Part of the series on Creationism

History of creationism Creation in Genesis This article is about the Abrahamic belief; creationism can also refer to origin beliefs in general or, centuries earlier, to an alternative to traducianism. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The history of creationism is tied to the history of religions. ... Creation according to Genesis refers to the description of the creation of the heavens and the earth by God, as described in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. ...

Types of creationism: Young Earth creationism - Creation science Old Earth creationism Omphalos creationism Evolutionary creationism Neo-Creationism Intelligent design - Intelligent design movement Modern geocentrism Created in Gods image, complete with navel. ... Creation science is a part of the creationist movement that claims to offer scientific evidence compatible with creation according to Genesis. ... Old Earth creationism is a variant of the creationist view of the origin of the universe and life on Earth. ... The omphalos hypothesis was named after the title of an 1857 book by Philip Henry Gosse in which he argued that in order for the world to be functional, God must have created the Earth with mountains, canyons, trees with growth rings, Adam and Eve with hair, fingernails, and navels... Theistic evolution, or the less common term, Evolutionary Creationism, is the general belief that some or all classical religious teachings about God and creation are compatible with some or all of the scientific theory of evolution. ... Neo-Creationism is a movement whose goal is to restate creationism in terms more likely to be well-received by the public, policy makers and the scientific community. ... Intelligent Design (ID) is the controversial assertion that certain features of the universe and of living things exhibit the characteristics of a product resulting from an intelligent cause or agent, as opposed to an unguided process such as natural selection. Adherents argue that any phenomenon or feature that cannot be... The Intelligent Design movement, which began in the early 1990s, is an organized campaign promoting broad social, academic and political changes centering around intelligent design in the public sphere, primarily in the United States. ... The term modern geocentrism refers to a belief currently held by certain groups that the Earth is the center of the universe and does not move. ...

Controversy: Creation vs. evolution ... in public education Associated articles Teach the Controversy Flying Spaghetti Monsterism The creation-evolution controversy (also termed the creation vs. ... The legal status of creation and evolution in public education is the subject of a great deal of debate in legal, scientific and religious circles, mainly in the United States. ... The following is a clearinghouse of articles which refer to terms often used in the context of the creation-evolution controversy: // Origins Main article: Origin beliefs The creation-evolution controversy often is cast as a controversy surrounding the origin beliefs. ... Teach the Controversy is a controversial political-action campaign originating from the Discovery Institute that seeks to advance an education policy for US public schools that introduces intelligent design to public-school science curricula and seeks to redefine science to allow for supernatural explanations. ... Flying Spaghetti Monsterism (FSM) is a satirical parody religion created in 2005 to protest the decision by the Kansas State Board of Education to allow alleged problems with evolution to be taught. ...

The genealogies of Genesis record the descendents of Adam and Eve as given in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. The enumerated genealogy in chapters 4, 5 and 11 reports the lineal male descent to Abraham, including the age at which each patriarch fathered his named son and the number of years he lived thereafter. The genealogy for Cain is given in Chapter 4 and the genealogy for Seth is in Chapter 5. The genealogy in chapter 10 recording the male descendants of Noah is known as the Table of Nations. According to the Book of Genesis in the Christian Bible and Judaisms Torah, and to Islams Quran, Adam was the first man created by God. ... The Bible (sometimes The Book, Good Book, Word of God, The Word, or Scripture), from Greek (τα) βιβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, plural of βιβλιον, biblion, book, originally a diminutive of βιβλος, biblos, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos, meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported this writing material... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin) is the first book of the Torah (five books of Moses) and hence the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of the Christian Old Testament. ... Genealogy the study and tracing of family pedigrees. ... Abraham (אַבְרָהָם Father/Leader of many, Standard Hebrew Avraham, Latin Abrahamus, Tiberian Hebrew ʾAḇrāhām; Arabic ابراهيم Ibrāhīm) is the patriarch of Judaism, recognized by Christianity, and a very important prophet in Islam. ... Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. ...

Enumerated genealogy

Two versions of the enumerated genealogy exist, that in the Latin Vulgate Bible (accepted by Western Christians, including Roman Catholics and Protestants) and that in the Greek Septuagint Bible (accepted by Eastern Christians, including Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Ethiopic, Jacobite, and Armenian). The Vulgate was published by Jerome in 405 based on a Tanakh compiled near the end of the first century, whereas the Septuagint was reputedly written by seventy translators in Egypt near the middle of the third century BC based on an earlier version of the Tanakh. Both have been translated into numerous vernacular languages — a prominent example based upon the Vulgate is the King James Version of the Bible. This genealogy, along with other biblical and secular events, was used to fix the Creation of the world. But the patriarchs were often 100 years older at the birth of their named son in the Septuagint than they were in the Vulgate, resulting in an Eastern Creation approximately 1500 years earlier than the Western Creation. The precise difference between the two genealogies is 1466 years. The most famous Western Creation is that of Archbishop James Ussher, 4004 BC, whereas the most famous Eastern Creation is the epoch of the Byzantine Era, 5509 BC. The Vulgate Bible is an early 5th century translation of the Bible into Latin made by St. ... The Catholic Church, known also as the Roman Catholic Church, is the Christian Church whose visible head is the Pope, currently Benedict XVI. It teaches that it is the one holy catholic and apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ, and that the sole Church of Christ which in the Creed... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... The Septuagint (LXX) is the name commonly given in the West to the Koine Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh/Old Testament) produced from the third to first century BC. The Septuagint Bible includes additional books beyond those used in the Hebrew Bible. ... ... , by Albrecht Dürer Jerome (ca. ... // Events Japanese court officially adopts the Chinese writing system (approximate date). ... 11th century Targum Tanakh [תנ״ך] (also spelt Tanach or Tenach) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... (1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century - other centuries) The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 99. ... (4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events The first two Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome over dominance in western Mediterranean Rome conquers Spain Great Wall of China begun Indian traders regularly visited Arabia Scythians occupy... The King James Version (KJV) is an English translation of the Holy Bible, commissioned for the benefit of the Church of England at the behest of King James I of England. ... Cultures throughout history have believed the world formed or was formed at some time in the past, so methods of dating Creation have involved analysing scriptures and physical data. ... The Ussher-Lightfoot Calendar is a 17th century chronology of the history of the world formulated from an interpretative reading of the Bible by James Ussher, the Anglican Archbishop of Armagh (in what is now Northern Ireland). ... (6th millennium BC – 5th millennium BC – 4th millennium BC – other millennia) Events 4713 BC – The epoch (origin) of the Julian Period described by Joseph Justus Scaliger occurred on January 1, the astronomical Julian day number zero. ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centred at its capital in Constantinople. ... (7th millennium BC – 6th millennium BC – 5th millennium BC – other millennia) // Events c. ...

The following table lists the patriarchs that appear in the Vulgate and the Septuagint, but their names are spelt as they appear in the King James Version of the Bible. Their year of birth (year of creation for Adam) is given in the world era appropriate to the Vulgate or the Septuagint (AM = Anno Mundi = in the year of the world). Also given is each patriarch's age at the birth of his named son and his age at death. The Septuagint has one more patriarch after the Flood, Cainan, than does the Vulgate. Methuselah survived the Flood according to the Septuagint (but not the Vulgate), even though he was not on Noah's Ark. Michelangelo Buonarroti In the Hebrew Bibles account (Gen. ...

¹: The names of these wives are recorded in the Book of Jubilees, but not Genesis. The names of the other wives are recorded in both. This article is about the biblical Adam and Eve. ... Seth or Shet (שֵׁת Placed; appointed, Standard Hebrew Å et, Tiberian Hebrew Šēṯ, Arabic ÔíË), in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible, is the third son of Adam and Eve mentioned by name, and brother of Cain and Abel. ... Enos or Enosh, (אֱנוֹשׁ Mortal man; sick, Standard Hebrew EnoÅ¡, Tiberian Hebrew ʼĔnôš) is the first son of Seth in the Jewish and Christian Bible. ... Cainan, קינן, (a Biblical name)- possession; smith. ... Mahalaleel (Biblical name) - praise of God. ... Jared (יֶרֶד / יָרֶד, Standard Hebrew Yéred / Yáred, Tiberian Hebrew Yéreḏ / Yāreḏ) is derived from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament of the Bible), where it appears in the Book of Genesis (Gen. ... In the Book of Genesis, Enoch or Hanokh (חֲנוֹךְ Initiated; dedicated; disciplined, Standard Hebrew Ḥanoḫ, Tiberian Hebrew Ḥănôḵ) is a name shared by two individuals named in the Genealogies of Genesis and subsequent Jewish, Christian, and Islamic writers. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Lamech or Lémech (לָמֶךְ / לֶמֶךְ Low; poor, Standard Hebrew Lémeḫ / Lámeḫ, Tiberian Hebrew Lémeḵ / Lāmeḵ) is the name of two men in the Book of Genesis. ... Noah or Nóach (Rest, Standard Hebrew נוֹחַ Nóaḥ, Tiberian Hebrew × Ö¹×—Ö· Nōªḥ; Arabic نوح Nūḥ), is a Biblical figure who according to Genesis built an ark to save his family and a selection of the worlds animals from the Deluge (an example of divine retribution). ... Shem (שֵׁם renown; prosperity, Standard Hebrew Å em, Tiberian Hebrew Å Ä“m; Greek Σημ, SÄ“m) was one of the sons of Noah in the Bible. ... Arpachshad or Arphaxad or Arphacsad (אַרְפַּכְשַׁד / אַרְפַּכְשָׁד Healer; releaser, Standard Hebrew Arpaḫšad, Tiberian Hebrew ʾArpaḵšaḏ / ʾArpaḵšāḏ) was one of the five sons of Shem, the son of Noah (Genesis 10:22,24;11:12,13; 1 Chronicles 1:17,18). ... Cainan, קינן, (a Biblical name)- possession; smith. ... Shelah or Shela (שֵׁלָה Petition, Standard Hebrew Šela, Tiberian Hebrew Šēlāh) is the name of two persons in the Bible: The son of Arpachshad, and thus the grandson of Shem. ... Eber (עֵבֶר, Standard Hebrew ʿÉver, Tiberian Hebrew ʿĒḇer) is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. ... Peleg (פֶּלֶג / פָּלֶג Division, Standard Hebrew Péleg / Páleg, Tiberian Hebrew Péleḡ / Pāleḡ) is one of the two sons of Eber the eponymous ancestor of the Hebrews mentioned in the biblical Table of Nations. ... REU is the abbreviation for RAM Expansion Unit, used by the Commodore 64 and Commodore 128 personal computers. ... Serug - branch - was the son of Reu and the father of Nahor. ... (1. ... Terah or Térach (תֶּרַח / תָּרַח Wanderer; loiterer, Standard Modern Hebrew Téraḥ / Táraḥ, Tiberian Hebrew Téraḥ / Tāraḥ) was the father of Abraham mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. ... Abraham (אַבְרָהָם Father/Leader of many, Standard Hebrew Avraham, Latin Abrahamus, Tiberian Hebrew ʾAḇrāhām; Arabic ابراهيم IbrāhÄ«m) is the patriarch of Judaism, recognized by Christianity, and a very important prophet in Islam. ... The Book of Jubilees expands and reworks material found in Genesis to Exodus 15. ... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin), also called The First Book of Moses, is the first book of Torah (five books of Moses), and is the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of...

Genealogies of Cain and Seth

Three of Adam and Eve's children are named. The main genealogy is via Seth, who was born after Cain, the firstborn son, slew his brother Abel. A genealogy for Cain is also given (in chapter 4), with some names similar to those for Seth's descendents. No years are provided, so the following table simply lines the descendents up by generation. In stories common to the Abrahamic religions, Cain or Káyin (קַיִן / קָיִן spear Standard Hebrew Qáyin, Tiberian Hebrew Qáyin / Qāyin; Arabic قايين Qāyīn in the Arabic Bible; قابيل Qābīl in Islam) is the eldest son of Adam and Eve, and the first man born in creation... In the Book of Genesis, Abel (Hebrew הֶבֶל / הָבֶל, Standard Hebrew Hével / Hável, Tiberian Hebrew Héḇel / Hāḇel; Arabic هابيل Hābīl) was the second son of Adam. ...

Although Cain's line is taken no further, it implies that it continues beyond that by stating that the terminal sons were the ancestors of those who practice various trades. It also provides the names of Lamech's two wives, Adah and Zillah. Jabal and Jubal were the sons of Adah. Jabal was the father of nomads and Jubal of musicians. Tubal-Cain was the son of Zillah and the father of blacksmiths. A daughter of Zillah, Naamah, is also mentioned. An analysis of the relationship between these two lines of descent reveals that inter-marriage took place between the descendents of Cain and Seth. For example, Lamech's daughter Naamah married her patrilineal parallel cousin Methuselah, and named her first-born son Lamech, after her father. In stories common to the Abrahamic religions, Cain or Káyin (קַיִן / קָיִן spear Standard Hebrew Qáyin, Tiberian Hebrew Qáyin / Qāyin; Arabic قايين QāyÄ«n in the Arabic Bible; قابيل QābÄ«l in Islam) is the eldest son of Adam and Eve, and the first man born in creation... Seth or Shet (שֵׁת Placed; appointed, Standard Hebrew Å et, Tiberian Hebrew Šēṯ, Arabic ÔíË), in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible, is the third son of Adam and Eve mentioned by name, and brother of Cain and Abel. ... In the Book of Genesis, Enoch or Hanokh (חֲנוֹךְ Initiated; dedicated; disciplined, Standard Hebrew Ḥanoḫ, Tiberian Hebrew Ḥănôḵ) is a name shared by two individuals named in the Genealogies of Genesis and subsequent Jewish, Christian, and Islamic writers. ... Enos or Enosh, (אֱנוֹשׁ Mortal man; sick, Standard Hebrew EnoÅ¡, Tiberian Hebrew ʼĔnôš) is the first son of Seth in the Jewish and Christian Bible. ... Irad (עִירָד Wild ass; dragon, Standard Hebrew ʿIrad, Tiberian Hebrew ʿÎrāḏ), in the Bible, was one of the antediluvian patriarchs, son of Enoch, grandson of Cain and the father of Mehujael. ... Cainan, קינן, (a Biblical name)- possession; smith. ... Mehujael is the Biblical name given in Genesis 4:18 of a descendant of Cain, son of Irad and father of Methusael. ... Mahalaleel (Biblical name) - praise of God. ... Methusael (Hebrew מְתוּשָׁאֵל champion of God, Standard Hebrew MÉ™tuÅ¡aʼel, Tiberian Hebrew Məṯûšāʼēl) is the Biblical name given in Genesis 4:18 of a descendant of Cain, son of Mehujael and father of Lamech. ... Jared (יֶרֶד / יָרֶד, Standard Hebrew Yéred / Yáred, Tiberian Hebrew Yéreḏ / Yāreḏ) is derived from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament of the Bible), where it appears in the Book of Genesis (Gen. ... Lamech or Lémech (לָמֶךְ / לֶמֶךְ Low; poor, Standard Hebrew Lémeḫ / Lámeḫ, Tiberian Hebrew Lémeḵ / Lāmeḵ) is the name of two men in the Book of Genesis. ... In the Book of Genesis, Enoch or Hanokh (חֲנוֹךְ Initiated; dedicated; disciplined, Standard Hebrew Ḥanoḫ, Tiberian Hebrew Ḥănôḵ) is a name shared by two individuals named in the Genealogies of Genesis and subsequent Jewish, Christian, and Islamic writers. ... Jabal (or Jabel) is the name of a Biblical person, son of Lamech, a descendant of Cain. ... In the Bible, Jubal was a son of Cains descendant Lamech and his wife Adah. ... Tubal-Cain, or Tubalcain, (Tuval Kayin in Hebrew), is a figure in the Book of Genesis, who functions as a culture hero who is credited with the invention of blacksmithing and ironworking. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Noah or Nóach (Rest, Standard Hebrew נוֹחַ Nóaḥ, Tiberian Hebrew × Ö¹×—Ö· Nōªḥ; Arabic نوح Nūḥ), is a Biblical figure who according to Genesis built an ark to save his family and a selection of the worlds animals from the Deluge (an example of divine retribution). ... Categories: Hebrew Bible/Tanakh-related stubs | Torah people ... Zillah, (Tzillah in Hebrew shadow), in the Book of Genesis, was one of the wives of Cains descendant Lamech, and mother of Tubalcain and Naamah. ... Naamah (Hebrew: נעמה, meaning pleasant) is the name of two women and one place in the Bible: In Genesis 4:22 she is mentioned as the daughter of Lamech and Zillah, and the sister of Tubal-Cain, of the line of Cain. ...

Table of Nations

Noah is reported to have had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Until the 19th century and today among Creationists, Europeans and Asians were understood to be the descendents of Japheth and the Indo-European language family (and were thus called Japhethites). Some have argued that the ancient pagan God Jupiter is actually a deified Japheth, and that the pagan Greeks knew him as 'Iapetos', the Indian Sanskrit as 'Pra-Japati', and the Romans as 'Iu-Pater' or 'Father Jove', which became 'Jupiter'. They argue that Japheth would certainly have appeared to be a god given the extraordinarily long lifespans reported among his generation, and became deified as his descendents fell into ancestor-worship and paganism. Shem (שֵׁם renown; prosperity, Standard Hebrew Šem, Tiberian Hebrew Šēm; Greek Σημ, Sēm) was one of the sons of Noah in the Bible. ... Ham (חָם, Standard Hebrew Ḥam, Tiberian Hebrew Ḥām, Ḫām, Geez ካም Kam: possibly warm; hot), according to the Genealogies of Genesis, was a son of Noah and the father of Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan. ... Japheth (יֶפֶת / יָפֶת enlarge, Standard Hebrew Yéfet / Yáfet, Tiberian Hebrew Yép̄eṯ / Yāp̄eṯ) is one of the sons of Noah in the Bible. ... This article is about the Abrahamic belief; creationism can also refer to origin beliefs in general or, centuries earlier, to an alternative to traducianism. ... In Greek mythology Iapetus, or Iapetos, was a Titan, the son of Uranus and Gaia, and father (by an Oceanid named Clymene or Asia) of Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius and through Prometheus and Epimetheus and Atlas an ancestor of the human race. ... Sanskrit ( संस्कृतम्) is a classical language of India and a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. ... Image:Pashupatiseal. ... Roman mythology can be considered as two parts. ... In Roman mythology, Jupiter (Jove in the vocative (used when addressing the God)) held the same role as Zeus in the Greek pantheon. ...

However, scholars of linguistics disagree vehemently. While they agree that there is a shared origin behind some Indo-European gods, they believe this to be due to a common origin in Dyeus, sometimes referred to as Dyeus Pater (sky father). Linguistically, Dyeus became Jupiter to the Romans, as well as the word Deus meaning simply God, Zeus to the Greeks, Dyaus Pita to the vedic religion, which preceeded hinduism, Dia in slavic mythology, and Tiwaz in germanic and scandinavian mythology, who later became Tyr, and Tew, from which we get the name of Tuesday. The name Dyeus is generally agreed to be an extremely difficult name to derive from Japheth, and consequently most likely to have had independant origins. Furthermore, there is absolutely no linguistic connection whatsoever between 'Pra-Japati', which translates as Lord of Creatures, and either Iapetos, Iu-Pater, meaning father Iu, a corruption of Dyeus Pater, or with Japtheth, meaning beauty, and as such attempts to connect these deities with the semitic Japheth are regarded as exceptionally poor scholarship and folk etymology. *Dyēus is the reconstructed chief god of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon. ... Statue of Zeus Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall statue of Zeus at Olympia about 435 BC. The statue was perhaps the most famous sculpture in ancient Greece, imagined here in a 16th-century engraving. ... In vedic religion, Dyaus Pita is the Sky Father, husband of Prthivi and father of Agni and Indra (RV 4. ... The adjective Vedic may refer to The Vedas, the oldest preserved Indo-Aryan texts. ... This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). ... Rod, sometimes referred to as just god - Div, Diy, in Veda Slovena Diy or Dia, is probably the most ancient deity in Slavic pantheon. ... This article is about Tyr, the god. ... Tuesday is considered either the second or the third day of the week, between Monday and Wednesday. ... Folk etymology (or popular etymology) is a linguistic term for a category of false etymology which has grown up in popular lore, as opposed to one which arose in scholarly usage. ...

Similarly, Africans were understood to be the sons of Ham (and particularly his descendent Cush, as the Cushites are referred to throughout scripture as being the inhabitants of Northeast Africa), and the Yoruba still trace their ancestry through Ham today. Jews and Arabs consider themselves to be sons of Shem (thus, Semites), although they dispute whether Isaac or Ishmael was the legitimate son of Abraham. The Yorùbá are estimated to be the second largest ethnic group in Nigeria, after the combined Hausa and Fulani. ... An angel prevents Abraham from sacrificing Isaac in this illumation from a 14th century Icelandic manuscript. ... Ishmael, son of Abraham, is mentioned in both the Torah and the Quran. ...

Most modern scholars, however, reject the traditional view of historicity, and hold instead that the genealogy reflects the ethnic groupings and changing socio-political alliances of the time and places of the oral traditions, perhaps re-edited at the time of the text's final composition in the 7th century BC. They argue that the genealogies instead reflect the attitudes of the ancient Hebrew authors of the Bible toward their neighbors; that those with whom the authors felt the closest affinity were grouped as descendants of Shem, those with whom there was the deepest animosity were grouped as sons of Ham (whose son Canaan was cursed by Noah), and the foreigners who were invading their shores from across the sea (Yavan) or from the East (Medes) were identified with Japheth. This latter identification is corroborated by Genesis 9:27, "God shall enlarge Japheth (literally: 'beautify Japheth'), and he shall dwell in the house of Shem." In Hebrew, this verse uses a pun on the name Japheth, which comes from the Semitic root Y-Ph-T and means beauty: the verse is apparently a reference to the cultural innovations that these newcomers brought to the region. It has been suggested that Modernist project be merged into this article or section. ... (8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC - other centuries) (700s BC - 690s BC - 680s BC - 670s BC - 660s BC - 650s BC - 640s BC - 630s BC - 620s BC - 610s BC - 600s BC - other decades) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events Scythians arrived in Asia Collapse...

Disputed genealogies

While some of the eponymous ancestors of the peoples mentioned in these lists are easily identifiable, intended identities of others are subjects of dispute among scholars. An eponym is a person, whether real or fictitious, whose name has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular place, tribe, discovery, or other item. ...

In some instances, similar names reappear in different contexts. Some scholars interpret this is merely being the use of the same name for different people. Other scholars assert that this reflects contradictory traditions among the Hebrew tribes compiled into the same text.

"Dodanim" (10:4) (another grammatical plural) is listed as a son of Javan (possibly identified with the Ionians) the son of Japheth, yet "Dodanim" is also the plural form of Dedan (Genesis 10:7), who appears as the son of Cush, who was the son of Ham. Similar replication of names occurs with Ashur, the legendary eponymous ancestor of the Assyrians, and the name also appears in the Ham narrative (10:11) and as a descendant of Shem (10:22). Also Aram the son of Shem is not to be confused with the Aramean descendants of Kemuel (22:21) line. It appears also that places were named for people, or shared names (e.g. Tarshish, or Tarsus), and personal names (e.g. Nimrod) also appear in the groupings. The Ionians were one of the ancient Greek ethnic groups, somewhat larger than a tribe, but identified by the other groups as speaking their own dialect. ... Cush (כּוּשׁ Black, Standard Hebrew Kuš, Tiberian Hebrew Kûš) was the eldest son of Ham, brother of Canaan and the father of Nimrod, mentioned in the table of nations in the Book of Genesis (x. ... Asshur, son of Shem, the son of Noah. ... This article concerns the Assyrian people. ... Tarsus is a city in present day Turkey, on the mouth of the Tarsus Cay (Cydnus) into the Mediterranean. ... Nimrod has been the name of more than one person, place, or thing. ...

The historicity of the genealogies

The importance of the genealogies (toledot. "generations") emphasized by Ezra's insistence on racial purity of the High Priest resulted in genealogical scrolls being kept in Jerusalem. They are mentioned by Josephus, and their loss in AD 70 was considered disastrous. A priest was required to demonstrate the purity of the pedigree of his prospective bride as far back as her great-great-grandfather and great-great-grandmother. In the case of marriage with a daughter of Levi or of Israel his scrutiny had to extend a degree further, perhaps a sign that more relaxed attitudes toward marrying non-Jews had prevailed in the northern kingdom. The Pharisees emphasized the nobility of learning as opposed to the priestly-caste nobility insisted upon by the Sadducees. Ezra (עֶזְרָא, Standard Hebrew ʿEzra, Tiberian Hebrew ʿEzrâ: short for עַזְרִיאֵל My help/court is God, Standard Hebrew ʿAzriʾel, Tiberian Hebrew ʿAzrîʾēl) was the scribe who led the second body of exiled Israelites that returned from Babylon to Jerusalem in 459 BC, and the author of the Book of Ezra... Josephus (c. ... Centuries: 1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century Decades: 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s - 70s - 80s 90s 100s 110s 120s Years: 65 66 67 68 69 - 70 - 71 72 73 74 75 Events The building of the Colosseum starts (approximate date). ... The Pharisees (from the Hebrew perushim, from parash, meaning to separate) were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 BCE–70 CE). ... The sect of the Sadducees (or Zadokites and other variants) - which may have originated as a Political Party - was founded in the 2nd century BCE and ceased to exist sometime after the 1st century CE. Their rivals, the Pharisees, are said to have originated in the same time period, but...

The genealogies as recorded in Genesis were assuredly intended not as myth, but as history. The matter-of-fact style of writing, the degree of detail, the fact that ages are given for when fathers had sons and when they died, are all presented as history by the writers of Genesis. The New Testament authors of Matthew (1:1-17) and Luke (3:23-38) also took the traditional genealogies as history and applied them in tracking Jesus' ancestry back to Abraham and Adam respectively.

In the beginning of the 20th century, academic opinion regarding the historicity of the genealogies split. For example:

It is thus evident that the Table of Nations contains no scientific classification of the races of mankind. Not only this, however, it also offers no historically true account of the origin of the races of mankind." (Driver 114).

The so-called Table of Nations remains, according to all results of monumental explorations, an ethnographic original document of the first rank which nothing can replace." (Kautzsch 234).

In the early 20th century, some anthropologists determined that ethnicity is a construct, as argued by Herodotus, and that the genealogies of Genesis were primitive efforts towards creating an ethnology that would express the degrees of alienness or relatedness the authors of such genealogies sensed among those neighboring peoples of whom they were aware. For instance: Bust of Herodotus Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: Ἡροδοτος, Herodotos) was an ancient historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC-ca. ... Ethnology (greek ethnos: (non-greek, barbarian) people) is a genre of anthropological study, involving the systematic comparison of the folklore, beliefs and practices of different societies. ...

The object of this Table is partly to show how the Hebrews supposed the principle nations known to them to be related to each other, partly to assign Israel, in particular, its place among them.
The names are in no case to be taken as those of real individuals.
The real origin of the nations enumerated here, belonging in many cases to entirely different racial types - Semites, Aryans, Hittites, Egyptians - must have reached back into remote prehistoric ages from which we may be sure not even the dimmest recollections could have been preserved at the time when the chapter was written. The nations and tribes existed: and imaginary ancestors were afterwards postulated for the purpose of exhibiting pictorially the relationship in which they were supposed to stand towards one another.
An exactly parallel instance, though not so fully worked out, is afforded by the ancient Greeks. The general name of the Greeks was Hellenes, the principle sub-divisions were the Dorians, the Aeolians, the Ionians, and the Achaeans; and accordingly the Greeks traced their descent from a supposed eponymous ancestor Hellen, who had three sons, Dorus and Aeolus, the supposed ancestors of the Dorians and Aeolians, and Xuthus, from whose two sons, Ion and Achaeus, the Ionians and Achaeans were respectively supposed to be descended. (Driver 112).

Anthropologists of this vein assert that some genealogies in the flood myth of Greek mythology are analogous to those in Genesis: in them, Hellen, the son of Deucalion, the Greek Noah, and eponym of the Hellenes had three sons, named Dorus and Æolus, the ancestors of the Dorians and Aeolians, and Xuthus, whose sons Achæus and Ion, were the progenitors of the Achæans and Ionians. In Ancient Perceptions of Greek Ethnicity (Malkin 2001), the subject is shifting Hellenic perceptions of ethnicity, but the discourse throws light on motivations for the genealogies of Genesis. Greek mythology comprises the collected narratives of Greek gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines, originally created and spread within an oral-poetic tradition. ... Note: Hellen was not the same person as Helen of Troy, or Helenus, son of King Priam of Troy. ... An eponym is a person, whether real or fictitious, whose name has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular place, tribe, discovery, or other item. ... Note: Hellen was not the same person as Helen of Troy or Helenus, son of King Priam of Troy. ... The Dorians were one of the ancient Hellenic tribes acknowledged by Greek writers. ... The Aeolians were one of the Hellenic tribes. ... This article is about the ancient people of the Achaeans. ... Ionia (Greek Ιωνία; see also List of traditional Greek place names) was an ancient region of southwestern coastal Anatolia (now in Turkey) on the Aegean Sea. ...

Arguments are also made that comparisons may also be made with the Welsh folk genealogies that trace their king-lines back to Troy. National motto: Cymru am byth (Welsh: Wales for ever) Waless location within the UK Official languages English, Welsh Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff First Minister Rhodri Morgan Area  - Total Ranked 3rd UK 20,779 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 3rd UK 2,903,085 140/km² Ethnicity: 97. ...

Other scholars, however, continue to hold that the Table of Nations is the most historically accurate account of early human history available, and reject the above analysis, arguing that "Since, as we shall see, the Table certainly does not on its face bear any evidence of being written for propaganda purposes, Driver appears to be reading more into the record than is justified. It is rather like setting up a straw man in order to be able to demolish him with scholarly verbosity." They note that Genesis is unique among ancient genealogies in its historical and objective style. For instance:

Egyptians and Phoenicians, Assyrians and Babylonians, even Indians and Persians, had a certain measure of geographical and ethnological knowledge, before more strictly scientific investigation had been begun among the classical peoples. From several of these, such as the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians, surveys of enumerations of the peoples known to them and attempts at maps have come down to us in the written memorials they have left behind. But not much attention was paid, as a rule, to foreigners unless national and trade interests were at stake. Often enough they were despised as mere barbarians, and in no case were they included with the more cultured nations in a higher unity.
It is otherwise in our text. Here many with whom the Israelites had no sort of actual relationship are taken into consideration." (Dillmann 314).

Scholars also note the text's remarkably neutral tone, arguing:

Had this Table been designed for propaganda purposes (to establish Israel's position as of equal dignity though not sharing some of the glories of the surrounding peoples) or had it been merely the work of some early historian creating his own data with a comparatively free hand, then almost certainly some device would have been adopted for deliberately setting forth not only the high status of his own ancestors, but the very low status of that of his enemies. With respect to the first tendency, one has only to read modern history books to discern how very easily individuals of little real significance can be presented to us in such a way as to make us take enormous pride in our heritage. There is, in fact, very little written history which is not in part propaganda, although the author himself is often unaware of it. The number of "firsts" claimed by some national historians for their countrymen is quite amazing, and it is usually clear what the nationality of the author himself is. In complete contrast, it would be difficult to prove with certainty of what nationality the author of Genesis 10 was. We assume he was a Hebrew, but if the amount of attention given to any particular line that is traced were used as a clue to his identity, he might have been a Japhethite, a Canaanite, or even an Arab." (Custance, Ch. 1)

The issue of the purpose of the historicity of the genealogies therefore remains a subject of dispute among biblical scholars.

Sources

• Hall, Jonathan, Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity Cambridge U.Press, 1997.
• Malkin, Irad, editor, Ancient Perceptions of Greek Ethnicity in series Center for Hellenic Studies Colloquia, 5. Harvard University Press, 2001. Reviewed by Margaret C. Miller in Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 2002
• Driver, S. R., The Book of Genesis, Westminister Commentaries, 3rd edition, London, UK, Methuen, 1904.
• Kautzsch, E.F.: quoted by James Orr, "The Early Narratives of Genesis," in The Fundamentals, Vol. 1, Los Angeles, CA, Biola Press, 1917.
• Dillmann, A., Genesis: Critically and Exegetically Expounded, Vol. 1, Edinburgh, UK, T. and T. Clark, 1897, 314.
• Custance, Arthur C., The Roots of the Nations.[1]

External links

• Latin Vulgate and English Douay-Rheims
• English Septuagint
• King James Version and Revised Standard Version
• World Ancestry — Roots In Antiquity
• Hasel, G.F., 1980. "The meaning of the chronogenealogies of Genesis 5 and 11", Origins 7(2):53–70.
• Williams, P., 1998. "Some remarks preliminary to a biblical chronology", TJ 12(1):98–106, .
• Sarfati, J., 2003, "Biblical chronogenealogies" TJ 17(3):14–18.