genesis 5

My mentor, Sarah Howson, and I have committed to reading through the Bible together this year. It really isn't all that big of a deal if you keep up with the reading, but for a while there I wasn't, so I read a huge chunk of it today to catch up. So far we are through Genesis 30 and Matthew 6.
It's a cool experience for me to be doing this right now because I just finished a book about Biblical theology. Having come from where I was six months ago, (which was basically that I had no idea where to find things or how to begin studying the Bible) I feel like I at least know how to get started. I have an extremely basic understanding of where things are and what they mean (or how to find out what they mean). So basically I feel slightly less clueless.
All of these questions have been coming up, though. A few days ago I was reading Genesis 5, which is where it talks about the descendants of Adam and follows all the way to Noah. But it also lists how old they were when they had sons and how old they were when they died. Back in the day, people lived a long freaking time.
However, as I was reading through the passage, something about the numbers struck me kinda funny. Methuselah in particular seemed like he lived longer than was possible, since he definitely wasn't on board the ark and the flood probably occurred during his lifetime. Lamech also seemed pretty close.
So, after letting it bug me for a few days, I sat down today between classes and worked out all the math. According to the ages and times listed in that passage, the flood occurred 1,656 years after the birth of Seth (Adam's son). Methuselah was born 687 years after Seth was born and lived for 969 years. Lamech (Methuselah's son, Noah's father) was born 874 years after Seth and lived 777 years (what a lucky number). The flood occurred when Noah was 600 years old.
So, according to my calculations, Lamech died 5 years before the flood occurred, but his father Methuselah died the same year as the flood. Which I was relieved to find, because I would have been extremely frustrated if the numbers didn't work out.
But it raised another question for me. Was Methuselah one of the unrighteous who died in the flood, or was it merely a coincidence? It seems like it would have been mentioned if he had, but then again the Bible is very sparse on the details sometimes, if you know what I mean.
I don't know, I just found the whole thing pretty interesting. I have been learning a lot from asking those kinds of questions and from reading in a new translation. Before I have read in NIV, but the bible I have now is NAS, which makes a difference. Things are worded a little differently and it definitely makes me think more deeply about what I am reading.

In other news... my class this morning was amazing. The professor is one I've had before and I really like him. Plus, it is an intermediate sound design class, so we'll get to do more tech stuff than we did before. I like the science classes (the ones in my field) more than the art classes. They are less abstract and touchy-feely, which can get tiring really fast. Hooray for getting a BS and not a BFA. What in the world would I do with an art degree...

Anyway, I'm out. I get to meet with Sarah soon and then I am off to scriptwriting later tonight!