What other biblical passages emphasize the significance of genealogies and family records? A snapshot from Benjamin’s line (1 Chronicles 8:20) “Elienai, Zillethai, and Eliel.” This brief verse sits in a long roll call of names. By recording every branch, Scripture signals that family lines matter to God—both for preserving Israel’s tribal identity and for tracing the promised Messiah. Why Scripture keeps rolling out the family trees • They confirm God’s promises move through real people in real time. • They safeguard land inheritance and priestly qualifications. • They anchor Israel’s history after exiles, wars, and regime changes. • They allow later generations to trace Christ’s lineage back to David, Abraham, and ultimately Adam. Foundational Old-Testament passages where genealogies take center stage • Genesis 5:1-2 — “This is the book of the generations of Adam…” • Genesis 10:32 — “These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their generations…” • Genesis 11:10-32 — The line from Shem to Abram. • Exodus 6:14-25 — Levitical heads listed before Moses confronts Pharaoh. • Numbers 1:1-18; 26:1-65 — Census lists by tribe to assign camp positions and future inheritances. • Ruth 4:18-22 — From Perez to David, showing how a Moabite widow becomes part of Messiah’s line. • 1 Chronicles 1–9 — Nine chapters of genealogies framing Israel’s entire history. • 1 Chronicles 9:1 — “So all Israel was recorded in the genealogies…” • Esther 2:5-6 — Mordecai’s ancestry establishes him as a Benjamite. Protecting covenant identity after the exile • Ezra 2:59-63 — Certain families are barred from priestly service when they cannot prove lineage. • Nehemiah 7:5 — Nehemiah finds “the book of the genealogy of those who had come up first.” • Nehemiah 12:22-26 — Priests and Levites registered “during the reign of Darius the Persian.” The New Testament picks up the baton • Matthew 1:1-17 — “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” • Luke 3:23-38 — Traces Jesus back to “Adam, the son of God.” • Hebrews 7:3 — Melchizedek’s lack of genealogy foreshadows Christ’s eternal priesthood. • 1 Timothy 1:4; Titus 3:9 — Warnings against speculative use of genealogies show they were still a live issue in the early church, even as their true purpose pointed to Christ. • Revelation 7:4-8 — Twelve tribes, twelve thousand each, sealed unto God—tribal identity preserved to the end. From Adam to Christ: the unbroken thread Across both Testaments, genealogies are not filler—they are God’s way of stamping history with verifiable evidence that His covenant promises never miss a generation and culminate in Jesus, the promised Son of David and Savior of the world. |
    |