Genealogies

An archaeological find of biblical proportions is calling into question key aspects of U.S. history.

Nimrod’s bio begins in the 23rd century B.C.E. with King Sargon of Akkad and his grandson Naram-Sin.

The Bible presents Israel as having twelve tribes from both northern Israel and southern Judah. In older northern lists, however, the southern tribes do not appear, and the full list seems to have developed in Judah, after the destruction of Israel. Moreover, the idea that the tribes are descended from Jacob developed even later.

The genealogy of the tribe of Manasseh appears in Numbers 26 and again in Joshua 17 with slight differences. It appears a third time, in 1 Chronicles 7, wholly reconceived, highlighting how certain biblical genealogies represent tribal kinship patterns that shift over time.

The Bible knows about many priestly families, including the Levites, the Mushites (descendants of Moses), and the Zadokites. By the time of Ezra and Chronicles, however, only Aaronide priests were legitimate, and other families either merged with them or were demoted.

Behind the story of Jacob’s struggle with his older twin Esau, stands a political allegory, reflecting how Israel (=Jacob) first dominated Edom (=Esau) in the 10th-9th centuries B.C.E. and then lost control over it in the late 8th century.

Did Caleb receive the Negev or Hebron? Is he a Judahite, a Calebite or a Kenizzite? The redacted account of Caleb in the Bible reflects the developing realities of southern Judah in the First and Second Temple periods.

At the well, the servant asks Rebecca who her father is, and she answers, “I am the daughter of Betuel the son of Milkah, whom she bore to Nahor” (Genesis 24:24). Why the unusual genealogical description?

The key: Where was the author of the Table of Nations in Genesis 10 located?

Genealogical lists are often overlooked, and yet they represent a distinct biblical literary genre with ideological content. What messages are these lists meant to convey?

The significance—or lack thereof—of family pedigree in matters of individual excellence and righteousness.

In the ancient world, genealogy was not about family relations but about political alliances.

The names and numbers of Jacob’s descendants differ between the Masoretic Text (MT) and the Septuagint (LXX). Which tradition is more original, and what prompted the change?

Exodus 12:40 declares that the Israelites were in Egypt for 430 years, yet evidence from other biblical texts suggests a much shorter sojourn.