The number 187 is best known as the age of Methuselah when he fathered Lamech, according to Genesis 5:25.
Genesis 5:25 states that Methuselah was 187 years old when he became the father of Lamech. Methuselah is the person in the Bible who lived the longest, with a total age of 969 years. The number 187 has no independent symbolic meaning in biblical numerology beyond this genealogical reference, but it connects to the story of the long lifespans in the family trees before the flood. According to rabbinic tradition, Methuselah died in the same year that the flood occurred. Calculating from the genealogies in Genesis 5, this fits: Methuselah became the father of Lamech at 187 years, Lamech became the father of Noah at 182 years, and the flood came when Noah was 600 years old—totaling 969 years, exactly Methuselah's total lifespan. The name Methuselah (מְתוּשֶׁלַח) is often interpreted as 'his death shall bring' or 'man of sword/spear,' from the Hebrew roots מת (death) and שלח (send). Some rabbis view the name as a prophetic reference to the flood that came at his death.*