Genealogy versus Merit? On the Role of Lineage in Ancient Judaism. Introduction

Abstract

Concerns about genealogy permeate many ancient and modern societies and groups. Ancestors have to do with the question of one’s origins and, more often than not, with one’s place in the world. Genealogies have also proved fundamental to some collective ethnic self-definitions. Modern scholarly discussions of ethnicity in the ancient world have emphasized – among other criteria – the importance of shared ancestors, whether imagined or real, to define membership in a group.1 Admittedly, in contemporary Western countries, genealogies may be perceived as belonging to the realm of hobbies (as in the case of people attempting to reconstruct their genealogical trees). Especially in the professional realm, the emphasis is on personal training, capacities, and achievements rather than on the identity of one’s ancestors. In short, merit or personal worth prevails over lineage. However, DNA tests reflect a new type of fascination with genealogy, buttressed by the scientific aura of genetic studies. Moreover, the impact of genetics on Jewish communities and Jewish studies – in relation to the origins of the Jewish people and the definition of Jewishness – is growing.2 On the whole, lineage probably matters for many people in our contemporary world no less than it did for people living in the Greco-Roman world. Some anthropological studies have emphasized that kinship ties are cultural constructions that cannot be limited to the biological links based on