Bible Gem 781 – A possible solution to the Revelation 7 List ~ Luke’s Genealogy (Luke 2:23-38)

Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was (so it was thought) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, 

the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 

the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 

the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 

the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 

the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 

the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 

the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 

the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Matattha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 

the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 

the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 

the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 

the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 

the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 

the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 

the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Luke 3:23-28

Here is the puzzle again:

So why is the Revelation 7 list of tribes scrambled and some names added and other names removed in a seemingly random way? 

I dug into the text in every way I could but I could not see any connection that made sense. There did not seem to be any reason for making the substitutions of names that had been made. Furthermore there was no logical reason for the arrangement in the order of names. It just didn’t make any sense. This is the only list of the tribes of Israel ordered like this and Joseph is paired with one son rather than substituted by both. I prayed lots and asked God for insight, a clue, for some direction as to where I should look.  During that time I had an a’ha moment and thought what if it has something to do with the meanings of the names.  So I started to look at the meanings of the names. 

What if the tribes were chosen because of the meanings of their names?  What if it is working in a Midrashic way like the Genesis 5 genealogy?

• Judah = [praise] I will praise the LORD 
• Reuben = [look] He has looked on me
• Gad =   [blessed]  Granted good fortune
• Asher = Happy am I [happy]
• Naphtali = My wrestling
• Manasseh = [forget] He made me forget
• Simeon = [heard] God has heard
• Levi = [attached] He will hold me close [attached]
• Issachar = [wages] Wages, reward [wages]
• Zebulun = Dwelling, habitation
• Joseph = [add] God will add
• Benjamin = Son of His right hand

That did not satisfy. There was no overall connection like there is with the meanings in the Genesis 5 genealogy. Then I had the idea what if it related to the statements made over each boy at their birth

• Judah – This time I will praise the LORD
• Reuben – Certainly, the LORD has seen my misery
• Gad – I’ve been lucky!
• Asher – I’ve been blessed!
• Naphtali – I have had a great struggle [with my sister] and I have won!
• Manasseh – because God helped me forget all my troubles
• Simeon – Certainly, the LORD has heard
• Levi – Now at last [my husband] He will become attached [close]to me
• Issachar – God has given me my reward
• Zebulun – God has presented me with a beautiful present [dwelling]. This time [my husband] He will honour me
• Joseph – God has taken away my disgrace. He has given me [another son]
• Benjamin – The Son of His right hand.

If all are put together, in the same way that the meanings of the words in the Genesis 5 genealogy are combined, they seem to all fit well. The resultant statement reads as follows: 

This time I will praise the LORD [for] certainly the LORD has seen my misery. I’ve been lucky! I’ve been blessed! I have had a great struggle and I have won because God helped me forget all my troubles. Certainly, the LORD has heard, now at last He will become attached [close]  to me. God has given me my reward God has presented me with a beautiful present [dwelling]. This time He will honour me; God has taken away my disgrace. He has given me the Son of His right hand.

You will notice I have removed the elements list above in red as they are case specific and don’t read in a general way. I thought that prudent and logical. Yes it seems likely that the choice and order of the names of the tribes of Israel have to do with the meaning and context surrounding the birth of the sons.  

So why were Dan and Ephraim not included? Some have claimed that the reason Dan and Ephraim were not chosen was because of the following verses. 

Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder [viper] in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

Genesis 49:17

Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone

Hosea 4:17

But in the case of the Dan the statement was made at the time of the final blessing. In Ephraim’s case it is a later retrospective view after the matter of apostasy arose.  I think we need to be consistent and ponder why the following statements were not chosen in the context of the birth of each child.

Rachel named him Dan, for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.” 

Genesis 30:6

Joseph named his second son Ephraim, for he said, “God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.”

Genesis 41:52  

I wonder if in Dan’s case the idea of vindication was not part of the idea that was being communicated in that it didn’t fit with the whole context. In Ephraim’s case the idea of fruitfulness in the land of suffering or grief was just not wanted in the complete package. If you read the above statement in the context in which it appears in Revelation 7, we are talking about the 144,000 redeemed from the tribes of Israel. And beyond them the vaste crowd, too great to count. All of them redeemed by the blood of the lamb. All of them who can chorus out together:- 

This time I will praise the LORD [for] certainly the LORD has seen my misery. I’ve been lucky! I’ve been blessed! I have had a great struggle and I have won because God helped me forget all my troubles. Certainly, the LORD has heard, now at last He will become attached [close]  to me. God has given me my reward God has presented me with a beautiful present [dwelling]. This time He will honour me; God has taken away my disgrace. He has given me the Son of His right hand.

One has to wonder when new ideas come to mind, “Am I the only one who thinks this?”  Am I the only one in all the history of the Christian church who came up with this? If so, then one ought to question it. My comment yesterday: “The Word of God is living and active and sharp. Just be careful you don’t cut yourself on it.” is related to this. It is easy for us to go off on a fanciful tangent contrary to Scripture and end up creating some new doctrine or worse yet a cult. We must always submit ourselves to the scrutiny of the wider body but allow for differences in interpretation we give to a passage of Scripture. That was exactly what the Rabbis did in Beth Midrash – the House of Allusion. Explore all the options, don’t rule out the possibility of allegorical or allusory interpretations, these are present in Scripture legitimately. We just have to be careful in the way we handle them and not go overboard. Allow me some space to ponder new insights.    

I looked for substantiation of these thoughts to see if other people had thought that this may be the solution before. And in fact there were a number of people who espoused this idea.  Imagine my delight when I came across articles from three Rabbis on the internet on exactly this issue. [I just wish I had kept the link and the names – I normally do but in this case I didn’t think to do in my excitement of finding someone else, and rabbis no less who think this may be the solution.]  I think there is validity in it. Quite frankly there is no other way in my mind of plausibly explaining the feature of the missing names and the rearranged list. But I will hold it loosely and ask John when I see him, or better yet ask Jesus, but I think the line for him will be long in heaven. Maybe John is the better bet. 

I wonder if there’s something like this in Luke’s genealogy. Do the meanings of the names in Luke’s genealogy or in Matthew’s influence the arrangement and the outcome of which names are chosen? Given the fact that it seems to be based on a certain degree of arbitrariness in which names are chosen and which are omitted. Is that just in Matthew’s case or is it in both lists. Besides Matthew’s is the Hebrew gospel and he is more likely to appeal to the meanings of the names. I haven’t done more on this than that. I have not had time to look into the meaning of the names in either genealogy but it is something that I will do over the next period of time. I have wondered therefore if some of you might also be interesting in doing it “with me”. Admittedly I don’t have the best resources here with me but I will certainly make a good start on it . Tomorrow I will share something else from the efforts of another. In the meantime I will turn you loose. Simply green lighting at this point. Allow me some space to think new thoughts / outside the box, whatever way you like to put it. 

“I love nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells”.

Dr Seuss.

I love creativity and thinking outside the box.  (Just as long as our creativity doesn’t become nonsense. To ensure that doesn’t happen we must stay within the checks of the body of Christ.)

Ian Vail

Instead of thinking outside of the box, GET OUT OF IT!

Rick Godwin

To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.  

Rick Godwin