|
by
Doug Ward |
In
addition to preserving names and family relationships, the Bible's genealogical
lists contain meaningful numerical patterns. The most familiar example is
in Matthew 1, where such a pattern is explained carefully (Mt 1:17).
Matthew gives three groups of fourteen generations each, where David is the
fourteenth name in the list. The number fourteen is associated with
David, since the consonants in his name (daleth = 4, vav = 6, daleth = 4) add
up to fourteen in Hebrew gematria. Matthew is emphasizing the Davidic
ancestry of Jesus, supporting the claim that Jesus is the promised Messiah (2
Sa 7:12-16; Isa 11:1-5; Jer 23:5-6; Eze 34:23-24).
In
other cases, numerical patterns are not mentioned explicitly. For
instance, the names of twelve high priests of Israel from Aaron to the time of
Solomon are given in 1 Chronicles 6:50-53. The same priests are listed in
verses 3-8, followed in verses 9-15 by a list of twelve high priests from
Solomon's time to the time of the Babylonian exile (this count includes Ahimaaz
in both lists). Twelve is the number of the tribes of Israel, which a
high priest represents before God (Ex 28:29).
The
genealogy of Luke 3:23-38 is another source of numerical symbolism. Luke
records 77 names in these verses, going from Jesus, through his legal father
Joseph, back to Adam. Biblical scholar Richard Bauckham observes that
while the number seven in the Bible connotes completeness, 77 "implies
ultimacy, a fullness beyond measure,'' as in Genesis 4:24 and Matthew 18:22.[i]
If
we number the names in Luke 3 beginning with Adam at number one, then Enoch is
number seven, and Jesus is number 77. Enoch's witness was a high point in
history before the Flood (Ge 5:21-24), while the coming of Jesus is the climax
of history. Enoch was a hero of faith (Heb 11:5), while Jesus is “the
founder and perfecter of our faith'' (Heb 12:2).
The First Enoch Connection
Other
sources corroborate the assertion that the Luke 3 genealogy intends to make
such a statement. For one thing, counting generations beginning with Adam
was a familiar practice in first-century Judaism. Jude, for example,
calls Enoch “the seventh from Adam'' (Jude 14), using terminology like
that of 1 Enoch 60:8; 93:3.
While
First Enoch is not part of the biblical canon for most Christians, it is an
important Jewish work of the Second Temple period that influenced the writers
of the New Testament, Jude in particular. In Jude 14-15, Jude quotes 1
Enoch 1:9 to emphasize the reality of future divine judgment. Moreover,
Jude 6 reflects the tradition from 1 Enoch 10 that the rebellious Watchers of
Genesis 6:1-4, “who did not stay within their own position of authority,
but left their proper dwelling,'' have been “kept in eternal chains under
gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.''
An
interesting detail in 1 Enoch 10 makes a connection with the Luke 3
genealogy. Verse 12 of 1 Enoch 10 states that the confinement of the
Watchers was to last for 70 generations. This means that 1 Enoch 10
conceives of history in 77 generations---seven up to the time of Enoch, plus
another 70 until the final judgment. Similarly, Luke 3 lists 77
generations, culminating in the coming of Jesus. The implication is that
Jesus is the one who brings the final judgment, as the New Testament elsewhere
affirms (Jn 5:22-29; 2 Co 5:10).
Another
section of First Enoch, chapter 93, has Enoch summarizing the history of the
world in “weeks'' (groups of seven) generations. “I was born
seventh in the first week,'' he explains in verse 3. Enoch highlights the
seventh generation in each week---himself in the first week and Abraham in the
third week, for example.
This
arrangement of generations suggests that we look at the generations in Luke 3
in groups of seven. Not every multiple of seven in Luke's list stands
out, but several do. As in 1 Enoch 93, Enoch is number seven and Abraham
number 21. David is number 35. Number 49 is named Joshua, a second “Jesus''
in the list; while numbers 42 and 70 have the name Joseph, the same as Jesus'
father. The evidence seems to
support the idea that some emphasis is being placed on multiples of seven in the
list.
The Genealogy and the Family
of Jesus
In
the section of Luke's genealogy between Adam and David, all the names are
familiar from scripture, except for the inclusion of Arni
and Admin between Hezron and Amminadab
in Luke 3:33. On the other hand, the section between Nathan and Joseph in
Luke 3:24-31 does not appear in any other known source. Based on the
parallels in the counting schemes of Luke 3 and 1 Enoch and the interest of
Jesus' brother Jude in 1 Enoch, Bauckham proposes that the Luke 3 genealogy may
have been one preserved by the family of Jesus.[ii]
Bauckham
presents an additional piece of evidence in favor of his proposal. Julius
Africanus, a Christian historian from the early third century AD, mentions in
his Letter to Aristides that the relatives of Jesus possessed a family
genealogy that they used in their evangelistic work in Galilee. One can
imagine Jude and other “brothers of the Lord'' (1 Co 9:5) utilizing the
Luke 3 genealogy to review the story of the Gospel, highlighting the roles of
Enoch, Abraham, David and other luminaries and showing how the story culminates
in the work of Jesus the Messiah, who would return to judge the earth.
Their message, like the epistle of Jude, may have included a Christ-centered
exhortation to embrace sound teaching and holy living.
Whatever
the original source for the Luke 3 genealogy was, the genealogy’s 77
generations point to the coming of Jesus as the goal, climax, and pinnacle of
history, the Seed of Abraham and Davidic Messiah. These are truths we can
count on.
