Note B — The Legendary History of the Cross.
Reading edition
Length of Adam’s life.
[B]This apparently long life of Adam is admitted on all hands, even in the Revised Version of the Bible. The Talmud says that God promised him one thousand years of life, and it is recorded that he begat Seth when he was a hundred and thirty years old. On this the Talmud (Eruvin, fol. 18, col. 2) has the following comment: “Rav Yirmyah ben Elazer said: All those years, which Adam spent in alienation from God, he begat evil spirits, demons, and fairies; for it is said, ‘And Adam was an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image’; consequently, before that time, he begat after another image.”
This term of one hundred and thirty years seems to have been a period in Adam’s existence, for we again find (Eruvin, fol. 18 b.): “Adam was a Chasid, or great saint, when he observed that the decree of death was occasioned by him; he fasted a hundred and thirty years, and all this time he abstained from intercourse with his wife.”
Talmud legends respecting Adam’s length of life.
There is a Talmudical tradition that God showed the future to Adam (Avoth d’Rab. Nathan, chap. 31): “The Holy One—blessed be He!—shewed unto Adam each generation, and its preachers, its guardians, its leaders, its prophets, its heroes, its sinners, and its saints, saying, ‘In such and such a generation such and such a King shall reign, in such and such a generation such and such a wife man shall teach.’” This is amplified in Midrash Yalkut (fol. 12), where it is said that God showed Adam all future generations of men, with their leaders, learned and literary men, and there he observed that David was credited with only three hours of life, and he said, “Lord and Creator of the world, is this unalterable?” “Such was my first intention,” was the reply. “How many years have I to live?” asked Adam. “One thousand.” Then Adam said, “I will lend him some of my years.” And a document was drawn up whereby Adam transferred seventy years of his life to David.
S. Baring-Gould, in his legends of Old Testament Characters, vol i. p. 77, referring to a Mussulman legend, says: “Finally, when Adam reached his nine hundred and thirtieth year, the Angel of Death appeared under the form of a goat, and ran between his legs.
“Adam recoiled with horror, and exclaimed, ‘God has given me one thousand years; wherefore comest thou now?’
“‘What!’ exclaimed the Angel of Death, ‘hast thou not given seventy years of thy life to the prophet David?’
“Adam stoutly denied that he had done so. Then the Angel of Death drew the document of transfer from out of his beard, and presented it to Adam, who could no longer refuse to go.”