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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Genealogy of David

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  • From: Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>
  • To: "Sesamo m." <sesamox AT hotmail.com>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Genealogy of David
  • Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 14:59:53 +0000

On 24/02/2005 14:22, Sesamo m. wrote:

Hi all

In Ruth 4:20-22 we find that Boaz' father was Salmon, and Boaz' grandson was Jesse (David's father). In Mathew 1:5 we learn that Salmon's wife was Rahab.
This means that this part of the chain begins before the period of the judges. Too few links for more than 300 years.
Of course, the Hebrew word for "father" also means "grandfather", "great-grandfather", and so on, and one can assume that some names in the genealogy are not mentioned for some reason.
But is there any indication of where should those lacking links be? I mean, is there a way (or at least a theory) to know if Rahab was really Boaz' mother, or if Ruth was really David great-grandmother? Is there a way to set the story by the beginning of the period of the judges or by the end?


The full genealogy from Perez son of Judah to David is given in Ruth 4:18-22, 1 Chronicles 2:5,9-15, Matthew 1:2-6 and Luke 3:32-33. In each case the list is (Jacob), (Judah), Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon/Salma, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David. So 11 recorded generations to cover probably at least 700 years: it looks as if something must have been left out - although possibly not if the time period is reduced to around 400 years as some might argue (based on an Exodus under Rameses II and only about 200 years in Egypt based on Exodus 12:40 LXX and Sam).

Nahshon son of Amminadab is identified as the leader of Judah in Numbers 1:7 etc, cf. 1 Chr 2:10. As he was part of the generation which died in the wilderness, it makes sense that his son Salmon took part in the Conquest and married Rahab. On an orthodox chronology (ignoring 1 Kings 6:1) with an Exodus in the time of Rameses II, the Exodus was c. 1280 BC, with Salmon being born up to 20 years later, and David was born c. 1030 BC. Four generations are unlikely to cover 230 years. So four generations from the Conquest to David seems too few on almost any chronology.

The story of Ruth seems to reflect a settled period, not the early aftermath of the Conquest, thus that Boaz is unlikely to have been the son of one of the conquerors. So I would suggest missing generations between Salmon and Boaz.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/



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