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Today, after a delay which once more reflects how long it took to prepare this article, we present some family trees related to "Terror on Every Side!" – the life of Jeremiah.
The Bible reports the lives of many families, and God portrays himself as a father who invites people to be his children.
The people of Israel are called by that name because Jacob was given the name “Israel” by God – their name comes from the behaviour of their ancestor almost 4,000 years ago.[1]
Within the family of Israel, Aaron and his descendants were appointed as priests for the nation, and this continued until the priests under the law of Moses were replaced with Jesus Christ, at which time the law was replaced as well.[2]
These two examples are given to show the importance of families in the Bible. In this article, we present four family trees, two of them relating to the family of Aaron.
The family tree of Aaron
This family tree concentrates on Aaron and his close family. As a result, Amram’s brothers (Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel) are excluded, along with the two sons of Gershon (Libni and Shimei) and the two sons of Merari (Mahli and Mushi).
Ithamar had descendants, so he must have had children – but we do not know the names of any of them. In the times of the judges, the High Priest may have come from the family of Ithamar for a time rather than that of Phinehas.
Since this family tree is produced for the series “Terror on Every Side! The life of Jeremiah”, the family tree ends with Hilkiah, the father of Jeremiah.
The family tree of Jeremiah
This family tree concentrates on Jeremiah and his family.
Jeremiah 1:1 says that Jeremiah was a priest and the son of Hilkiah. Since no other identification is given to specify which Hilkiah is meant, it is likely that there was only one Hilkiah available, the man who was the High Priest in the time of Josiah, when Jeremiah also began to prophecy.
The family tree above includes the three sons of Hilkiah that are listed in the Bible. There may also be another son of Hilkiah, since a seal was found in 1980 with the inscription: “(Belonging) to Hanan, son (of) Hilkiah the priest”. However, this son is not mentioned in the Bible.
A bulla was also found in 1982 with the inscription, “(Belonging) to Azaryah, son (of) Hilkiah”.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilkiah for more information on these discoveries.
Jehozadak was probably too young to have been a priest when he was taken into captivity by King Nebuchadnezzar. His son, Jeshua, was High Priest when the people of Judah returned from captivity.
The family tree of Josiah the king
This family tree concentrates on King Josiah in his position as king. As a result, many branches of the tree are omitted, including several of his sons. His wives are also omitted for clarity.
The last 8 kings of Judah are all shown on this chart, and, interestingly, we know the name of the mother of each one. These kings were, in order:
- King Hezekiah, whose mother was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah (2 Kings 18:2).
- King Manasseh, whose mother was Hephzibah (2 Kings 21:1).
- King Amon, whose mother was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah (2 Kings 21:19).
- King Josiah, whose mother was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath (2 Kings 22:1).
- King Jehoahaz, whose mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah (2 Kings 23:31). (See Zedekiah below.)
- King Jehoiakim, whose mother was Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah (2 Kings 23:36).
- King Jeconiah, whose mother was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:8).
- King Zedekiah, whose mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah (2 Kings 24:18; Jeremiah 52:1). (See Jehoahaz above).
Many other people in the time of Jeremiah are connected with the royal family, but the exact connections are not know. One example is Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, a member of the royal family, who assassinated Gedaliah (see his family tree below).
Daniel and his friends may also fit in somewhere, but we do not know where.
The family tree of Gedaliah the governor
This family tree concentrates on Shaphan and his family, who appear often in the records of the time of Jeremiah.[3] The references given often show connections between Shaphan’s family and Hilkiah’s family. Arguably, Gedaliah achieved the highest position of all, but the family had filled many important positions in the kingdom of Judah for several generations.
The birth order of Shaphan’s sons is unknown.
Gedaliah was appointed governor by King Nebuchadnezzar after the defeat of Jerusalem, but he was assassinated soon afterwards by Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, a member of the royal family (2 Kings 25:22-25).
Notes
[1] See Genesis 32:28; 35:10; 1 Kings 18:31; 1 Chronicles 16:13, 17; Isaiah 41:8; 45:3-4.
[2] See Hebrews 3:1; 4:14; 7:12.
[3] See article “Family friendships” (https://www.bibletales.online/family-friendships/)
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May the Lord bless you and keep you all this week.
Mark Morgan
Bible Tales Online
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