Family Trees of the Tribes of Israel

by

The 18 chapters of this book are based on the genealogies in 1 Chronicles 2–8, where a great deal of detailed information is given about the families of the tribes of Israel. Read as a continuous narrative, the lists of names in these…

The 18 chapters of this book are based on the genealogies in 1 Chronicles 2–8, where a great deal of detailed information is given about the families of the tribes of Israel. Read as a continuous narrative, the lists of names in these early chapters of Chronicles can serve to overload the reader with undigested information, and the valuable significance of what is recorded there can easily be missed.

Tony Benson sets out to make these family records more intelligible for the general reader. His approach is to discover what the genealogies reveal when the information they contain is cross-referenced to other parts of the Old Testament record. This approach helps to cast a fascinating light on obscure Bible characters ad unsuspected family relationships.

The historical events recorded in the Old Testament are meant to provide us with important ‘lessons for life’, and the additional information that the author extracts from the genealogies in Chronicles also serves to enhance our understanding of the moral significance of many of the Bible’s historical passages.

Tony Benson (1943-2009) was the prolific and long-serving Publishing Editor of the Testimony magazine from 1980 until his death in 2009. His study of the Family Trees of Tribes of Israel was first published as a series of articles in the Bible Student magazine from 1978 to 1981.

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