MATHUSALAH (Hebrew: Méthéthélaï, or Méthéthélaï). — Son of Enoch and father of Lamech; he is the eighth in the series of antediluvian patriarchs of the line of Seth. He fathered Lamech at the age of 187, who in turn was the father of Noah, and survived another 782 years, reaching the age of 969 years—the longest lifespan recorded in the Bible (Gen. 5:21–27), which has thus become proverbial.
He is not to be confused, as some modern critics—without any foundation—wish, with Mathusael, the fourth descendant of the Cainite line, who also had a son named Lamech (Gen. 4:18), who is distinct from the father of Noah. According to the figures in the Masoretic text, M. died in the same year the flood came (1656 from the creation of man); but it is arbitrary to infer, as some wish (e.g., H. Holzinger, *Genesis*, Tübingen 1898, p. 63), that M. perished along with the wicked in the flood.