If you were looking for a section of the Bible that could turn off many modern-day Americans from reading the rest of the book, the first couple of chapters of I Chronicles might just do the trick.
I Chronicles 1 is a chapter dense with names and genealogies. Reading through this thicket may prompt the question, "Is there any value to this part of the Bible?" As a lover of the Bible and the Christian faith, I can affirm that the answer is, "Yes!"
Part of the problem with a negative attitude toward biblical genealogies is our modern perspective. We live in the New World, where many families can only trace their ancestry back a handful of generations. Americans have severed ties (geographical and familial) with the old homelands from whence they came. In the United States, your heritage and history doesn't matter; it cannot limit you like it once could (and still does in many locales around the world.)
But if we were to view passages like I Chronicles 1 with eastern eyes, we might see the value in tracing lineages. In the Ancient Near East cultures of the Bible, being able to articulate your ancestry was key to establishing your identity, social status, nationality, etc. A large part of who a person was in the ancient world - as well as in some societies yet today - stemmed from your genealogy. As a result, some audiences give this section of the Bible a lot more attention and a more generous hearing, because of their interest in being able to track ancestry and see the links among people and nations. For example, the sons of Noah (Shem, Ham, and Japheth listed in verse 4) father nations that display family and geographical traits shared among them.
So before we dismiss "the begats" of the Bible, let us be aware that even passages like these might hold more meaning and power to other cultures. Just because it may not speak compellingly to us does not mean it lacks appeal to many others!
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