What was the purpose of genealogies in the ancient world? How did they function? And in this context: Did they ever have "gaps" in them, and why? Yes, they did have gaps -- and there were reasons for this.

First, ancient genealogies could serve a wide variety of purposes. They were used to verify lineage, and in the case of kings or priests, confirm their right to their position. Genealogies served functions that were social, biological, and political.

Second, they did have gaps because this was predominantly an oral culture. In an oral culture, things had to be memorized. Memory was made easiest by making things as short as possible while still retaining their purpose. The removal of names and the telescoping of lists is known in other oral cultures.

Within the cultural context, there is no reason not to suppose that Exodus 6 offers a telescoped genealogy. Exodus 6:16-20 does not use the established formula of "begats" found in Genesis 5 and 10-11. Instead it says:

> And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari...

The word "sons" (ben) does mean a son in a very simple sense, but the word has broader connotations -- such as nation, branch, or people. The parallel indicates that Exodus 6 is not merely listing descendants in a row -- it is listing family groups which started with the sons of Levi. The "gap" we seek is between Kohath and Amram.

Regarding the 400 years (Genesis 15:13-16), the word for "generation" is dowr and it merely means a set revolution of time. The passage already refers to a set revolution of time: four one hundred year periods. Exodus 6 gives the ages of its members because it is keeping in view the passage of these four time-cycles -- 133 + 137 + 133 = 403. It is a memory device -- not a wooden genealogical list.