Genesis Genealogical Trivia Tidbits
Originally published February 8, 2017
The genealogies recorded in Genesis and in various other places in the Bible are easy to regard as mundane in comparison to other passages of scripture. Reading through verse after verse of “so and so begat such and such” becomes tedious, and it isn’t all that unreasonable that most people simply skip over those verses in their Bible reading. Or when they do read them it is just a formality, and no careful consideration is really given to the words on the page.
I don’t remember what prompted me to do it, but as I was reading through the genealogies in Genesis 5 one day several years ago, it occurred to me that all these numbers and ages might be easier to follow if I organized them into a chart. So I created an Excel spreadsheet, and with the help of a few formulas I was able to easily come up with the following table.
Let me point out that the Bible does not record the specific year in which these men were born and when they died. All it gives is the number of years they lived and how old they were when they “begat” their son for the next generation. But if we use Creation as our starting point, with the use of Excel formulas it is very easy to derive a number of years from Creation when a person was born and when he died.
As I was making this table, I began to see some interesting correlations and relationships that aren’t apparent when you’re just reading words. In order to help these relationships be more evident I created a graph to translate the lives of these men and their relationship to each other into a timeline of sorts.
Here are some of the more interesting observations I have made looking at these two graphics.
- There are 8 generations who were living during Adam’s lifetime. If you consider the way that history was passed down from generation to generation in the oral tradition, this means that for 800 years, these 8 generations had direct access to an accurate oral account of Creation from the first human being to ever walk the earth! Think of the bedtime stories Adam could have told to his great, great, great, great, great, great grandchildren!!!
- Lamech, the son of Methusela, died 4 years before his father.
- We will easily recall Methusela as being the oldest man in history as a part of our genus of Bible trivia, but how many of us realize that he died in the same year as The Great Flood? Here are some other questions to ponder. Did he die just before the flood? Or was he one of the countless hundreds of thousands (millions?) to perish in unbelief? How truly tragic that would have been considering he probably knew Adam personally!
- Enoch was taken to heaven at the tender young age of 365. He has the shortest lifespan of any man prior to the Flood that is recorded in scripture.
- The Great Flood occurred 1,556 years after Creation.
- 1,556 years of history are recorded in a mere seven chapters of the Bible. Think about how much more there was that is not recorded. Think about how much God has preserved!
- Arphaxad, the son of Shem, would have been born in the same year as the flood. Since the Bible clearly states that 8 people were saved in the Ark, it is very likely that Arphaxad was born (and possibly even conceived) while Noah and his family were still on the Ark.
- If we exclude Enoch, the average lifespan of the men recorded who lived prior to the Flood was 912 years. Following the flood, the average lifespan of the next four is 483 years, and it drops to 206 after that. What factors contributed to this rapid drop in longevity? Were there certain environmental changes as a direct result of the Flood?
- Abram (Abraham) was born while Noah still lived, and he was about 60 when Noah died.
- Including Abram there are 10 generations who lived during Noah’s lifetime following the flood.
- Again, given the oral tradition and even considering the confounding of languages at Babel and the resulting dispersal of the world’s populace, these 10 generations would still have a very close and accurate account of the Flood.
What observation were you able to make?
~ Andy
Expertism/Elitism
FYI: There is not one thing that this “ranch” is going to do for this kid that the parents couldn’t do at home.
Galatians Study #8 Today, Sunday @ 6:30 pm 5/6/2018
TANC Will Finally Participate in Xenia’s First Fridays Tonight 5pm to 9pm: PLEASE Give Your Input!
Xenia, Ohio, home to TANC Ministries, has an annual event called “First Fridays.” Organizations buy booth space downtown, which is closed off to traffic, and open to the public. The booths make up various businesses and organizations. There is also food vendors and live music. This occurs the first Fridays of May, June, and July. I have wanted to be involved in this for the past six years, but have always been too busy to pull it off. This year I was determined to make it happen.
Our booth will be used to promote the restart of our home fellowship which has recently been limited to our online Bible study. Our online study will still happen every Sunday morning, but our initial meetings will be on Saturday mornings. This is because home fellowships are incredibly flexible, and we want to fellowship with those interested to get input for our future meetings; i.e., best days and times, etc.
The following will be our primary presentation piece, the focal point of our introduction to TANC Ministries. WHAT DO YOU THINK? WE NEED YOUR INPUT!! Comment below or email us at mail@tanc.online
What is the Home Fellowship Movement?
A body, not an institution; leadership and gifts, not authority; fellowship, not membership.
The Home Fellowship Movement is very young and originated right here in Xenia, Ohio. It evolved from a research organization, TANC Research Organization (TRO) which is ten years old. It is presently a non-profit LLC. The Home Fellowship Movement and its Xenia representation, the Potter’s House, TANC Publishing, its blog, and the aforementioned research organization are all under the auspices of “TANC Ministries.” All of these endeavors operate from the old Calvary Baptist Church located at 58 West Harbine Avenue.
A home fellowship is a fellowship of believers in Christ who gather together in private homes. Primarily, the purpose of the meetings are stated in the New Testament; fellowship, the breaking of bread together, Bible study, encouragement unto good works, and service to others.
Meeting in private homes and other non-institutional settings is vital because it is a visible statement concerning the gospel we believe in: justification by new birth. We believe in a literal new birth that baptizes us into God’s literal family. Therefore, our format will look like, and feel like, an informal family gathering, but not without organization.
In addition, we function as a body and not a top-down authoritative institution. We believe the body of Christ is made up of members who have their own unique gifts working together in a cooperative effort with Christ as the only head. The recognition of gifts, and how those gifts work together are key to being organized toward a common goal.
We believe that salvation is not a process within the believer, but rather a settled issue via the new birth. Once a person is born again, he or she cannot be unborn. Nor is a birth a process, it is a onetime event. Once born of God; always God’s child. The transformation of a person from “under law” to “under grace,” from death to the quickening of the Spirit, and from darkness to light is a once and for all time finished work through the new birth. Hence, justification and sanctification are completely separate, and the standard for justification is the new birth and God in us, not the law. Once saved and sealed until the day of redemption by the Spirit, we do, in fact, move on from our day of salvation to sanctified living.
We believe the Bible is instruction for loving God and others, and we believe in a literal and plain sense interpretation using individual reason. Specifically, we hold fast to historical-grammatical interpretation. We believe God uses His word to sanctify believers. Those who have the gift of teaching should be apt in persuading through the study of “sound doctrine.” The Bible is wisdom for loving others and living a life worthy of God’s family.
We do not believe that authority is a gift; all authority has been given to Christ. We believe that judgment is between the individual and the one mediator between God and mankind, Jesus Christ. Again, we believe that the assembly of Christ is a body with members cooperating together towards a common goal, and unity is increased as members agree more and more concerning the one mind of Christ in all born again believers. This is in contrast to a top-down authoritative caste system indicative of institutions.
“Membership” in a home fellowship is determined by fellowship. If you fellowship with us, you are part of the fellowship. There is no formal membership based on a written covenant which in reality, according to most state laws, is a binding contract and forfeits various personal rights. A person not living a life congruent to a member of God’s household may be uninvited from fellowship until the behavior is corrected. This is a not a judgment regarding the person’s salvific standing.
Monetary giving is according to need. We do not tithe. Infrastructure is supported by the normal use of families and their personal incomes. There are no paid positions of authority or support for institutional overhead. God’s people operating as a family affords vast flexibility in regard to world missions and other projects. We suggest that home fellowships have a giving box somewhere in the host location so participants can contribute to meal costs or other expenses.
The future vision is New Testament-like which is strength in numbers. Each city will have several home fellowships that make up a vast network worldwide. This is a strong focus on individual gifts working together for common purposes stated in the New Testament.
A cult?
Invariably, due to institutional conditioning, this concern will arise. In contrast, a cult is defined by the combining of authority with faith. Any religious institution that claims a co-authority with Christ is a cult by definition. EVERY major cult in human history has flowed from institutional religion. One example is Jim Jones, an ordained pastor, and his “Peoples Temple” [sic]. Authority has never prevented any cult or cult-like behavior, but in fact, is the source. The vast cult of personalities present in the institutional church of our day is the best example complete with its scandals and cover-ups.
There is a reason for this; when authority is truth, personal discernment is given over to that authority. Where authority is truth, leadership and reason are completely unnecessary. Authority as a prevention for chaos flowing from individual freedom is a misnomer to begin with. Among the so-called religious authorities there is disagreement, so individuals merely choose the authority that best suits them. Freedom of the individual is inescapable, and freedom of conscience results in far less chaos than institutional authority. Institutional authority has produced an innumerable amount of religions and institutions. In contrast, if you think about it, families function naturally within a relatively unchaotic norm.
Does this mean institutions are unnecessary? No, but their purpose is pragmatic, and for the sole purpose of supporting the individual’s pursuit of purpose, happiness, and liberty.
We do not believe this is anything new, but rather a model that will work in any geographical location under any political or economic conditions. Not only is this model the only thing that will work in countries like China where the underground church exists, but we believe that it is, and always has been the intended New Testament model. Does it not make sense that God would design a method that wouldn’t be hindered by any geographical condition?
We invite you to our first gathering here in Xenia at the Potter’s House home fellowship, Saturday, May 13, 2018, at 10am. Brunch will be served, there will be a fellowship around this meal, and an open forum to answer questions and to hear ideas for our gatherings and the ministry surrounding it. The beauty of this model is its flexibility.
If you are interested, call us and leave a message at 937-376-3511, or email us at mail@tanc.online
It is critical to know how many are coming in order to plan for the meal and other matters.
About the Hosts
Paul Dohse is a former pastor and author of, The Truth About New Calvinism; Its History, Doctrine, and Character (TANC Publishing 2011). It was the very first book written on the New Calvinism movement and a primary source for subsequent books written on the subject by other authors. He has studied the Protestant Reformation as the director of TRO for ten years.
Susan Dohse has been a teacher in Christian schools and public schools for 45 years, and is presently a Developmental Specialist (birth to 3 years old) for the Montgomery County Board of DDS.
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
4 comments