There are some parts of the genealogies that deviate from the standard format in order to present an additional information for certain generations. These additional details signal important junctions in the flow of the genealogies and also point to Jesus Christ, the chief figure in redemption history.
For example, additional details were included for the following persons:
• In the genealogy of Cain in Genesis 4—Cain, and Lamech (sixth generation)
• In the genealogy of Seth in Genesis 5—Adam, Enoch, Lamech, and Noah
• In the genealogy of Shem in Genesis 10–11—Shem, Eber, Peleg, and Abram
Out of all the persons enumerated in the genealogies, we must pay special attention to the persons listed above.
(6) Historical placement of the genealogies
The time period in which a genealogy emerges has great redemptive significance because genealogies are often recorded at a crucial turning point or junction in the history of redemption.
In the biblical genealogies, the most important person often appears at the end and becomes the starting point of a new era. Consequently, persons listed at either the beginning or the end of a genealogy hold great redemptive significance. Good examples are Adam, the first person mentioned in the genealogy of creation; Noah, the last person (tenth generation) in his genealogy (Gen 5:32); Terah and his son, Abraham, the last persons in the genealogy that follow the generation of Noah (Gen 11:26); and Joseph in the account of Jacob’s lineage (Gen 37:2–50:26).
The Genesis genealogies are especially meaningful in that they present an overview of God’s unfolding work in the history of redemption. If we study the genealogies with the aforementioned factors in mind, we will discover the intimate connection between God’s redemptive work and the genealogies.
The genealogies contain God’s administration, which has life and actively moves within the genealogies and guides the great flow of redemptive history. They also contain traces of God’s revelations that testify of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah (Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39, 45–47). Further study of the Genesis genealogies will cause Moses’ words to resonate clearly: “Remember the days of old, consider the years of all generations” (Deut 32:7).
Chapter 7
Years of the Generations in Genesis
1. Perspective on the Inerrancy of the Bible
An increasing number of modern theologians believe that the Bible contains errors. However, the Bible is the Word of the living God and is therefore 100% accurate and inerrant. This principle of inerrancy applies to the entire Bible. Accordingly, the genealogies in the Bible are also part of the accurate and inerrant Word of God; the records of the persons who appear in each genealogy, including their lives and years, are all without error.
There are some genealogies with omissions. For instance, there are omissions in the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:8. Three kings—Ahaziah (2 Kgs 8:25), Jehoash (2 Kgs 12:1), and Amaziah (2 Kgs 14:1)—are omitted between Joram and Uzziah. In Matthew 1:11, Jehoiakim is omitted after Josiah (2 Kgs 23:34; 1 Chr 3:16). These omissions imply that the genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew was not written for the purpose of preserving a complete historical record or for calculating years. Matthew recorded the names of important persons from each era that he deemed necessary for the purpose of the genealogy and omitted others. He composed three groups of 14 generations each and recorded a total of 42 generations. Matthew 1:17 states, “Therefore all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the time of Christ fourteen generations.”
We must not waver in our faith that the biblical genealogies are part of the perfect and inerrant Word of God. Not all genealogies were written for the mere purpose of recording and calculating the years; certain generations were intentionally omitted in order to communicate God’s specific will.
2. Years of the Generations in Genesis 5 and Genesis 11
Together, the genealogies in Genesis 5 and Genesis 11 contain 20 generations of patriarchs. The genealogy of the line of Seth, which covers the generations from Adam to Abraham, contains no chronological gaps.
In his study of the Genesis genealogies, Old Testament scholar and creation scientist Henry M. Morris based his calculations of the ten generations from Adam to Noah on the years of birth and death. He argues that there are no gaps in these genealogies:
There is no reason to think there are any “gaps” in this record, or that the years are anything other than normal years (except for the quizzical possibility that the original year was 360 days long, instead of the present 365¼). The record is perfectly natural and straightforward and is obviously intended to give both the necessary genealogical data to denote the promised lineage and also the only reliable chronological framework we have for the antediluvian period of history.3
Old Testament theologian Travis R. Freeman also believes that the genealogies in Genesis 5 and Genesis 11 flow without gaps or disconnections. Freeman states:
Some modern theologians believe not only that Genesis 5 and 11 contain the names of actual historical figures, but that those names form a continuous (without generational omissions) linear genealogy from Adam to Abraham. While they readily acknowledge fluidity as a fairly common occurrence in ancient genealogies, they reason that the occurrence of fluidity in some genealogies does not prove fluidity in all genealogies. They see the genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11 as two of the many exceptions to the fluidity rule.4
In his analysis of early biblical genealogies, Samuel R. Külling begins by acknowledging that many biblical genealogies, such as those in Ezra 7 and Matthew 1, contain gaps. He believes, however, that biblical genealogies come in more than one genre. He describes the genealogies of Genesis 5 and Genesis 11 as chronological genealogies because of the many numerical notations therein, especially the fathers’ ages at procreation, and claims that there are no gaps or omissions within each of the two genealogies. He emphasizes that the purpose of the passages in Genesis stating Abraham’s age at Isaac’s birth and Isaac’s age at Jacob’s birth was to create an accurate chronology.5
What, then, is the basis for the belief that the chronological records of the genealogies in Genesis 5 and Genesis 11 are inerrant? There are three arguments.
First, the genealogies in Genesis 5 and Genesis 11 accurately narrate the time of birth, age at procreation, and life span for all 20 generations of patriarchs. Such precise notations of years cannot be found in other genealogies and thus impart additional credibility to these records. The narrative of the 20 generations of patriarchs is an actual historical and chronological record. If the purpose had not been to record actual accounts, there would have been no reason for such a detailed narrative.
Second, the order of the 20 patriarchs in Genesis 5 and Genesis 11 does not contradict any other genealogy in the Bible. The order of names in the genealogies in Genesis 5 and Genesis 11 is perfectly consistent with the order of names in the genealogies in 1 Chronicles 1:1–4, 24–27.
(1 Chr 1:1) Adam, Seth, Enosh
(1 Chr 1:2) Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared
(1 Chr 1:3) Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech
(1 Chr 1:4) Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth
(1 Chr 1:24) Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah
(1 Chr 1:25) Eber, Peleg, Reu
(1 Chr 1:26) Serug, Nahor, Terah
(1 Chr 1:27) Abram (Abraham)
Moreover, the genealogies in Genesis 5 and Genesis 11 are in agreement with the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Luke 3. In Luke 3:34–38, however, there is a difference in the case of one person. Cainan is listed between Arphaxad (Arpachshad) and Shelah in Luke 3, but not in Genesis 11. The