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Breathing is boring, brushing your teeth is boring, washing dishes is boring- but you do them cause they're nessesary. If you try to rush through reading them, they'll be even more boring. But if you read the Bible front to back like a book, without skipping over parts that you think are boring, you'll be able to make connections to other parts of the Bible that you wouldn't have. Identifying names with their life story is really beneficial. It's like eating your vegetables at dinner- boring. But you value your eyesight, skin, hair, and organ functions- especially your heart.
Feed on the Word- including the milk of it, the meat of it, and especially the veggies.
Feed on the Word- including the milk of it, the meat of it, and especially the veggies.
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I used to find no value in knowing them, and had the same thought " its boring and what will i learn? as ive grown, the things ive learned made me realize they are valuable indeed....and help understanding of the things that ive learned 
i believe God has a design for His word, where as we grow in His things, we find deeper value in things we didnt beforehand. but beforehand they werent important to us at the time, so swer led to different interesting things within the word that help us grow at that time.
i believe God has a design for His word, where as we grow in His things, we find deeper value in things we didnt beforehand. but beforehand they werent important to us at the time, so swer led to different interesting things within the word that help us grow at that time.
Right now we are in 1 Chronicles. I do indeed find it boring and tedious to read page after page of names that I cannot even pronounce. I do know however that every word in the bible is there because it is important and serves a purpose in our spiritual growth. Every once in awhile there comes across a name that I am familiar with so it's not all bad. Sometimes it's good.
They are not boring, (except just to read at first). Rather they are a place for finding out the descent of different well known people and their relationship. They are for consultation rather than reading and they put us in the wider picture. As you get to know the people of the OT better you will find them more interesting.
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Any part of the Bible can be found boring, though it is true that the genealogies tend to fit that mould for many people. The Bible is truth, but the particular which a certain passage discusses may not be directly relevant to your life at the moment. Therefore, it doesn't hold your interest.
How many times have we say in church hearing a sermon which doesn't seem to apply to us... and we tune out? Contrast that with the feeling of alertness and attention we feel when it seems the preacher is reading the thoughts of our hearts that day. So it is with reading the Bible... sometimes it speaks to our current situation, and sometimes it doesn't. Not to worry; just make it a habit of asking the Holy Spirit to bring the Word alive to you... He will make the each passage relevant at the proper time.
How many times have we say in church hearing a sermon which doesn't seem to apply to us... and we tune out? Contrast that with the feeling of alertness and attention we feel when it seems the preacher is reading the thoughts of our hearts that day. So it is with reading the Bible... sometimes it speaks to our current situation, and sometimes it doesn't. Not to worry; just make it a habit of asking the Holy Spirit to bring the Word alive to you... He will make the each passage relevant at the proper time.
Genealogies are given to establish the legitimacy of a people, a particular ethnic group; that the people are descended from the originator(s) of that ethnic group. They were a way of establishing the roots/origin of an ethnic group. In royal genealogies, they are also a way to establish the legitimacy of the current ruler.
You see this a lot in “kings lists” right down to the Middle Ages – it was common practice to trace a given king’s lineage all the way to Adam and Eve to establish his god given right to rule (and be king).
Some will use them to reckon time (relatively speaking) – the idea here is that there was no established “year one and we start counting from here”. Israel was not established as a nation yet so regnal dating couldn’t be used. People had to have a way of reckoning their own history and counting generations was the easiest way. Using the lists of genealogies to try and reckon time presents a number of problems. Obviously there are a ton of gaps and missing years, so fantastical ages were given to some of the individuals – where that happens is where the gaps are. It’s easier then filling in with a bunch of “unknown” generations.
In addition, the concept of "A begat B" doesn’t always imply direct parentage – a better way of looking at 'begat' would be “begat in the line culminating in..” The terms 'son' and 'father' can mean 'descendant' and 'ancestor' as well.
As others have mentioned some of the individuals in a given line have some interesting stories associated with them.
Being an avid genealogist, I can appreciate the genealogies given, but as far as ages and dating goes - that's more a secondary purpose and can't really be relied on with any degree of accuracy.
But, yeah, they are long lists!
"Bunni", by the way comes from the Hebrew root 'bana' - to build, so presumably our guy Bunni was named after his profession (like Mason, Tanner, Smith, etc.)
You see this a lot in “kings lists” right down to the Middle Ages – it was common practice to trace a given king’s lineage all the way to Adam and Eve to establish his god given right to rule (and be king).
Some will use them to reckon time (relatively speaking) – the idea here is that there was no established “year one and we start counting from here”. Israel was not established as a nation yet so regnal dating couldn’t be used. People had to have a way of reckoning their own history and counting generations was the easiest way. Using the lists of genealogies to try and reckon time presents a number of problems. Obviously there are a ton of gaps and missing years, so fantastical ages were given to some of the individuals – where that happens is where the gaps are. It’s easier then filling in with a bunch of “unknown” generations.
In addition, the concept of "A begat B" doesn’t always imply direct parentage – a better way of looking at 'begat' would be “begat in the line culminating in..” The terms 'son' and 'father' can mean 'descendant' and 'ancestor' as well.
As others have mentioned some of the individuals in a given line have some interesting stories associated with them.
Being an avid genealogist, I can appreciate the genealogies given, but as far as ages and dating goes - that's more a secondary purpose and can't really be relied on with any degree of accuracy.
But, yeah, they are long lists!
"Bunni", by the way comes from the Hebrew root 'bana' - to build, so presumably our guy Bunni was named after his profession (like Mason, Tanner, Smith, etc.)
And just to think,if those genealogies were not so boring one would see simple things that made no sense at first. Job and his friends were they born before or after Moses? Lol, and just who is it that started the rumour that those "sons of God" were in reference to the sons of Seth,or Cain or if they were actually angelic beings?
One would see prudence in knowing that Job and all his friends pre-dated Moses and that the term "sons of God" was already an established term long before Moses was born. Maybe then it would stick out that instead of thinking that the book of Job was written about those events and Moses had elaborated on them before hand it would become conclusive that Moses was born after Job and his friends had lived the events in the book of Job.
Lol,so it is difficult to ascertain who it was who first began the rumour that they were the children of a cross between angels and the daughter of men and again if those pesky genealogies were not so boring it would stand right out that Moses himself is who was giving the "additional information" as to that knowledge in Genesis and you would know who began the rumour and when you understood it to be Moses you would trust that judgement. Lol,I don’t find it boring at all,,,
One would see prudence in knowing that Job and all his friends pre-dated Moses and that the term "sons of God" was already an established term long before Moses was born. Maybe then it would stick out that instead of thinking that the book of Job was written about those events and Moses had elaborated on them before hand it would become conclusive that Moses was born after Job and his friends had lived the events in the book of Job.
Lol,so it is difficult to ascertain who it was who first began the rumour that they were the children of a cross between angels and the daughter of men and again if those pesky genealogies were not so boring it would stand right out that Moses himself is who was giving the "additional information" as to that knowledge in Genesis and you would know who began the rumour and when you understood it to be Moses you would trust that judgement. Lol,I don’t find it boring at all,,,
So is Rahab the prostitute. Matthew 1:1-6 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
Jesus had some Gentile in His blood line. That's all the genealogies are about, to keep a record of all the genealogies to track the Messiah's blood line.
Jesus had some Gentile in His blood line. That's all the genealogies are about, to keep a record of all the genealogies to track the Messiah's blood line.
Well as far as dates, I personally trust the Hebrew calendar as being the most accurate. The Jews have always been so meticulous, because of their various strict observances, so I don't believe anyone to be more accurate with dates than the Jews. The Jews desired to walk before God "perfectly in all things that are revealed according to their appointed seasons".
Maybe this is a different thread. Anyhow, their calendar would put us now in the year 5777.
I haven't looked fully into the other calendars, but I did notice that under the Roman calendar the caesars added two extra months... July/Julius Caesar, August/Augustus. These are the two months I know of, but there could be more.
Maybe this is a different thread. Anyhow, their calendar would put us now in the year 5777.
I haven't looked fully into the other calendars, but I did notice that under the Roman calendar the caesars added two extra months... July/Julius Caesar, August/Augustus. These are the two months I know of, but there could be more.
I would not.
"The present Hebrew calendar is the product of evolution, including a Babylonian influence. Until the Tannaitic period (approximately 10–220 CE), the calendar employed a new crescent moon, with an additional month normally added every two or three years to correct for the difference between twelve lunar months and the solar year. When to add it was based on observation of natural agriculture-related events in Israel.[1] Through the Amoraic period (200–500 CE) and into the Geonic period, this system was gradually displaced by the mathematical rules used today. The principles and rules were fully codified by Maimonides in the Mishneh Torah in the 12th century."
"The present Hebrew calendar is the product of evolution, including a Babylonian influence. Until the Tannaitic period (approximately 10–220 CE), the calendar employed a new crescent moon, with an additional month normally added every two or three years to correct for the difference between twelve lunar months and the solar year. When to add it was based on observation of natural agriculture-related events in Israel.[1] Through the Amoraic period (200–500 CE) and into the Geonic period, this system was gradually displaced by the mathematical rules used today. The principles and rules were fully codified by Maimonides in the Mishneh Torah in the 12th century."
