Bible Verses AboutAncestry
Bible verses about Ancestry
Delving into our ancestry through the lens of scripture reveals more than just names and dates; it unveils God's enduring faithfulness woven through generations. Tracing our lineage, as highlighted in biblical genealogies, connects us to a rich tapestry of faith, perseverance, and divine purpose. Understanding our ancestry, as reflected in the Bible, helps us appreciate the promises passed down, the lessons learned, and the unwavering hand of God shaping history. It grounds us in a heritage of believers, reminding us that we are part of a larger, divinely orchestrated story, inspiring us to live lives worthy of the legacy we inherit and to build upon it for future generations.
Most Helpful Verses
Begin with these carefully selected verses that address this topic most directly.
For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.
And Jeshua begat Joiakim, Joiakim also begat Eliashib, and Eliashib begat Joiada,
Scripture Passages
Of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;
For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.
And Jeshua begat Joiakim, Joiakim also begat Eliashib, and Eliashib begat Joiada,
And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.
Of Dan, Azareel the son of Jeroham. These were the princes of the tribes of Israel.
And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izeharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites.
Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh; Zechariah: and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males an hundred and fifty.
But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them.
And the sons of Uzziel; Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zithri.
And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine.
Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes.
Notwithstanding the land shall be divided by lot: according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.
And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
And of the sons of Bebai; Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight males.
And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the Lord God of Israel?
And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
And Zanoah, and En–gannim, Tappuah, and Enam,
The children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha.
The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi, according to their families.
All that were numbered in the camp of Judah were an hundred thousand and fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, throughout their armies. These shall first set forth.
And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
And their brethren the sons of Merari stood on the left hand: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch,
And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:
And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again through the people from Beer–sheba to mount Ephraim, and brought them back unto the Lord God of their fathers.
And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs, and Kartah with her suburbs,
And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir, which was the father of Eshton.
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
On the eighth day offered Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh:
And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.
And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:
And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath–jearim.
And the sons of Hananiah; Pelatiah, and Jesaiah: the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shechaniah.
The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies: and the captain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
The eleventh to Azareel, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:
It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.
Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth–lehem–judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.
And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs,
Of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
And the name of the daughter of Asher was Sarah.
And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites: of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites.
And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.
The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth–shemesh, and Elon–beth–hanan:
And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.
The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the Lord in their third generation.
Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,
And Hazar–gaddah, and Heshmon, and Beth–palet,
Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:
Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;
And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.
And Joelah, and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.
And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites which remained of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.
And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.
And these are the sons of Aholibamah Esau’s wife; duke Jeush, duke Jaalam, duke Korah: these were the dukes that came of Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife.
The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land.
And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
Of Dan, Azareel the son of Jeroham. These were the princes of the tribes of Israel.
And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land:
And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;
Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,
I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children.
The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the Lord gave unto them.
And Jacob rose up from Beer–sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.
Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.
And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the Lord before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the Lord.
And the sons of Hananiah; Pelatiah, and Jesaiah: the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shechaniah.
The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies: and the captain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.
And Adamah, and Ramah, and Hazor,
And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.
Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.
Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised.
As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers;
Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.
These are the families of Judah according to those that were numbered of them, threescore and sixteen thousand and five hundred.
And the prince of the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach.
But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother,
Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.
Then the tribe of Zebulun: and Eliab the son of Helon shall be captain of the children of Zebulun.
So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel;
And the sons of Dan; Hushim.
David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him.
The children of Bigvai, two thousand threescore and seven.
Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jered,
And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa,
The sons of Reuel; Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.
And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.
This is the inheritance of the children of Gad after their families, the cities, and their villages.
Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son,
These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.
Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised.
Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife:
Of Melicu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;
Of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;
On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies: and the captain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud.
And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth: all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen.
And Hazar–shual, and Balah, and Azem,
And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.
Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beer–sheba.
All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
Reuben, the eldest son of Israel: the children of Reuben; Hanoch, of whom cometh the family of the Hanochites: of Pallu, the family of the Palluites:
And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,
I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children.
To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.
There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.
And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begat Isaac:
Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites: of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites.
Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.
And Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan: these are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom.
And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?
And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan–aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
Of the children of Manasseh, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
And the families of Kirjath–jearim; the Ithrites, and the Puhites, and the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; of them came the Zareathites, and the Eshtaulites.
Of the sons of Naphtali after their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites: of Guni, the family of the Gunites:
And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
The children of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy and two.
And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman.
And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine.
Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters. And Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha.
And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.
For the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance:
The son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shamer,
Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb:
Arab, and Dumah, and Eshean,
These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes.
Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.
Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah,
Of the children of Simeon, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, those that were numbered of them, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
And Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?
And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel.
To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.
There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.
And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur.
The son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,
And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.
And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial.
And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchi–shua: and the names of his two daughters were these; the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal:
And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:
And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad,
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.
And the sons of Zerah; Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara: five of them in all.
The son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,
And Elioenai, and Jaakobah, and Jeshohaiah, and Asaiah, and Adiel, and Jesimiel, and Benaiah,
The children of Zattu, eight hundred forty and five.
And the children of Israel enquired of the Lord, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
One shall say, I am the Lord’s; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.
The two and twentieth to Giddalti, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:
Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.
Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
The children of Reaiah, the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda,
And the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli.
And the sons of Gomer; Ashchenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.
Of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad,
Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,
The children of Azgad, a thousand two hundred twenty and two.
And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite.
The children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children of Amon.
The sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: which three were born unto him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the Lord; and he slew him.
And Samuel said unto the people, It is the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.
And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father’s house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses: so they pitched by their standards, and so they set forward, every one after their families, according to the house of their fathers.
And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.
The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father.
The children of Keros, the children of Sia, the children of Padon,
The children of Lebana, the children of Hagaba, the children of Shalmai,
And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them.
And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron.
And of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites: and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites:
And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.
And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.
Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.
Of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.
Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:
And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.
So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
These are the families of Manasseh, and those that were numbered of them, fifty and two thousand and seven hundred.
Of the children of Simeon, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, those that were numbered of them, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
Reflection
Contemplating Ancestry
Exploring ancestry through the lens of the Bible reveals profound truths about heritage, identity, and God's overarching plan. The verses examined demonstrate that our lineage is not merely a genealogical record, but a tapestry woven with purpose and meaning. From the genealogies establishing Jesus's lineage to verses emphasizing the spiritual inheritance passed down through faith, Scripture underscores the importance of honoring our ancestors while recognizing our place within a larger narrative of redemption. Reflecting on these ancestral connections encourages gratitude for those who came before us, humility in acknowledging our shared humanity, and responsibility in stewarding the legacy we inherit. May we use this understanding to deepen our appreciation for both our individual stories and the grand, unbroken story of God's faithfulness that continues through us today.
May these verses about ancestry bring wisdom and guidance to your spiritual journey
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