Methuselah and Date Night

 

Methusaleh Date Tree

You may know the expression "as old as Methuselah" which refers to the reputed oldest person mentioned in the bible. In Genesis He iis mentioned briefly in Genesis 5 as having died at the age of 969, and for that cameo appearance he is revered as a biblical patriarch and a figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It pays to live a good long life.

Methuselah is also the name of a tree which has much greater longevity than the biblical figure, at least from its seed form. Researchers have successfully grown a handful of date seeds from fruit that ripened around the time of Jesus The seeds, dubbed Adam, Jonah, Uriel, Boaz, Judith and Hannah, and yes, Methuselah were among many others discovered at archaeological sites in the Judean desert. They have managed to do this before, but it is Methusaleh I find impressive. 

Ya, I know you're thinking that being as old as Methuselah I've become a biblical archeology nerd and I have a warped concept of "date night." I do find some of these ancient finds fascinating and in a way they bring the ancient world to life. I visited Israel several times and each trip reminded me that he was an actual person who lived in a particular context. It was powerful. 

Now, do you figure that "Jesus Divine Dates" will be coming to a specialty store near you? 

Russell Crowe as Noah and Anthony Hopkins as Methuselah in Noah film