Abraham a man being 100 years old was
really old and an 90 years old woman has had already her menopause. At
least, that's what I think this text suggests.

kind regards
Markus
--
Markus Karzelek
ul. sw. Jadwigi 12
50-266 Wroclaw
Poland