Michael Kruse

With regard to generations:

“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. …I am not sure who told you that “begat†could be used in this way, but they are not correct.â€

The Hebrew yalad is the same term used in Genesis 5 and Genesis 11 for begat in the KJV and ASV. It is translated “became the father of†in other translations. Yalad is the exact word in Exodus 6:20 in my third comment above!

“Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.†NIV

As I showed in my comment, Amaram married his aunt, Levi’s daughter. Yet she literally gave birth to Aaron and Moses 400 years and eight generations later? As we can see from the Exodus list, folks are no longer living beyond about 140 years.

I see only two alternatives:

A. Yalad is used to indicate what “became the ancestor of.â€
B. Exodus is in error.

Do you see another?

You mention Genesis 11:19. Back up to verses 12-13.

“12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. 13 And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.â€

Turn to Luke 3:35-36

“35…Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, …â€

Genesis 11 – Arphaxad to Shelah
Luke 3 – Arphaxad to Cainan to Shelah

Which is in error? Neither. The genealogies do not indicate the direct father to son relationships of contemporary Western genealogies. While Christians in the West, starting with Lightfoot and Ussher, have tried to calculate using these biblical genealogy dates. Why do you suppose we have no records of Jews doing this? Because they understood the purpose and use of the genealogies and knew that entire centuries are missing between named individuals. Such a calculation was pointless.