When you come across genealogies in the Bible, do your eyes cross and you begin to nod off, wishing this portion of your daily reading would hurry up and pass? That’s a typical reaction, and one you might have in your first several times reading through the entire Bible in a year and coming across such passages. However, there is much of interest in the Biblical genealogies if you take the time to notice and dig deeper.
This is not an exhaustive study by any means, but let’s look at several revealing verses in the reading for today.
First in 1 Chronicles 1:10 we see that:
Cush fathered Nimrod. He was the first on earth to be a mighty man.
Earlier, we saw the same wording in Genesis 10:8-9. Depending on your Bible translation, this sometimes reads: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. The Hebrew word for “began” is chalal (Strong’s #2490). This is a word pregnant with meaning. It can mean to pollute, or defile, or to be ritually in contact with the dead; there is also a sexual connotation. It is believed that Nimrod was a Nephilim, i.e. a gibbor (Strong’s # 1368). This can mean a mighty man like David’s mighty men, or the earlier implication of being the offspring of spiritual beings (i.e. sons of God – bene Elohim) and human women. Nimrod was the builder of the Tower of Babel, and was instrumental in mankind attempting to control God in wanting to make a name for ourselves (Genesis 11:4).
Moving on to 1 Chronicles 1:19 we see:
To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg (for in his days the earth was divided), and his brother’s name was Joktan.
How was the earth divided? It came about from Nimrod’s actions. Men had disobeyed God by not scattering throughout the earth and multiplying, so He came down when the Tower was built and forced the issue. He divided men into nations and confused their languages so they could no longer come together in such unison. It was during Peleg’s lifetime this occurred. Why was God so concerned that He took this drastic action? Genesis 11:6 clearly tells us:
And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
Think of the implications in the world today as the globalist elites work night and day to unify the world under their control. Consider the technological and biological advances we’re seeing that are leading us downhill to the time of the Tribulation. Imagine how the transhumanist movement plays into this. For man in these latter days, nothing is impossible for us.
There is a lot going on with Ham, the son of Noah, and Ham’s sons. Ham’s son Cush fathered Nimrod (1 Chronicles 1:10). That has possible implications as to DNA sourcing. How did Nimrod – a hybrid man, part spiritual being and part human – come from Cush’s lineage? One potential answer is that Cush’s wife had Nephilim genes that she brought through the flood and the destruction of all the depravity on the earth at that time.
That could work as well with Ham’s son Canaan. It is from him that we get the majority of tribes which are later on targeted by Yahweh to be “devoted to destruction.” These tribes included the Amorites, Hivites, and others (1 Chronicles 1:14-16). Why would God instruct Israel to completely annihilate these tribes, even their animals in some instances? It is believed that they had Nephilim blood running through their veins. If so, God could not take the chance that His people Israel would intermarry with them. His purpose with Israel was to bring forth Jesus as the Messiah of mankind. By definition, those who are redeemed must be fully human.
This doesn’t work from the Nephilim theory as noted above, but apparently there is some thinking that Ham’s transgression with Noah in Genesis 9:22 where he saw the nakedness of his father wasn’t homosexual in nature which is the common thinking. Another theory is that Ham actually had relations with his mother. This would be the reason that his son Canaan was cursed (Genesis 9:25). Canaan’s subsequent offspring were among those needing to be eliminated because of this depravity.
The case of Timna is also revealing. We see that one of the sons of Eliphaz that he had with Timna was Amalek (1 Chronicles 1:37). Amalek became a longtime enemy of Israel. In that line was King Agag. Subsequently Haman in the book of Esther hated the Jews so much that he tried to completely wipe them out. Haman was an Agagite, i.e. a descendant of Agag. It was his being put to death by the Jews that so incensed Haman years later.
Another interesting observation comes from 1 Chronicles 1:39:
The sons of Lotan: Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna.
Here is a better description that I can give as to the issue at hand. It comes from the Encyclopedia of Jewish Women – (https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/timna-concubine-of-eliphaz-midrash-and-aggadah):
According to another tradition (Tanhuma, Vayeshev 1), the description of Eliphaz’s “marriage” to Timna teaches of corruption and degeneration among the descendants of Seir. This midrash is based on the inconsistency concerning Timna’s lineage between Gen. 36:20–22, in which she is presented as the sister of Lotan (the son of Seir), and I Chron. 1:36, that mentions her as the daughter of Eliphaz. The Rabbis reconcile this discrepancy by explaining that Timna was indeed Eliphaz’s daughter, as a result of his adulterous relations with Seir’s wife; to compound his sin, Eliphaz took his own daughter as his concubine. The Torah charts the lineage of Esau’s descendants at length, in order to show that this lineage was founded in adultery.
Thus the wickedness of man was on full display; it was completely against the Edenic ideal which God intended.
Through these examples in the genealogies we get a glimpse into how mankind has perverted God’s plans and purposes. They reveal our deep need for redemption, i.e. why we need a Savior.
God will accomplish what He intends. Man has taken a long, wandering path through the ages away from Him. However, Bible prophecy shows us that soon God’s redemptive plan will be accomplished. All the signs are converging. The end truly is near.
Soon, Jesus will Rapture His church, and God’s judgment will fall upon the world. Through this, God will make all things right. The new Eden as God intends it for this world is in sight.
Are you ready? Do you have the intimate relationship with Jesus Christ necessary to escape God’s coming wrath? If not, now is the time. Today is the day of salvation. After the Rapture, it may be too late because the deception that comes upon the whole world may ensnare you. Don’t let that happen. Confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior today!