Biblical Genealogies and the Davidic Line

You knew it was only a matter of time before I linked to this interesting post about the Old Testament genealogies. Kevin Edgecomb argues that, rather than being late “priestly” additions, the purpose of the genealogies, especially those in the Pentateuch, is to legitimate the royal Davidic line as the rightful rulers of Israel and, indeed, heirs of Adam, the firstborn son of God. He suggests they were first written down not during or immediately after the exile, as the standard (JEDP) theory maintains, but rather during the reign of Solomon.

Kevin has taken on Old Testament source criticism before (see here, here, and here). As to the genealogies, this is an interesting suggestion worthy of further reflection.