Trivia Question: Who was the oldest man that ever lived?
Answer: Methuselah, 969 years, Genesis 5:27
That is a very popular trivia question in Bible trivia games, memory lessons for kids, etc. It may be inaccurate however as Methuselah is only the oldest man recorded in the Bible. We don't know a whole lot about Cain and his decendants and how long they were living...so a better question might be, "Who in the Bible lived on Earth the longest?"
In any case, how does a 969-year-old man die? Did his family kill him because they ran out of birthday candles? Did he slip on the ice? Perhaps a lion got the best of him. Although the Bible doesn't tell us for sure, I think we can have a pretty accurate guess of what happened to Methuselah. To gain insight into his possible death, you must look at his decendants as recorded in Genesis 5:
1) When Methuselah was 187, he gave birth to Lamech (5:25)
---Methuselah is now 187 years old
2) When Lemech was was 182, he gave birth to Noah (5:28)
---Methuselah is now 369 years old
3) When Noah was 600, the flood began (7:6)
---Methuselah is now 969 years old
The exact same year Noah and his family entered the ark and the flood waters came and wiped out the Earth, Methuselah died. It is possible that Methuselah died earlier that year and didn't have to face the flood, but I'd say it is more than just a coincidence and the old man went down with the sea.
So the next time you hear a trivia question about the oldest man, you can counter with the manner in which he died.
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