genealogy

genealogy
A catalogue of names of a dynasty or family. In the OT and NT there are several lists of ancestors or descendants. In some cases the names (which may not be comprehensive—the Hebrew noun ben could mean not only ‘son’ but also ‘grandson’, or simply ‘descendant’) are a means of tracing an individual's history back to an important figure of the past; or the list may be an illustration of human mortality.
The ancestry of the twelve tribes of Israel back to the patriarch Jacob is mentioned in Gen. 46 and at the time of the Return from Exile the books of Ezra and Nehemiah record registers of families. Indeed the whole of 1 Chron. 1–9 consists of genealogies, whose existence in the text bears witness to the Hebrews' consciousness of being part of an extended family. The interdependence of individuals on each other, and of different social groups on each other, was a fundamental assumption of Hebrew society. Genealogies were also useful for establishing the validity of claimants to the priesthood.

Dictionary of the Bible.

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  • Genealogy — (from Greek: el. γενεά, el. genea , descent ; and el. λόγος, el. logos , knowledge ) is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records …   Wikipedia

  • genealogy — meaning ‘(the study of) a person s line of descent’, is derived from a Greek word genea meaning ‘race, generation’. The existence of so many words ending in ology (archaeology, psychology, sociology, etc.) and the influence of its own derivative… …   Modern English usage

  • Genealogy — Gen e*al o*gy, n.; pl. {Genealogies}. [OE. genealogi, genelogie, OF. genelogie, F. g[ e]n[ e]alogie, L. genealogia, fr. Gr. ?; ? birth, race, descent (akin to L. genus) + ? discourse.] [1913 Webster] 1. An account or history of the descent of a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • genealogy — genealogy. phylogeny (cм.). (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • genealogy — index ancestry, blood, bloodline, descent (lineage), family (common ancestry), lineage, origin ( …   Law dictionary

  • genealogy — early 14c., line of descent, pedigree, descent, from O.Fr. genealogie (12c.), from L.L. genealogia tracing of a family, from Gk. genealogia, from genea generation, descent (see GENUS (Cf. genus)) + logia (see LOGY (Cf. logy)). An O.E. word for it …   Etymology dictionary

  • genealogy — [n] person’s family tree ancestry, blood line, derivation, descent, extraction, generation, genetics, heredity, history, line, lineage, parentage, pedigree, progeniture, stemma, stirps, stock, strain; concept 296 …   New thesaurus

  • genealogy — ► NOUN (pl. genealogies) 1) a line of descent traced continuously from an ancestor. 2) the study of lines of descent. DERIVATIVES genealogical adjective genealogist noun. ORIGIN Greek genealogia, from genea race, generation + logos account …   English terms dictionary

  • genealogy — [jē΄nē äl′ə jē, jē΄nēal′ə jē; jen΄ēäl′ə jē] n. pl. genealogies [ME genelogi < OFr genealogie < LL genealogia < Gr < genea, race, descent (akin to genos: see GENUS) + logia, LOGY] 1. a chart or recorded history of the descent of a… …   English World dictionary

  • GENEALOGY — In the Bible Genealogical lists in the Bible are of two main types: (1) those which are simply lists of historical, ethnographic, and even legendary traditions, and which constitute most of the lists in Genesis that are called generations or… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • genealogy — genealogical /jee nee euh loj i keuhl, jen ee /, genealogic, adj. genealogically, adv. genealogist, n. /jee nee ol euh jee, al , jen ee /, n., pl. genealogies. 1. a record or account of the ancestry and descent of a person, family, group, etc. 2 …   Universalium

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