World Population Prior To The Flood of Noah?

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Some reports I've read on this subject really surprised me. Some had numbers that went into the billions. One as high as nine billion. I noticed they used a lot of modern math and technical data, but very little Bible.  After reviewing some of the reports I decided to do this little study. It's based on Bible facts and percents of yield, (like if you had money in the bank drawing interest). I hope you enjoy it.

We only know the population of the world as it is now and since it’s been recorded, so to figure out the population prior to the flood of Noah, in all probability, can’t be done. The only definite numbers in the Bible concerning populations over a given period of time is.... Seventy Israelites go into Egypt and 400 years later, come out 1.2 million. All deaths included. There are others that tend to think 2 million or more. Me, I’ll be conservative. Other than Adam and Noah, I believe this is the only incident in the Bible that actually gives numbers of populations that can actually be used in figuring population. It only deals with a particular race of people. The race of Adam. We can use the eight from the ark to 6.7 billion in this year 2007. Would we use that figure for the entire population of the earth or just those of Adam’s race, (or family)?

We must consider the different thoughts of just how many people God created and when he created them. The standard is the Adam and Eve story being the only two and from that time has been 6,008 years with a global flood 1,656 years after the creation of Adam. Although this may not be true, it seems to be the most commonly taught. Another belief is that God created three and maybe all of the four races on the 6th day, rested on the 7th, then formed Adam on the 8th day with the flood not being global. Another thought is, that on the 5th day, God created, from the water, a people. Again with the flood of Noah’s day not being global. Those who think this, believe it to be the Oriental, (or Asian), peoples of today. I have found two studies on this matter. One states the Asian population is 66 percent, or 2/3rds. The other states 56 percent. I chose to use the 2/3rds. for this study.

I think to better understand the population prior to the flood, we should examine these possibilities with the population facts as we know today, along with population facts, (not assumptions), of the Bible. Let’s begin with our current population and time. 6,700,000,000, or 6.7 billion, this year, 2007. Let’s examine this 6.7 billion using the three scenarios in the above paragraph.

From Adam to the flood of Noah was 1,656 years. From the flood to the year 2007 is 4,352 years. A total of 6,008 years. If we use the three races on the 6th day scenario, we must add 2,000 years to 1,656 and 6,008, making those numbers read 3,656 and 8,008. If we use the 5th day creation scenario, we must add 3,000 years. Making those number read 4,656 and 9,008.

After the Flood

The standard Adam and Eve Story:
Eight from the ark:
Number of people to start: 8
Percent yield: 0.47322. Must be this to get to current population.
Number of years: 4352. From the flood til 2007.
Number of people after 4352 years = 6,700,180,242 Current population 2007 is 6.7 billion.

Currently, 2007, only 17 percent, or 1.139 billion, of world population is Caucasian, (or white).

Eight of Adam’s race after the flood. Just one of the four races, which make up the 6.7 billion.
Number of people to start: 8
Percent yield: 0.43232
Number of years: 4352
Number of people after 4352 years = 1,139,043,903.

1.139 billion, (Caucasian) + 5.5615 billion, (other races), = 6.7 billion. Current world population 2007.

Sixth Day Scenario:
Now let’s use the sixth day creation with God making three of the four races.
Number of people to start: 6
Percent yield: 0.25817
Number of years: 8008
Number of people after 8008 years = 5,562,821,312. Population 2007, other than white.

Fifth Day Scenario:
Two thirds of world’s population are Asian. 4.46 billion.
Number of people to start: 2
Percent yield: 0.23925
Number of years: 9008
Number of people after 9008 years = 4,462,816,986. 4.46 billion. Asian population from 5th. Day creation.

Could this account for the reason the Asian population is so great?

Before The Flood

Now let’s use the preceding three percentages to figure the population prior to the flood using two people and only 6,008 years of time. Considering 1,000 years life span before the flood. 1,000 / 120 year life span after the flood, = 8.333 multiplier?

Scenario One:
The standard Adam and Eve Story:
Number of people to start: 2
Percent yield: 0.47322. Same percentage of growth as above.
Number of years: 1656
Number of people after 1656 years = 4,970 x 8.333 = 41,415. Total population for all races.

Scenario Two:
The standard Adam and Eve Story. With them accounting for only the white race:
Number of people to start: 2
Percent yield: 0.43220. Same percentage of growth as before.
Number of years: 1656
Number of people after 1656 years = 2,527 x 8.333 = 21,057 before the flood.

Scenario Three:
The sixth day with three races:
Number of people to start: 6
Percent yield: 0.25817. Same percentage of growth as before.
Number of years: 3656
Number of people after 3656 years = 74,480 x 8.333 = 620,641?

Scenario Four:
The fifth day creation. Using the Asian population:
Number of people to start: 2
Percent yield: 0.23925
Number of years: 4656
Number of people after 4656 years = 135,852 x 8.333 = 1,132,054 The multiplier may be more, I don’t know.

Now let’s look at the seventy Israelites going into Egypt and 400 years later, come out 1.2 million. All deaths included. There are others that tend to think 2 million or more. Me, I’ll be conservative.

Number of people to start: 70
Percent yield: 2.46730.
Number of years: 400
Number of people after 400 years = 1,200,093.

2.4673 yield. The birth rate still hasn't surpassed this percentage of yield. (2007). A very special people indeed.

Now let’s look at what the population would have been based on the rate of growth of 70 Israelites going into Egypt, staying 400 years, and coming out 1.2 million

Before the flood of Noah:
Number of people to start: 2. Using the same as 70 going into Egypt and 1.2 million coming out 400 years later.
Percent yield: 2.46730
Number of years: 1656
Number of people after 1656 years = 801,553,232,344 Over 801 billion.

1,000 year life span before flood divided by 120 year life span after flood = 8.333 multiplier. Is it possible there were over 6 trillion people prior to the flood? We can just play with the numbers and assume, or pretend, to know.

After the flood of Noah:
Number of people to start: 8
Percent yield: 2.46730. Same percentage as 70 in Egypt and coming out 1.2 mm.
Number of years: 4352 From flood till 2007.
Number of people after 4352 years = 121,916,940,299,770. 121.9 trillion!!!! Current population is 6.7 billion.

My Mom and Dad had twelve children in twenty three years. Three died. A growth from two to eleven.

Mom and Dad:
Number of people to start: 2
Percent yield: 7.7
Number of years: 23
Number of people after 23 years = 11

Very high yield, (or rate of population growth). Over three times that of the 70 going into Egypt and 1.2 mm coming out 400 years later. Can you imagine the population with a yield like that? Jacob, (or Israel), had 6 percent yield. The start of Israel.

Let’s look at the actual numbers in the Bible.

Gen 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

Gen 15:14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

Exo 1:5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.

Gen 46:26 All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six;

Gen 46:27 And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten. ......... or 70 people.

Exo 1:6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.

Exo 1:7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly[1], and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

[1] 8317. sharats, shaw-rats'; a prim. root; to wriggle, i.e. (by impl.) swarm or abound:--breed (bring forth, increase) abundantly (in abundance), creep, move.

Exo 12:37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men[1], beside children.

[1] 1397. geber, gheh'-ber; from H1396; prop. a valiant man or warrior; gen. a person simply:--every one, man, X mighty.

Num 1:45 So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel;

Num 1:46 Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.

603,550 able bodied men, fit for war.

Num 1:47 But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them.

By averaging the other eleven tribes, I figure another 54,863 men from the tribe of Levi. 658,413 healthy men fit for battle.

Exo 12:38 And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.

During this 400 year period there was more yield, (rate of growth), in numbers of Israelites than at any time in history. 2.4673 percent. A larger percentage increase than all other races combined. The highest recorded rate, other than in the Bible, was in 1963 when the peak was 2.19 percent.

Gen 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
Gen 4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

Gen 5:3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

Three children in 130 years and one was dead. That’s a yield of 2 children per 130 years. The total number in his family at 4. See below for the rate of growth.

Gen 5:4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:

It doesn’t say how many, just that he had some. All we can know for sure is that it had to be at least two boys and two girls. That would make a for sure total of seven children born of Eve, in 930 years.

Gen 5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

Gen 5:32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Noah never had any children until he was 500 years old and then only 3.

Gen 9:29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

950 years, 3 children?

Cain:
Gen 4:17 And Cain[1] knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

The Bible doesn’t say that Cain had any more children than this one. Neither does it give his life span. From reading Genesis 4:17 through Genesis 4:24, (see just below), one can determine that the offspring of Cain were very small in number. Cain built a city for just his son, his wife, and himself? Makes one think there must have been others. The offspring of Cain are known as Kenites. Strong’s Hebrew word is:

1. "CAIN": 7014. Qayin, kah'-yin; the same as H7013 (with a play upon the affinity to H7069); Kajin, the name of the first child, also of a place in Pal., and of an Oriental tribe:--Cain, Kenite (-s).

An Oriental tribe? Wonder if that’s where Cain got his wife?????

Gen 4:17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. ........... One child.

Gen 4:18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.

Gen 4:19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

Gen 4:20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.

Gen 4:21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.

Gen 4:22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.

Gen 4:23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.

Gen 4:24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

Through five generations only one child born per generation. The 6th generation, Lamech, had two wives and had four children.

We can assume, (or pretend to know), anything we want, but the following is the only actual data we have to work with. All else is assumption. Other families probably had more children, but do we know that? No we don’t. Is not knowing these things going to keep one from receiving the gift of eternal life? No. When we all get back with God, we shall have a more complete understanding of such things.

Adam:
Number of people to start: 2
Percent yield: 0.53500
Number of years: 130. The birth of Seth. Eve’s third child.
Number of people after 130 years = 4. Adam, Eve, Seth, and Cain.

Noah:
Number of people to start: 2
Percent yield: 0.18400
Number of years: 500. The age of Noah when he started having children.
Number of people after 500 years = 5. Noah, his wife, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. It was probably more like 600 years.

.535 percent yield + .184 percent yield = .719 percent total yield. Divide by 2 families, (Adam’s 130 years and Noah’s 500), you get an average yield, (or rate of growth), of .3595 percent. Did families back then have very large numbers? Who knows? These are the only two families before the flood that gives any numbers and time frames. .... .3595 percent compared to the previous five, excluding my parents, seems to be more in line than anything else.

Concerning the three creation scenarios, I mentioned how one would have to add 2,000 and 3,000 years to the standard Adam and Eve story so commonly taught. Now in the four verses below we see that God cannot lie, that He told Adam the same day he partook of that certain tree he would die, yet Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years. Doesn’t make much sense until you read 2 Peter 3:8, (See below).

Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Gen 5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

2 Pet 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

The following five verses convinces me, that God, on two separate occasions, created fowl, (or birds). One before He made man. The second after He made Adam and before He made Eve. Some from the water on the fifth day and some from the ground on the eighth day. Also if one reads carefully Genesis 1:24 through 1:31, you’ll see that God created the animals before He created man on the sixth day. But notice Genesis 2:17 through Genesis 2:19, after God has commanded Adam about the tree of knowledge of good and evil, He also formed some more animals.

Gen 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

Gen 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature[1] that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

[1] 5315. nephesh. This word has many meanings, two of which is man and soul.

I think this is where people interpret the fifth day creation of the Orientals. I want to insert a verse here that helps verify this.

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

The word soul in this verse, is the Hebrew word 5315, nephesh. The same as the word creature, in Genesis 1:21.

Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Gen 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

Gen 2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

Let’s not restrict God to just one creation of mankind. He’s the one with all the knowledge, and we in the flesh, are just plain stupid. Let’s admit it, we really are. The more I get into God’s word, the more I realize that.

Look these numbers over. Compare the percentage of yield for each. Examine them carefully. Do what the people of Berea did, with what Paul taught them. Check it out in God’s word. Not Man’s.

Acts 17:10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

They were checking Ole Paul out. When someone makes a claim about God’s word, you do the same.

Do I know what the population of the earth was before the flood of Noah? I don’t have the vaguest idea, but it makes for interesting conversation.

Thanks, for allowing me, to share this with you. Remember, to always, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

In His Word,
Art Porter

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