Adam. The Adam-to-Abraham genealogy listed in 1 Chronicles 1:1-27 at the beginning of 1 Chronicles is the same as that in Genesis 5, but both omit the name of Cainan found in the genealogy of Luke 3:36. Cainan is also found in the Septuagint. It seems likely that the name “Cainan” was accidentally added by some Greek-Septuagint copyist, possibly by careless insertion of the antediluvian Cainan in the post-diluvian chronology (Genesis 5:9-14). The other alternative—that the second “Cainan” was inadvertently omitted by an ancient Hebrew copyist, in both Genesis and 1 Chronicles, seems less likely, both in view of the doctrine of verbal inspiration and also in view of the meticulous copying accuracy of the ancient Hebrew scribes who preserved the Old Testament Scriptures. In either case, a copying mistake seems to have been involved. Nevertheless, it seems probable that the original compiler of the genealogy presented it as a complete record, and all later copyists regarded it as such, including the inspired writer of 1 Chronicles. However, the chronological data included in either the Genesis genealogy or the others has posed a difficulty, since it seems to be much too short to correlate with the generally accepted secular chronology of ancient history, which assumes at least several hundred thousand years for the history of mankind. This fact has led many Christian apologists to propose arbitrary large gaps in the three genealogies of Genesis, 1 Chronicles and Luke. This expedient, however, is without warrant in either the context or the obvious intent of the writers. It seems more consistent with the Biblical doctrine of inerrancy to focus instead on the false assumptions in the evolutionary chronologies developed by secular writers—assumptions centered in naturalism and uniformitarianism.

their generations. Ishmael was a son of Abraham, as Esau (1 Chronicles 1:35) was a son of Isaac, yet neither was in the line of the chosen people Israel. The same is true of the sons of Keturah, Abraham's wife in his later years. Yet their descendants are included here along with those of Jacob, essentially copied from the same tabulations in Genesis. In accord with the principle of verbal inspiration, there must be a reason why the writer of 1 Chronicles was led to repeat these records. All of these others are descendants of Abraham, and for later generations of both Jews and Gentiles, repetition emphasizes again the fact that God has abundantly fulfilled His original prophetic promise to make Abraham “a father of many nations” (Genesis 17:5). These offspring—from Ishmael, Keturah and Esau—have their modern descendants in the various Arab peoples and states. It is also noteworthy that, despite the long enmity of Arabs and Israelis toward each other, and the enmity of both toward Christians, the Arabs alone among non-Christian peoples continue to believe in the book of Genesis, in a primeval special creation of the entire universe, and in a personal transcendent Creator God. All other nations since the dispersion at Babel, have followed some form of evolutionary humanistic pantheism as their religion, although some—especially among the animists—do maintain also the tradition of a far-off “unknown God” (Acts 17:23), who was greater than the other gods.

sons of Seir. See Genesis 36:20-28. Esau's daughter-in-law, Timna (1 Chronicles 1:35-36) was a daughter of Seir. Thus the descendants of Esau and Seir were related by marriage and, in effect, the Edomites included both tribes. Timna was the mother of Amalek, but it is likely that he had been named after some previous Amalek, who was the real father of the Amalekites.