Jesus was about thirty years old when He began His public ministry. Jesus was known as the son of Joseph. Joseph was the son of Heli.
Heli was the son of Matthat. Matthat was the son of Levi. Levi was the son of Melki. Melki was the son of Jannai. Jannai was the son of Joseph.
Joseph was the son of Mattathias. Mattathias was the son of Amos. Amos was the son of Nahum. Nahum was the son of Esli. Esli was the son of Naggai.
Naggai was the son of Maath. Maath was the son of Mattathias. Mattathias was the son of Semein. Semein was the son of Josech. Josech was the son of Joda.
Joda was the son of Joanan. Joanan was the son of Rhesa. Rhesa was the son of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the son of Neri.
Neri was the son of Melki. Melki was the son of Addi. Addi was the son of Cosam. Cosam was the son of Elmadam. Elmadam was the son of Er.
Er was the son of Joshua. Joshua was the son of Eliezer. Eliezer was the son of Jorim. Jorim was the son of Matthat. Matthat was the son of Levi.
Levi was the son of Simeon. Simeon was the son of Judah. Judah was the son of Joseph. Joseph was the son of Jonam. Jonam was the son of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the son of Melea. Melea was the son of Menna. Menna was the son of Mattatha. Mattatha was the son of Nathan. Nathan was the son of David.
David was the son of Jesse. Jesse was the son of Obed. Obed was the son of Boaz. Boaz was the son of Salmon. Salmon was the son of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the son of Amminadab. Amminadab was the son of Admin. Admin was the son of Arni. Arni was the son of Hezron. Hezron was the son of Perez. Perez was the son of Judah.
Judah was the son of Jacob. Jacob was the son of Isaac. Isaac was the son of Abraham. Abraham was the son of Terah. Terah was the son of Nahor.
Nahor was the son of Serug. Serug was the son of Reu. Reu was the son of Peleg. Peleg was the son of Eber. Eber was the son of Shelah.
Shelah was the son of Cainan. Cainan was the son of Arphaxad. Arphaxad was the son of Shem. Shem was the son of Noah. Noah was the son of Lamech.
Lamech was the son of Methuselah. Methuselah was the son of Enoch. Enoch was the son of Jared. Jared was the son of Mahalalel. Mahalalel was the son of Kenan.
Kenan was the son of Enosh. Enosh was the son of Seth. Seth was the son of Adam. Adam was the son of God.
Luke 3:23-38
I have had a few responses from some of you relating to Luke’s genealogy. It seems that some of you have been inspired to dig into genealogies like you never have before. I am pleased. It makes my work worth it. You can find genealogies all over, especially nowadays as people are keen to find their roots. Hopefully it also gives them wings as Hodding Carter said in the quote yesterday. Peter sent me the quote from Barack Obama’s autobiography: Dreams from my Father. “Mirwiru, father of Sigoma, father of Owiny, father of Kisodhi, father of Ogelo, father of Otondi, father of Obongo, father of Okoth, father of Opiyo, father of Obama, father of Onyango, father of Barack, father of Barack Obama, President of the USA.” An interesting combination of cultures in this genealogy. What a mixture of two worlds.
Joan, a translator colleague, has been inspired to look into Matthew’s Genealogy. I think she was looking at it before I sent yesterday’s gem. She was struck as to “Why he (Matthew) included some women and why THOSE women? I mean, for goodness sake, everyone on the list had a mother. These are probably the ones good Jewish men would rather ignore. Fascinating and not at all boring and totally in line with Matthew’s emphases. And fascinating to look at the differences between Matthew and Luke in the light of their audiences and the context for each genealogy.” Yes interesting Joan. I pass it on to you as fuel for your thoughts and direction for your digging.
I am delighted that a half a dozen people have responded to the gem I wrote on the Genesis genealogy but I have to confess to something. I have been thinking about a quote I sent out a long time ago when doing the Gems on John Gospel. “Our world is in trouble because we are too serious about trivial matters & flippant about things of eternal significance.” (Rick Warren) That quote has come to mind since sending this Gem. Over the time of sending Gems I have found it fascinating the things that catch people’s attention and prompt them to ReTweet lots and those things that draw few responses. I have worked out what things to tweet if I want lots of response and what themes to stay away from if I want a meagre response. But I refuse to pander to the faddishness in all of us, me included. I am committed to dealing with whatever topics or issues that arise from the Biblical text whether they are popular or not. I refuse to chase after “what’s popular”. I will deal with hard stuff too.
I must admit to being surprised at the small reaction to today’s Gem in comparison with other things that draw lots of comment. Yes a few people have said how the Genesis 5 genealogy inspired them but most just ignored it. I find that amazing. That genealogy honestly makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It is so amazing that God would put something like that in His Word. It gives me a grand view of the God I serve. He is totally and utterly awe-inspiring. Yet such a gem passed most of you by, with hardly a blink of the eyes. Amazing. The response was minimal. It makes me realize that it is not the Word of God that people are responding to. It is the quotes I include or certain topics that come up which draw the greater responses. One that drew the biggest response for a long time was the quote “Being single doesn’t mean no one wants you. It just means GOD is busy writing your love story.” Or maybe it was that I used that on Valentines Day. I have to match my Gems offering for the particular day of the year. I will wait for Family Tree Day to talk about genealogies.
I just find it surprising that more are not gob smacked by the significance of what has been found in the Genesis 5 genealogy. It truly does amaze me that so few took notice of something so amazing. Where I thought people were interested in finding out the depth there is in the Word of God I am left thinking it is not the Word of God that attracts after all. It is the sayings of man. I have to weigh it all up carefully. I am someone who is more interested in the Word of God than the sayings of man. There is a big difference. I know too there are numbers of you who are working your way through the Gems so that you can do the work and saving up the coming Gems so you don’t miss anything. A big thank you to Libby for sending what you did today. It restores my belief that these Gems are indeed useful to some of you.
For the serious ones among you, read through the genealogy again and notice the things that stand out to you. Making a comparison of Matthew and Luke will help to highlight some things. The more you read it the more things will become clear. Notice the direction of flow. Notice the names of the people mentioned and balance it with what you know about them. Take note of the names you do know and people with whom you are familiar and those you are not. If you wish to dig into the meanings of the names you will have to use the research tools on E-Sword. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) is available, as are Brown Driver Briggs, Strongs and Thayers dictionaries. The listing in Strongs will appear if you put your cursor over the name you are wanting to investigate. If you wish to look at the meaning in BDB or Thayers you will have to make sure you have either Brown Driver Brigg’s dictionary or Thayer’s Dictionary window open. And all this presupposes you loaded it in the first place. Strongs comes automatically with E-Sword, but BDB and Thayers have to be downloaded separately.
Now you are in a position to investigate this genealogy thoroughly. Not as thoroughly as is possible but adequately. There are resources beyond these to which i have access and are not available to you. Ask me about them if you want to know more.
Whatever holds your awe holds your faith!
Judah Smith
The human race crave the experience of awe & wonder and there is no reality more breathtaking than Jesus Christ.
John Piper
There is no book more breathtaking than the Bible.
Ian Vail
If you study the Bible and it doesn’t lead you to wonder and awe then you haven’t studied the Bible.
Rob Bell