This paper examines the structure, message, and content of biblical genealogies in light of literary analysis and social anthropology. In particular, the focus is on the so-called “Table of Nations” in Genesis 10. My basic assumption is that most biblical genealogies are a literary genre employing various devices that carry a message using symbolic numbers, chiastic structure, and anticipation. These lists interact and supplement the narrative, sometimes as a foil to the story line. They are inserted at relevant points of change in the story of mankind from Adam and Eve to Joseph and his brothers. I even propose that these insertions are the earliest form of dividing the book of Genesis into installments, a precursor to weekly Torah readings and to the later division into chapters as in the printed text. The underlying message of this chapter is the value concept of the brotherhood of mankind stemming from one father—Noah. This innovative idea of universal kinship breaks with the common pagan view prevalent in antiquity that man’s place is to serve the gods and to have little or no personal identity. Note that the great urban cultures of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia have left us no real records of family lineage other than the long king lists that reflect dynastic power. No doubt the importance of oral and written lineage stems from a tribal culture like that of the ancient Hebrews and their kindred. This overriding view even shaped the Nimrud pericope, describing his founding the urban centers of Babylon and Assyria. Genealogy became the natural medium expressing this message of universal kinship. Basic to understanding biblical genealogies is discerning two patterns of kinship, one, linear, stretching up to ten generations, and two, segmented genealogies, noting an eponymous “father” and his segmented offspring or wives. Our understanding of these structures in the Bible is shaped by the research of social anthropologists who studied oral genealogy among analphabetic tribes in Africa and the Middle East. I apply these observations and methodology in a detailed commentary on the Table of Nations.
Fortify Your Family Tree: Simplify Your Genealogy Info Gathering
Alonso community gathers for Jose Fernandez memorial
Decade Review: Greece, a decade of transition for the Ethniki
—
Decade Review: Greece, a decade of transition for the Ethniki
—
32 Free Family Tree Templates (Word, Excel, PDF, PowerPoint)
How to Make a Family Tree Chart
Used stamps - KING ALEXANDER-4 D-VARIATION-SHS-CROATIA-YUGOSLAVIA
Obituary information for Frank Lewis Thomasson, III
Authenticity GuaranteedNatural complex substances: From molecules to the molecular complexes. Analytical and technological advances for their definition and differentiation from the corresponding synthetic substances - ScienceDirect, low vibrational
Dale Williams on LinkedIn: Amazing collaboration. Beautiful jersey's
Family Tree Template - Superstar Worksheets
RootsMagic Genealogy and Family History Software
Genealogy, Free Full-Text