Spare a moment of pity for an old fellow named Jared who was first mentioned in the early chapters of the Bible, in the book of Genesis. You have certainly heard of his famous grandson Methuselah, aka the oldest living person in the Bible. Methuselah, of course, is synonymous with longevity, old age, and great genes. Entire tomes have been dedicated to Methuselah and his drawn-out life. Books such as The Death of Methuselah, by Isaac Bashevis Singer, or Back to Methuselah, by George Bernard Shaw, have made him one of the most famous literary figures – or pensioners – in Western history. The Oscar-winning British actor Sir Anthony Hopkins played him in the movie Noah and the great American writer Samuel Langhorne Clemens (aka Mark Twain) penned a story with Methuselah as the central character. No fine essayist passed him by.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the story, it is said that Methuselah lived to the astounding age of 969. That is 11,628 months, or 353,685 days on earth. It is no surprise that his diet, genes, many probable marriages – and even his investments – have been the subject of intense curiosity for centuries. And yet, his grandfather Jared – a man I suspect most of you have never heard of until now – lived to the equally unbelievable age of 962 years. Yes, you guessed it. He was the Bible's second-oldest literary figure. Second place garners no books, Nobels, or gene patents, hence the pity.

It was quite the family, though. Methuselah's grandson Noah – the famed sailor and nautical zookeeper – lived 950 years, which is slightly less than two decades short of Methuselah's remarkable feat, placing him in the number-three position. Noah (aka Russell Crowe) needs no introduction or any more fame. (Hey, just try booking him for a speaking engagement these days.) Moving on to number four in the biblical Guinness book of records we find Adam. Yes, the first.