Q: Is the genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew the sort of thing that Paul instructed Timothy and Titus to avoid (in First Tim. 1:4 and Titus 3:9)?
A: No. Knowledge of ones family history was more important in New Testament times than it is today, generally speaking. Paul regarded the Old Testament as authoritative, and it has a whole lot more genealogies in it than Matthew chapter one does.
Theres not a lot to go on regarding exactly what sort of genealogies Paul had in mind in First Timothy 1:4 and Titus 3:9, but Paul qualified his statements, and those qualifications should not be overlooked: in First Timothy 1:4, Paul did not issue a blanket condemnation of genealogies, but of genealogies that elicit disputes rather than edification. Likewise in Titus 3:8-9, Paul contrasts the maintenance of good works with the perpetuation of /foolish/ disputes, genealogies, contentions, and so on.
In both Pauline passages, Paul is discouraging the use of genealogies that were being used in some way -- and here we just dont have the details to be more specific -- to promote false doctrine. While some interpreters have suggested that Paul was referring to lists of otherworldly steps-to-mystical-perfection propagated by false teachers (the Emanations of the Aeons mentioned by bishop Irenaeus in the second century), it seems more likely to me that he was referring to an interpretive approach to genealogies in which historical characters were interpreted allegorically, using the meaning of the individuals names as the grounds for some statement otherwise unsupported in Scripture. This is just a calculated guess, but it interlocks well with what Paul says in First Timothy 1:3-7.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
A: No. Knowledge of ones family history was more important in New Testament times than it is today, generally speaking. Paul regarded the Old Testament as authoritative, and it has a whole lot more genealogies in it than Matthew chapter one does.
Theres not a lot to go on regarding exactly what sort of genealogies Paul had in mind in First Timothy 1:4 and Titus 3:9, but Paul qualified his statements, and those qualifications should not be overlooked: in First Timothy 1:4, Paul did not issue a blanket condemnation of genealogies, but of genealogies that elicit disputes rather than edification. Likewise in Titus 3:8-9, Paul contrasts the maintenance of good works with the perpetuation of /foolish/ disputes, genealogies, contentions, and so on.
In both Pauline passages, Paul is discouraging the use of genealogies that were being used in some way -- and here we just dont have the details to be more specific -- to promote false doctrine. While some interpreters have suggested that Paul was referring to lists of otherworldly steps-to-mystical-perfection propagated by false teachers (the Emanations of the Aeons mentioned by bishop Irenaeus in the second century), it seems more likely to me that he was referring to an interpretive approach to genealogies in which historical characters were interpreted allegorically, using the meaning of the individuals names as the grounds for some statement otherwise unsupported in Scripture. This is just a calculated guess, but it interlocks well with what Paul says in First Timothy 1:3-7.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
