Forefather Methuselah, Forefather

Forefather Methuselah — son of Enoch, born when his father was 65 (Gen. 5:21). At age 187 he became the father of Lamech, the father of Noah — thus Methuselah is Noah's grandfather. After Lamech's birth he lived another 782 years. All the days of his life were 969 years (Gen. 5:27) — the longest lifespan mentioned in the Bible; his name has become a byword — "Methuselah's age" denotes exceptional longevity.

According to rabbinic tradition, Methuselah died in the very year the Flood began, seven days before its onset — tradition explains this as God's mercy, delaying the Flood for seven days of mourning for the righteous man. The meaning of the name itself is interpreted two ways: as "man of the spear/dart," or, more theologically, as a prophetic reference to the coming Flood ("at his death, [it] shall be sent," by one interpretation) — it is important not to confuse this name with the similarly-sounding Methushael of the line of Cain (Gen. 4:18), father of the Cainite Lamech — these are two different figures on separate, non-intersecting lines of descent (the Sethite and Cainite lines).

He is commemorated among the forefathers on the movable Sunday of the Holy Forefathers — the second Sunday before Nativity, when the Church prayerfully remembers all the righteous of the Old Testament, from Adam to Joseph the Betrothed.

NOTE: the surviving image caption ("Ferapontovo, 1502, painted by Venerable Dionisius the Iconographer") is genuine and refers to the authentic fresco cycle of the Nativity Cathedral of the Ferapontov Monastery, which includes images of the forefathers.