Don’t you hate biblical family trees?
New believers and those who just started the chronological read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan: we’ve all hit the first few chapters of Genesis, the chapters about creation and about the flood. But we hit a wall when we read the genealogies, right? Why do their names even matter? When am I going to use this except on some Who Wants to Be a Millionaire-esque game show? I would say that I used to be in the same boat as you. There have literally been two times lately when I was tempted to skip through the ___ was the father of ___.
But this time, I read every word. Every single one. Because once I read something simple, and that is the genealogy in Hebrew and in English.
| Adam | Man |
| Seth | Appointed |
| Enosh | Mortal |
| Kenan | Sorrow |
| Mahalalel | The Blessed God |
| Jared | Shall come down |
| Enoch | Teaching |
| Methuselah | His death shall bring |
| Lamech | The Despairing |
| Noah | Rest or comfort |
According to these direct translations, man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest.
So, the next time you’re tempted to skip over those things that seem so insignificant, remember that these words were written for us and sometimes God is just ridiculously funny!
Author: Ana Acosta