So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.
Matthew 1:17 (NKJV)
Matthew speaks of three periods of 14 generations each, 42 generations in total. In the same chapter he even names them and the impression one gets is that the three eras are about equal. OK, check this out.
Using approximate dates: (lets not get sidetracked with fine-tuning dates)
Birth Abraham BC 2100 till birth David (BC 1000) equals 1100 years equals 14? generations.
Birth David (BC 1000) till Babylonian exile (BC 600) equals 400 years equals 14? generations.
Babylonian exile (BC 600) till birth Christ (BC 1) equals 600 years equals 14? generations.
What going on? It don't stack.
Gid
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Matthew speaks of three periods of 14 generations each, 42 generations in total. In the same chapter he even names them and the impression one gets is that the three eras are about equal. OK, check this out.
Using approximate dates: (lets not get sidetracked with fine-tuning dates)
Birth Abraham BC 2100 till birth David (BC 1000) equals 1100 years equals 14? generations.
Birth David (BC 1000) till Babylonian exile (BC 600) equals 400 years equals 14? generations.
Babylonian exile (BC 600) till birth Christ (BC 1) equals 600 years equals 14? generations.
I don't think Matthew was trying to list every person in the lineage. I think he's probably trying to make a theological point by arranging in groups of 7 (or 3 groups of 14).
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Jimmie USN
semper reformada
Last edited by Yekcidmij; 23rd January 2009 at 01:34 PM.
The word generations refers to the geneology, or family line of descent. (See Strong's)
Recall that Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. Jesse too may have been very old as David was his youngest son. Jacob was an older man when Judah was born as well. The generations spoken of are from father to son, not a fixed number of years as is used in a broad historic sense. The greater time span of the first fourteen generations is easily explained by the older ages of those involved when they produced those children.
By dividing the three time periods by the 14 generations we get the average age of those named as patriarchs:
1100 / 14 = 78.6 years
400 / 14 = 28.5 years
600 / 14 = 43 years
Not unreasonable at all. Even when Moses was approximately 100 years old God 'threatened' to use him to father a new nation.
owg
Last edited by oldwiseguy; 25th January 2009 at 01:02 PM.
Matthew speaks of three periods of 14 generations each, 42 generations in total. In the same chapter he even names them and the impression one gets is that the three eras are about equal. OK, check this out.
Using approximate dates: (lets not get sidetracked with fine-tuning dates)
Birth Abraham BC 2100 till birth David (BC 1000) equals 1100 years equals 14? generations.
Birth David (BC 1000) till Babylonian exile (BC 600) equals 400 years equals 14? generations.
Babylonian exile (BC 600) till birth Christ (BC 1) equals 600 years equals 14? generations.
What going on? It don't stack.
Gid
Matthew selected 14 important links from between Abraham and Jesus. There were more. Read the geneologies and you will find many more.
I don't think Matthew was trying to list every person in the lineage. I think he's probably trying to make a theological point by arranging in groups of 7 (or 3 groups of 14).
Originally Posted by Epiphoskei
Matthew selected 14 important links from between Abraham and Jesus. There were more. Read the geneologies and you will find many more.
Yes, the genealogies show that there was more ‘begating’ going on than what was mentioned by Matthew. For example “Jehoram the father of Uzziah” (Matt 1:8) But the chronicles show Jehoram, then Ahaziah, then Joash, then Amaziah, then Uzziah. So he was actually great-great grandfather! Hmmm.
OK, Matthew was making a theological point. But what was his point?
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Yes, the genealogies show that there was more ‘begating’ going on than what was mentioned by Matthew. For example “Jehoram the father of Uzziah” (Matt 1:8) But the chronicles show Jehoram, then Ahaziah, then Joash, then Amaziah, then Uzziah. So he was actually great-great grandfather! Hmmm.
OK, Matthew was making a theological point. But what was his point?
That one doesn't need to know every single blasted name so long as one can prove that Jesus came who they say he came from- David's line, traced back to Abraham's line, traced back to Eve.
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Don't mess with Yoda!
"There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done.""
-C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce (emphasis mine)
"You must be imaginative, strong-hearted. You must try things that may not work, and you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul."
-Chef at the beginning of Ratatouille
Matthew speaks of three periods of 14 generations each, 42 generations in total. In the same chapter he even names them and the impression one gets is that the three eras are about equal. OK, check this out.
Using approximate dates: (lets not get sidetracked with fine-tuning dates)
Birth Abraham BC 2100 till birth David (BC 1000) equals 1100 years equals 14? generations.
Birth David (BC 1000) till Babylonian exile (BC 600) equals 400 years equals 14? generations.
Babylonian exile (BC 600) till birth Christ (BC 1) equals 600 years equals 14? generations.
What going on? It don't stack.
Gid
Old Wise Guy is right about the ages. I've never known a good biblical scholar (Of which I am not)to have a problem with the chronology of Jesus in Matthew or Luke. Documents have shown them to be acurate. They are not necessarily through the first born, and Chronicles is not a geneology, just documentation.
The number seven is important and commonly used by God. It is all over and in places we haven't even discovered I'm sure. I think it is called the number of completeness. It seems to signify beginnings and ends. Notice the timespan between abraham and Jesus, 2100 years; divisible by seven!
Last edited by timlamb; 30th January 2009 at 02:09 AM.
Another thing to consider is that in ancient times even a grandson was considered to be a 'son' of a patriarch. Noah called his grandson Canaan his younger 'son'. There is no indication that Ham was the youngest son of Noah, but that he cursed Canaan after he realized what his 'younger son' had done to him strongly indicates that he considered his grandson also his 'son'. Recall also that Jacob 'adopted' the sons of Joseph as his own, albeit for the purpose of conferring the 'blessing' to them particularly.
This aspect of symbolic patriarchal fatherhood may be reflected in the recording of the genealogy of Christ as well.
owg
Last edited by oldwiseguy; 31st January 2009 at 02:05 AM.