Luke's seventy-seven generations

Luke's Seventy-Seven Generations: a Messianic prediction in the Gospel of Luke, based on a parallel in the First Book of Enoch.

In the Gospel of Luke 3.23-38, we can read the genealogy of Jesus of Nazareth. Although we may be confident that Jesus' father was a man named Joseph, it is questionable whether his grandfather was indeed called Eli, as Matthew 1.16 calls him Jacob. Going further back, the family tree appears to become increasingly unreliable, although it is of course possible that the family of Jesus remembered correctly that it descended from David. The discovery of a first-century CE tomb of the "house of David" in Jerusalem proves that descendants of the legendary king were recognized in Jesus' age.

Presenting the genealogical truth was, of course, not Luke's real aim. He wanted to show that Jesus was of Davidic descent and could therefore be the Messiah. Luke plays an interesting game in this genealogy, which we can appreciate by comparing his text with its sources.

 
LUKE
LUKE'S SOURCES
 
77
Jesus of Nazareth
   
76
Joseph
   
75
Eli
   
74
Matthat
   
73
Levi
   
72
Melki
   
71
Jannai
   
70
Joseph
   
69
Mattathias
   
68
Amos
   
67
Nahum
   
66
Esli
   
65
Naggai
   
64
Maath
   
63
Mattathias
   
62
Semein
   
61
Josech
   
60
Joda
   
59
Joanan
   
58
Rhesa
 
 
57
Zerubbabel
Zerubbabel
53
56
Shealtiel
Shealtiel
52
55
Neri
Mattaniah/Zedekiah
50
54
Melki
Jehoiachin
51
53
Addi
Eliakim/Jehoiakim
50
52
Kosam
Jehoahaz
50
51
Elmadam
Josiah
49
50
Er
Amon
48
49
Jesus
Manasseh
47
48
Eliezer
Hezekiah
46
47
Jorim
Ahaz
45
46
Matthat
Jotham
44
45
Levi
Azariah/Uzziah
43
44
Simeon
Amaziah
42
43
Judah
Joash
41
42
Joseph
Ahaziah
40
41
Jonan
Jehoram
39
40
Eliakim
Jehosaphat
38
39
Melea
Asa
37
38
Menna
Abijah
36
37
Mattatha
Rehoboam
35
36
Nathan
Solomon
34
35
David
David
33
34
Jesse
Jesse
32
33
Obed
Obed
31
32
Boaz
Boaz
30
31
Salmon
Salmon
29
30
Nahshon
Nahshon
28
29
Amminadab
Amminadab
27
28
Admin
   
27
Aram
Aram
26
26
Hezron
Hezron
25
25
Perez
Perez
24
24
Judah
Judah
23
23
Jacob
Jacob
22
22
Isaac
Isaac
21
21
Abraham
Abraham
20
20
Terah
Terah
19
19
Nahor
Nahor
17
18
Serug
Serug
17
17
Reu
Reu
16
16
Peleg
Peleg
15
15
Eber
Eber
14
14
Shelah
Shelah
13
13
Kainan
   
12
Arphaxad
Arphaxad
12
11
Shem
Shem
11
10
Noah
Noah
10
9
Lamech
Lamech
9
8
Methuselah
Methuselah
8
7
Enoch
Enoch
7
6
Jared
Jared
6
5
Mahalalel
Mahalalel
5
4
Kenan
Kenan
4
3
Enosh
Enosh
3
2
Seth
Seth
2
1
Adam
Adam
1
 
God
God
 

One question is: why seventy-seven generations? The answer lies in the First Book of Enoch, a collection of texts that share an interest in the patriarch Enoch, about whom it is written that "he was taken away" instead of "he died".note This line caused many to think that Enoch had ascended to heaven and had written reports about it.

One of the five parts of 1 Enoch is the "Book of the Watchers", which was written in the third century BCE. It describes the fall of the angels and their punishment:

And the Lord said to [the arch-angel] Raphael: "Bind [the rebel] Azazel hand and foot and throw him into the darkness!"
And Raphael made a hole in the desert, which was in Dudael, and cast him there. On top of him, he threw rugged and sharp rocks. And he covered Azazel's face in order that he may not see light and [...] may be sent into the fire on the great day of judgment. [...]
And to Michael the Lord said: "[...] Bind them for seventy generations underneath the rocks of the ground until the day of their judgment is concluded."note

In other words, the Day of Judgment was to take place seventy generations after Enoch. Now this patriarch lived in the seventh generation, and we may therefore conclude that the author of the Book of the Watchers assumed that the end of history would be in the seventy-seventh generation.

In another part of the First book of Enoch, the "Book of Similitudes" (first half first century BCE), we learn more about the Last Judgment. We read how the Messiah, who is said to have been created before the universe and is called the "son of man", will judge mankind, which has risen from the death.

Back to Luke. By making Jesus of Nazareth the seventy-seventh of the list, he is obviously playing with these Enochite thoughts. What he is in fact saying is that Jesus was the Messiah and that the last judgment is very, very near. After all, when Luke composed his gospel during the persecution by the emperor Domitian, there were only a few survivors of the generation of Jesus.