By: Sunny Orbih
Veritas University Abuja
Did ancient (Man) actually lived as long as historical records suggest, given that their calendar initially had only ten months before the emperor Julius Caesar’s and Pope Gregory XIII’s reforms? To analyze this, we need to break it down mathematically and logically.
The early Roman calendar, attributed to Romulus (753 BCE), originally had ten months; (March to December), with 30 / 31 days each, making up about 304 days per year. The winter season was left uncounted. Later, King Numa Pompilius (713 BCE) added January; 29 days and February; 28 days, bringing the year to 361 days long, but it was still misaligned with the solar year. To correct this, the Romans occasionally inserted an extra month (Mercedonius) in some years which led to chaos in timekeeping.
In 46 BCE, Julius Caesar; advised by the Alexandrian astronomer Sosigenes, introduced the Julian calendar, setting the year at 365 days with a leap year every four years. After Julius Caesar’s death, the Roman Senate renamed the seventh month “Quintilis” to “Julius” (July). Similarly, after Augustus Caesar became emperor, “Sextilis” was renamed “Augustus” (August).
The Julian Calendar system remained in use until 1582 CE, when Pope Gregory XIII reformed it due to its slight overestimation of the year’s length. Pope Gregory XIII, adjusted the leap year rule (skipping leap years in century years not divisible by 400) and skipped ten days to realign with the equinox. It became the global standard over time till date, though some Orthodox churches still follow the Julian system for religious dates.
If we assume that early historical records measured a person’s age by counting “years” under a 304-day calendar, then, a person who was recorded as living as old as 60 years under a 304-day year actually experienced:
60 x 304 = 18,240 days
18,240÷365.25 = 49.95 or 50 years approx.
This means that someone recorded as 60 years old in the old system might have been 50 years old in today’s reckoning.
Similarly:
A 100-year-old person under a 304-day calendar would have lived 30,400 days, which is:
30,400÷365.25 = 83.2 years approx.
Thus, the actual ages would have been lower than recorded if we interpret “years” as a 304-day cycle instead of a 365-day one.
Many ancient records, including biblical texts, claim that people lived exceptionally long lives, sometimes over 900 years (e.g., Methuselah at 969 years). If these were measured using a 304-day year, then:
969×304÷365.25 = approx. 807 years.
Then; according to Psalm 90:10: “The years of a Man’s life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.”
If mans lifespan is projected to 70 years under a 304-day calendar then Man would have experienced:
70×304 = 21,280 days.
Now, converting this into modern years using a 365.25-day calendar:
21,280÷365.25 = 58.3 years approximately.
Similarly, the 80 year lifespan (with strength) under a 304-day calendar would be:
80×304 = 24,320 days.
Converted to modern years:
24,320÷365.25 = 67 years approx.
No doubt Psalm 90:10 prophecy was recorded during the 304-day year era as it predates even the Roman calendar. This implies that the biblical lifespan might have been shorter than what we assume today if it was originally counted using a different calendar system.
If earlier civilizations measured time differently; perhaps by lunar cycles or seasonal cycles. Their interpretation of age would have been more complex and different too.
The adjustment from a 304-day to a 365.25-day calendar could mean that historical records overstated actual lifespans, number of years and age when converted to modern terms.©®
