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GENEALOGY

A record of an individual’s or clan’s descent from a putative ancestor(s). Genealogies (Heb. tôlēḏôṯ, “generations”) function as an important medium of expression and interaction. Once taken at face value, biblical genealogies have come under scrutiny by critics who have recognized “apparent contradictions” and thus have considered them as artificial and tendentious creations. However, genealogies are actually accurate explanations of the milieu in which they were created, even if they do not correspond to Western notions of objective data. Lineage ties usually had little to do with ethnic identity, since no such concept existed in the ancient world, but often rather were concerned with political unity. Acknowledgment of blood ties was not the only function of a genealogy. A person received status by virtue of his kinship ties. Genealogies were altered when their function changed. Some names of ancestors disappeared (when they no longer had a relevant function), while other names were added. Thus, genealogical function varied depending upon the circumstance, and was located within domestic (to justify contemporary lineage configurations), political (to validate the incumbents or usurpers in the existing government), and religious spheres. The Bible often exhibited these functions synchronically, which accounts for the apparent contradictions.

Genealogies were a common feature of ancient West Asian historical traditions. The Sumerian King List (ca. 1900 b.c.), although dealing little with genealogies, was concerned with the succession of kingship in Sumer, maintaining the fiction that power was located in Sumer in the hands of one dynasty in any given period. A dynasty was considered legitimate if it had received a “turn of office” from the gods, not strictly because of any genealogical ties.

For the Assyrians and Babylonians, however, legitimacy was determined within the kinship structure of the Amorite tribes. These ties formed a “genealogical charter” for the legitimacy of kingship. Thus, a monarch had to claim descent from the proper lineage within a tribe. This can be seen in the Assyrian King List, a document which provides a detailed list of Assyrian rulers and their general length of reign for more than 1000 years, purporting that it was one continuous lineage. The genealogy of the Hammurabi dynasty contains the names of the kings of the First Dynasty of Babylon (to Ammiditana, 1646-1626). Both of these lists contain a consecutive roster of earlier kings and/or ancestors, most of whom have Amorite personal names. Interestingly, a number of the names are found on both lists, reflecting a common lineage tradition in Assyria and Babylonia. Moreover, Didanu, a name from both lists (as well as in the Kirta Epic from Ugarit), is likely the Dedan of Gen. 25:3.

Like the Assyrian King List and genealogy of the Hammurabi dynasty, many genealogies in the OT were composed to establish legitimacy, royal or otherwise. They are found primarily in the Pentateuch, Ruth, Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Two types of genealogy are found in the OT. A segmented genealogy exhibited a “family tree,” showing the relationship of children to other family members (e.g., Gen. 35:22-26). Linear genealogies were lists of names connecting an individual to an ancestor or ancestors and showing their relationship. An ascending linear list (e.g., Ezra 7:1-5) featured an individual as the son of another, and traced one’s lineage back to an important ancestor. A descending linear list (e.g., Gen. 4:17-22) featured a father “begetting” a son, and normally provided information as to the person’s age and deeds. These genealogies were not necessarily complete (i.e., listing all individuals in a direct line, one after another), since their purpose was to establish descent and thereby legitimacy from a particular ancestor or ancestors. The OT contains about 25 genealogical lists, including the descendants of Adam (Gen. 5), Noah (ch. 10), and Israel/Jacob (ch. 46). There are also registers of individuals, such as Levites (1 Chr. 6:1-53[MT 5:27–6:38) and families that had returned from the Exile (Ezra 2:2-61 = Neh. 7:7-63).

Genealogies are less frequent in the NT. Two give the ancestry of Jesus: Matt. 1:1-17, which traces his descent from Abraham; and Luke 3:23-38, which reverses the order and continues back to Adam. Matthew is interested in exhibiting symmetry, and so lists 14 individuals between Abraham, David, and the Babylonian Exile; thus a number of Judahite kings are omitted from the list to preserve the symmetry. Moreover, Luke and Matthew have a different list after David (except for two names). The lists likely serve different functions and should not be interpreted as contradictory. Departing from the tradition of tracing only male descents, Matthew’s genealogy contains four women, most of whom were not Israelites. These do not appear in Luke’s list.

Heb. 7:3 asserts that Melchizedek “was without genealogy” (Gk. genealogía). 1 Tim. 1:4; Tit. 3:9 use the term in a negative sense, describing genealogies in conjunction with myths and foolish questions; references to Jewish myths and “Teachers of the Law” may imply contemporary Jewish interpretation of biblical lineages.

Bibliography. K. R. Andriolo, “A Structural Analysis of Genealogy and Worldview in the Old Testament,” American Anthropologist 75 (1973): 1657-69; M. W. Chavalas, “Genealogical History as ‘Charter’: A Study of Old Babylonian Period Historiography and the Old Testament,” in Faith, Tradition, and History, ed. A. R. Millard, J. K. Hoffmeier, and D. W. Baker (Winona Lake, 1994), 103-28; J. W. Flanagan, “Succession and Genealogy in the Davidic Dynasty,” in The Quest for the Kingdom of God, ed. H. Huffman, F. A. Spina, and A. R. W. Green (Winona Lake, 1983), 35-55; M. D. Johnson, The Purpose of the Biblical Genealogies, 2nd ed. SNTSMS 8 (Cambridge, 1988); A. Malamat, “King Lists of the Old Babylonian Period and Biblical Genealogies,” JAOS 88 (1968): 163-73; R. R. Wilson, Genealogy and History in the Biblical World (New Haven, 1977).

Mark W. Chavalas

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

GENEALOGY

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)