GENEALOGY

A genealogy is a record of the names of a person's ancestors or descendants.

Several genealogical lists are recorded in the Bible, for example, in Genesis, Chronicles, Matthew, and Luke. These are not meaningless, boring lists of names. Rather, they served important functions.

These catalogs trace humanity's history back to Adam, providing information on the development of the world's major nations.

Genealogies trace the history of the nation of Israel and establish, therefore, the lineage of the Messiah. They have an evidential value.

They were important in establishing property rights, especially in the post-captivity period.

Genealogies provided information on tribal heritage, so vital for establishing the lineages of the priesthood and the royal line.

The genealogies, together with some accompanying chronologies (Gen. 5, 11), demonstrate that humanity has been upon the earth only a few thousand years (not several million, as evolutionary dogma asserts). The "gaps" in some genealogies are minor and appear to be mostly filled in by parallel records.

Since humanity came into existence during the same week as the Universe (Gen. 1; Ex. 20:11; Mk. 10:6; Rom. 1:20), this provides evidence of the "youth" of our Universe. There is no scientific evidence that contradicts the "young earth" view.