Greek word · G1076
γενεαλογία
genealogia
genealogy
An account or list of descent; ancestry. In Greek literature the word is often paired with legendary origins of heroes, cities and peoples. In Jewish writing it describes the genealogical sections of Scripture.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
γενεαλογία, -ας, ἡ (see previous word);
1. the making of a pedigree.
2. a genealogy: pl., 1 Timothy 1:4, Titus 3:9 (see CGT, in l., and ib. Intr., xlix ff.; DB, ii, p. 141).
† (AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
From the study of 1 Timothy 1:4
- Range of meaning
An account or list of descent; ancestry. In Greek literature the word is often paired with legendary origins of heroes, cities and peoples. In Jewish writing it describes the genealogical sections of Scripture.
- Against the English
English "genealogies" makes a modern reader think of family-history research. In the ancient setting the word points to religious or legendary material about origins, used as content for teaching.
- How it drifted
The modern hobby of ancestry research gives the word a private, harmless sound. The ancient polemic is aimed at public teaching that built speculation on lines of descent.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Plato, Hippias Major 285d: the Spartans love hearing about "the genealogies of heroes and men" and the founding of cities, that is, about story-lore. Polybius 9.2.1 pairs the "genealogical" with the mythical. Philo (Life of Moses 2.47) divides the Pentateuch into creation, a "genealogical part" (to genealogikon) and the laws. Jewish works such as Jubilees and Pseudo-Philo's Biblical Antiquities expand biblical genealogies with names, stories and calculations. Titus 3:9 groups "foolish controversies, genealogies, strife and quarrels about the law." Irenaeus (Against Heresies, preface) later applied this verse to Gnostic systems of emanating divine beings (aeons).
- Range of meaning
Tracing of descent; a family tree; and by extension narratives built on lines of descent, including legendary or mythic ancestral histories. Greek writers used it for the lore of gods and heroes and the founding legends of cities. Philo used it for the genealogical and historical sections of the books of Moses.
- Against the English
English 'genealogies' suggests family-history research or the lists in Genesis and Chronicles. Here the word refers to a teaching activity: speculating on and arguing from ancestral lines.
- How it drifted
Modern genealogy is a hobby of personal ancestry, so readers sometimes take the verse as a ban on researching one's family tree. Its first readers would have heard a reference to elaborate lore built on sacred lineages.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Plato (Hippias Major 285d) has the sophist Hippias lecture crowds on 'the genealogies of heroes and men'. Polybius (9.2.1) calls the mythic type of history 'the genealogical'. Philo (Life of Moses 2.47) calls part of the Torah 'the genealogical'. Jewish retellings such as Jubilees and Pseudo-Philo's Biblical Antiquities greatly expand biblical genealogies with invented names and legends. In the 2nd century Irenaeus applied 1 Tim 1:4 to Valentinian Gnostic chains of divine emanations, a later application.
Similar words
Where it appears
1 Timothy · 1
-
1 Timothy 1:4 γενεαλογίαις to genealogies
or devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculation rather than the stewardship of God’s work, which is by faith.
Here: Lists or stories of who descended from whom. Here they are material for speculative teaching, probably elaborations on the family lines in the Hebrew Scriptures. This is not a ban on family records as such.
Titus · 1
-
Titus 3:9 γενεαλογίας genealogies
But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels about the law, because these things are pointless and worthless.
Here: Most likely speculative elaborations on biblical family lines and ancestral legends, the 'Jewish myths' of Titus 1:14 (compare 1 Tim 1:4). It does not mean ordinary knowledge of one's family history.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.