Cheryl

On Michael’s Post #3 on Genealogies:

While “Father†and “Son†can be terms used for ancestors i.e. Jesus was the son of David (Matthew 1:1), the term “begat†cannot be used in this same sense. The Hebrew word “begat†is a verb meaning to give birth, to beget, to deliver. It cannot mean to bring forth eight generations later. It is always used of direct offspring. So in your example of your 8th great grandfather it could not be said that “John Cotton in his 55th year begat Michael Kruse.†That is not a proper usage of “begat†however you could say that “Michael Kruse is the son of John Cotton†or “John Cotton is father to Michael Kruse†because that would a proper usage for “father†and “sonâ€.  I am not sure who told you that “begat†could be used in this way, but they are not correct.  However you are correct that “son” can be used in the sense of ancestor.

If you were to do a search of the Hebrew Scriptures you will not find “begat†used in this way to make it mean some kind of ancestor.  It doesn’t mean that at all.  So in Genesis chapter 11:19 “And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters†this means only one thing – that Reu was conceived and brought forth through Peleg his father. If you read through Genesis 11, you will find it filled with those who “begat†their children, with their ages that the children were born to them and the age that they died. It is impossible for the Hebrew word usage to place 8th generation ancestors into the lines of lineage in the way it is written – absolutely impossible. If you have a reference for a Hebrew scholar that says the word “begat†can refer to someone in an 8th generational line, I would seriously like to see their biblical evidence.

In the 1 Chronicle 7 passage that you quoted, the word for “son†is the Hebrew word H1121 “bane†and it means son in the widest sense including grandson, nation, nephew. But in Genesis 11 the term is “begat†and it can only mean a direct son to the father.

So when we read the genealogies of Genesis 11, we are reading the direct ancestors in line with their ages when they procreated their son and the age that they died. With this genealogy we can see the generations back to Noah and the flood and we can produce an accurate timeline of those generations.