en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah
2 corrections found
The word "Methuselarity", a blend of Methuselah and singularity, was coined in 2010 by the biomedical gerontologist Aubrey de Grey
This dating is wrong: the term was already in use by 2009, not first coined in 2010.
Full reasoning
Aubrey de Grey published a paper titled "The singularity and the Methuselarity: similarities and differences" in 2009, which shows the term was in documented use before 2010. In the paper's abstract, de Grey writes that he "here christen[s] the 'Methuselarity'", directly contradicting the article's claim that the word was coined in 2010.
There is also independent 2009 evidence from a transcript of de Grey's H+ Summit talk. In that talk, he says the concept was "given its name a couple of years ago" and "not by me", attributing the name to a friend. That means the article is wrong at least on the year, and possibly also on who coined it.
So the safe correction is: the term was already in use by 2009, not first coined in 2010.
2 sources
- The singularity and the Methuselarity: similarities and differences - PubMed
Stud Health Technol Inform. 2009:149:195-202... Abstract: 'I have for some time predicted that this succession of advances will feature a threshold, which I here christen the "Methuselarity"...'
- Aubrey de Grey 2009 H+ Summit transcript
De Grey says the concept was 'given its name a couple of years ago not by me' and 'called the Methuselarity.'
Following his father's death in the Book of Enoch, Methuselah is designated by God as a priest, while Methuselah's grandson, Noah's brother Nir, is designated by God as his successor.
This priest-succession story is not from the Book of Enoch (1 Enoch). It belongs to 2 Enoch/Slavonic Enoch.
Full reasoning
The sentence attributes a specific priesthood succession story to the Book of Enoch (normally meaning 1 Enoch), but the evidence places that episode in 2 Enoch / Slavonic Enoch instead.
A standard summary of The Book of Enoch describes its contents as the fall of the angels, Enoch's heavenly journeys, and apocalyptic visions. In that summary, the section involving Methuselah concerns Enoch's revelations, Noah, the Flood, and cosmic visions—not a scene where Methuselah is made priest and Nir is appointed his successor.
By contrast, textual and scholarly sources on 2 Enoch explicitly place the priestly succession there. A Marquette-hosted text of 2 Enoch includes Noah speaking to his brother Nir, and scholarly discussion of the Melchizedek section states that Methuselah invested Nir in priestly garb. That is the episode this Wikipedia sentence is describing.
So the problem is not that the tradition does not exist; it is that the article assigns it to the wrong book. The priestly succession of Methuselah → Nir is a feature of 2 Enoch / Slavonic Enoch, not the Book of Enoch (1 Enoch).
3 sources
- William J. Deane: Pseudepigrapha - The Book of Enoch (CCEL)
The summary of 'The Book of Enoch' describes the fall of the angels, Enoch's visions, Noah, the Flood, and Enoch's journeys through heaven and earth; it does not place the priestly Methuselah-Nir succession in 1 Enoch.
- 2 Enoch (Marquette University)
The text includes Noah saying to 'his brother Nir' and preserves the material scholars identify as the Melchizedek/Nir section of 2 Enoch.
- Małgorzata Skowronek, preprint discussing 2 Enoch
The preprint summarizes 2 Enoch by noting that 'Methusalam summoned Nir, the son of Lamech, the younger brother of Noah, and dressed him in priestly garb before the face of the people.'