וַיִּהְיוּ֙ כָּל־יְמֵ֣י מְתוּשֶׁ֔לַח תֵּ֤שַׁע וְשִׁשִּׁים֙ שָׁנָ֔ה וּתְשַׁ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיָּמֹֽת׃ (פ)
און אַלע טעג פֿון מתושֶלַחן זײַנען געװען נײַן הונדערט יאָר און נײַן און זעכציק יאָר; און ער איז געשטאָרבן.
Ramban
AND THE DAYS OF ADAM AFTER HE BEGOT SETH WERE EIGHT HUNDRED YEARS. Because of the long lives of these first men, Scripture states their ages before they begot children and also afterwards, and then sums them all up in the end until the generations which followed the flood.
The reason for their longevity is that the first man, the handiwork of the Holy One, blessed be He, was made in absolute perfection as regards beauty, strength, and height. Even after it was decreed upon him that he be mortal, it was in his nature to live a long time. But when the flood came upon the earth, the atmosphere became tainted, and as a result their days kept on decreasing. Until the flood, their days were about the length of Adam’s; some even lived longer than Adam.480Jered lived 962 years (Verse 20), and Methuselah lived 969 (Verse 27) while Adam lived 930 years (Verse 5). And Shem [Noah’s son], who was born before the flood, lived six hundred years;481Genesis, 11:10-11. he benefitted from his innate strength, but the tainted air after the flood caused him harm, [hence he died at a younger age than that attained by the preceding generations]. The days of his sons who were born after the flood were still more shortened until they came down to four hundred years.482Ibid., Verses 10-17. You can see that this degree of longevity remained with them until the generation of the Dispersion, when the change of climates caused by the Dispersion affected them, and their days were again shortened. Thus you find that the life of Peleg, in whose days the earth was divided,483Ibid., 10:25. came down to half their days, i.e., two hundred years.484Ibid., 11:19.
It would appear that in the generations of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, people lived seventy and eighty years, just as Moses, our teacher, mentioned in his prayer.485Psalms 90:10. The days of our years are threescore years and ten, or even by reason of strength fourscore years. But as for the righteous ones in their generations, The fear of the Eternal prolongeth days486Proverbs 10:27. for them. For Pharaoh wondered about Jacob’s old age, and Jacob in turn spoke to him about the long days of his fathers, even as he said, And they have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.487Genesis 47:9.
Now what the Rabbi488Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam). See above, Note 139. has written in the Moreh Nebuchim489II, 47. does not seem right to me, namely, that the longevity was only in those individuals mentioned, while the rest of the people in those generations lived lives of ordinary natural length. He further said that this exception was due to the mode of living and food of such people or by way of a miracle. But these are words without substance. Why should this miracle have happened to them since they were neither prophets nor righteous, nor worthy that a miracle be done for them, especially for generation after generation. And how could a proper mode of living and proper food prolong their years to the extent that they are so many times greater than that of the entire generation? It is possible that there were also others who observed such a mode of living, in which case all or most of them should have attained similar longevity. And how did it happen that enough of the wisdom concerning this good mode of living did not come down to just one of all the sons of Noah after the flood [to enable him to match the longevity of his ancestors], for there was among them a little wisdom of their ancestors even though it steadily decreased from generation to generation?
The reason for their longevity is that the first man, the handiwork of the Holy One, blessed be He, was made in absolute perfection as regards beauty, strength, and height. Even after it was decreed upon him that he be mortal, it was in his nature to live a long time. But when the flood came upon the earth, the atmosphere became tainted, and as a result their days kept on decreasing. Until the flood, their days were about the length of Adam’s; some even lived longer than Adam.480Jered lived 962 years (Verse 20), and Methuselah lived 969 (Verse 27) while Adam lived 930 years (Verse 5). And Shem [Noah’s son], who was born before the flood, lived six hundred years;481Genesis, 11:10-11. he benefitted from his innate strength, but the tainted air after the flood caused him harm, [hence he died at a younger age than that attained by the preceding generations]. The days of his sons who were born after the flood were still more shortened until they came down to four hundred years.482Ibid., Verses 10-17. You can see that this degree of longevity remained with them until the generation of the Dispersion, when the change of climates caused by the Dispersion affected them, and their days were again shortened. Thus you find that the life of Peleg, in whose days the earth was divided,483Ibid., 10:25. came down to half their days, i.e., two hundred years.484Ibid., 11:19.
It would appear that in the generations of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, people lived seventy and eighty years, just as Moses, our teacher, mentioned in his prayer.485Psalms 90:10. The days of our years are threescore years and ten, or even by reason of strength fourscore years. But as for the righteous ones in their generations, The fear of the Eternal prolongeth days486Proverbs 10:27. for them. For Pharaoh wondered about Jacob’s old age, and Jacob in turn spoke to him about the long days of his fathers, even as he said, And they have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.487Genesis 47:9.
Now what the Rabbi488Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam). See above, Note 139. has written in the Moreh Nebuchim489II, 47. does not seem right to me, namely, that the longevity was only in those individuals mentioned, while the rest of the people in those generations lived lives of ordinary natural length. He further said that this exception was due to the mode of living and food of such people or by way of a miracle. But these are words without substance. Why should this miracle have happened to them since they were neither prophets nor righteous, nor worthy that a miracle be done for them, especially for generation after generation. And how could a proper mode of living and proper food prolong their years to the extent that they are so many times greater than that of the entire generation? It is possible that there were also others who observed such a mode of living, in which case all or most of them should have attained similar longevity. And how did it happen that enough of the wisdom concerning this good mode of living did not come down to just one of all the sons of Noah after the flood [to enable him to match the longevity of his ancestors], for there was among them a little wisdom of their ancestors even though it steadily decreased from generation to generation?
Rashi
ממעיך יפרדו SHALL BE PARTED FROM THY BOWELS —as soon as they leave thy body they will take each a different course — one to his wicked ways, the other to his plain life (Genesis 5:27)