Views on geneologies...

[stumpjumper]

So what do you all do with the geneologies in Genesis and in the two Gospels?

I tend to view the geneologies as symbolic or "sacred history" anyway with some numerological meanings but I'm curious as to the views of other TE's...

 

[Melethiel]

I haven't progressed in my study of the Patristics far enough to find any treatise on them, so until (if) I do, I don't really care.

 

[shernren]

I think the basic purpose of the genealogies are to give a sense of "rootedness" to the people or people groups they describe. They anchor people groups down to a specific ancestor, and ancestors to a specific family.

In particular, the theme of "the line of God's promise" is prominent. We see that God has a covenant with a particular bloodline: bloodline of Abraham, of Jacob, of David, culminating in Jesus.
I think this must have been a powerful way for God to communicate His faithfulness and providence to His people: how His promises remain standing generation after generation, even though the people themselves who first received the promises are long dead.

And of course, the genealogies of Jesus give strong credence to the theological truth that Jesus is fully man.

 

[stumpjumper]

That's pretty much my view too Shernren... In Church yesterday it was mentioned that one interesting thing about the NT Geneologies is that they contain three women.

The women turn out to be less than reputable so they were mentioned for a reason

 

[jereth]

The genealogies of Genesis are not easy to understand! One probably needs a thorough understanding of ANE culture and history to begin to make sense of them.

I think that the key message of the genealogies is that when YHWH sets his covenantal love upon an individual, his faithfulness persists down through their generations. I agree with shernren about this. It is worth noting that Genesis is literally a book of genealogies: its 10 divisions begin with the phrase "this is the genealogy of....".

The identity of the men, and their ages, is a mystery. It's probably the case that each name in the genealogy is associated with a legendary figure from the past, but of course the original names would have been in some ancient, unintelligible language rather than in Hebrew. I think it's unlikely that the ages are real ages (though not impossible).

We probably just have to accept that we'll never know these things for sure.

One thing is for sure: the genealogies are not meant to provide a dating system or chronology. Else we would have Abraham dying before Shem, which defies belief!

P.S. I have heard it said that the genealogies closely parallel the Sumerian king list. I personally am unsure as to the significance of this, and would appreciate enlightenment from someone who knows more.

 

[gluadys]

P.S. I have heard it said that the genealogies closely parallel the Sumerian king list. I personally am unsure as to the significance of this, and would appreciate enlightenment from someone who knows more.

I am not sure if they parallel the Sumerian king list, but they do share some of the same features such as immense ages for people on the list. In some Sumerian lists ages in the ten thousands of years are ascribed to some kings.

Another interesting speculation I came across is that the pre-Noah geneologies are actually records of ancient migrations. When you consider how frequently a land is named for the people inhabiting it and vice versa, this is not too far-fetched. It would take some geographical, historical and linguistic study to provide evidential backing though.

 

[Carey]

So what do you all do with the geneologies in Genesis and in the two Gospels?

I tend to view the geneologies as symbolic or "sacred history" anyway with some numerological meanings but I'm curious as to the views of other TE's...

Geneaologies help us understand the state of countries
clans, civilizations etc. throughout history all the way up to today. This also can help you understand prophecy and have an idea of world events and where we are in the timeline before Jesus return

they help us remeber we all came from the same two people so we truly are all related this promotes loving unity when you think about that.

 

[Rion]

Actually, if you read the NT and OT geneologies, there's differences in them. Hebrew scholars had no word for grandfather, great grandfather, etc, like most ancient languages. They would also skip generations since a lot of the "in between" generations had nothing of import in the matter. The additions/subtractions in NT isn't an error then, so much as they're never listing the whole thing.

Basically, what we get in Genesis is the highlights.

 

[shadowmage36]

First Letter To Timothy, verses 3-7:
(3) As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, (4) nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. (5) But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (6) For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, (7) wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.

Q.E.D.