If AGE was a sign of WISDOM, a vast age might have been a sign of great wisdom, so that Biblical ages stand not as a measure of time but as a scaling of experience or insight.
Methuselah, 969 years; Noah, 950.
Also, the the closer to historic times, the more normal – i.e., smaller the number, though still bigger than today’s.
Good thing negative numbers don’t apply here.
Jnana's Red Barn 