1 How old was Adam? by Tom Croucher Author of Adam: The first human? (Page numbers mentioned refer to the above book) Email: tomcroucher49@gmail.com ABSTRACT In the first two papers of this series, I developed the following propositions: Adam was not the first human, and he lived in Sumer, Southern Mesopotamia, in the period 3200 – 3000 BC. In this paper I use those conclusions to place the early chapters of Genesis in their Sumerian context and I propose that the original written record of Adam was a Sumerian document where the ages that appear in Genesis 5 were recorded in a numbering system of that time, and this led to translation errors that result in the problematic ages of the patriarchs. I then propose a means of reverse-engineering the ages to the correct numbers when these events were first recorded in Sumer. The conclusion is that Adam was 81 years old when he died. INTRODUCTION As identified in the previous paper, a literal acceptance of the numbers in Genesis 5 leads to irreconcilable problems (in the Masoretic and the Septuagint texts) including: people living to almost one thousand years, the derived date for the Flood not matching any geological dates for such a flood, young men becoming parents at one fourteenth of their lifespan. Today, if a male becomes a parent in their twenties, it is one quarter or one fifth of their lifespan. If we assume that Adam lived in Sumer, Southern Mesopotamia, around 3200 – 3000 BC, then we know what level of writing was possible and we know the state of the numbering systems. This provides a context for understanding Genesis. A careful reading of the genealogies in Genesis reveals two very interesting features: • The similarities with the Sumerian King List. • The unusual feature of the last digit of the ages in Genesis 5. These two observations are key issues supporting the revision of the ages stated in Genesis. Similarities with the Sumerian King List (SKL) After the kingship descended from heaven the kingship was in Eridug, at Eridug Alulim became king he ruled 28,800 years Alalĝar ruled 36,000 years Two kings they ruled 64,800 years Eridug was overthrown the kingship to Badtibira passed, at Badtibira Enmenluana ruled 43,200 years Enmengalana ruled 28,800 years Dumuzid the shepherd ruled 36,000 years Three kings they ruled 108,000 years Badtibira was overthrown the kingship was established at Larak, at Larak Ensipadzidana ruled 28,800 years One king he ruled 28,800 years Larak was overthrown the kingship passed to Sippar, At Sippar Enmendurana was king; and ruled for 21,000 years One king he ruled 21,000 years