The Genesis of Jewish Genealogy
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 v...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Genealogy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/7/4/91 |
| _version_ | 1797380961426472960 |
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| author | Aaron Demsky |
| author_facet | Aaron Demsky |
| author_sort | Aaron Demsky |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:44:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-22ff3f81a01c414cb524a424adba3d01 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2313-5778 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:44:30Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Genealogy |
| spelling | doaj.art-22ff3f81a01c414cb524a424adba3d012023-12-22T14:10:55ZengMDPI AGGenealogy2313-57782023-11-01749110.3390/genealogy7040091The Genesis of Jewish GenealogyAaron Demsky0Department of Jewish History, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, IsraelThis 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/7/4/91biblical genealogybook of GenesisTable of Nations |
| spellingShingle | Aaron Demsky The Genesis of Jewish Genealogy Genealogy biblical genealogy book of Genesis Table of Nations |
| title | The Genesis of Jewish Genealogy |
| title_full | The Genesis of Jewish Genealogy |
| title_fullStr | The Genesis of Jewish Genealogy |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Genesis of Jewish Genealogy |
| title_short | The Genesis of Jewish Genealogy |
| title_sort | genesis of jewish genealogy |
| topic | biblical genealogy book of Genesis Table of Nations |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/7/4/91 |
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