What is the definition of antediluvian?

Answer

Antediluvian (literally, “before the flood”) refers to the time period before the flood recorded in Genesis 6—8. The righteous individuals who lived before Noah’s time are referred to as antediluvian patriarchs. These individuals are listed in Genesis 5 and include Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Enoch, and Methuselah, who lived to be 969 years old, making him the oldest person on record. The term antediluvian has also come to signify “extremely old” or “out-of-date.”

We learn from the genealogies listed in Genesis 1—6 that people lived significantly longer in antediluvian times than they do in the present day. Adam, the first man, lived to be 930 years old «and all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. », (Genesis 5:5). His son Seth lived to be 912 «and all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died. », (Genesis 5:8). The duration of the antediluvian period, based on the genealogies, was approximately 1,656 years.

A significant shift in human behavior took place during the antediluvian period: “Men began to call on the name of the LORD” «And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.», (Genesis 4:26). This event is associated with the birth of Seth and subsequently his son Enosh, indicating that, with the birth of Enosh, the descendants of Seth started to distance themselves from the wickedness prevailing in the world around them and were recognized as individuals who worshiped the Lord. Nevertheless, the overall trend of humanity was one of spiritual decline. By the start of chapter 6, “The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of t

The thoughts of the human heart were only evil all the time” (verse 5).

The antediluvian era was also the time of the Nephilim. These were “heroes of old, men of renown,” who were the offspring of an unholy union between the “sons of God and the daughters of men” «There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. », (Genesis 6:4). Whatever the exact nature of the Nephilim, they were one of the reasons God destroyed everything with a flood. Noah and his wife were not of the Nephilim race and therefore could repopulate the earth as God intended it to be.

Jesus alluded to the antediluvian period when He predicted signs of His second coming: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:37-39).

The antediluvian period was unique in human history—a time of long life spans and bodies that were near perfection. Adam lived through more than half of the antediluvian days and was presumably available to recount firsthand accounts of Eden to anyone interested enough to listen. But it didn’t take long for wickedness to grow to such an extent that God had to destroy it all. After the flood, God promised Noah that He would never again flood the entire earth. The symbol of that promise was a rainbow (Genesis 9:12-17). That first rainbow signified the end of the antediluvian era.

and demonstrated God’s great mercy by giving humanity another opportunity to know Him. Every rainbow since then serves as a continual reminder of God’s grace.