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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadInternational Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Pedigree
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ped´i-greÌ„ (התילּד, hı̄thyalleÌ„dh, “to show one's birthâ€): The English word “pedigree†occurs only once in the Bible, according to the concordance. In , it is said: “They declared their pedigreesâ€; that is, they enrolled or registered themselves according to their family connections. The same idea is expressed frequently, employing a different term in the Hebrew, by the common phrase of Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, “to reckon by genealogy,†“to give genealogy,†etc. (compare , ; ff; ). These last passages indicate the importance of the registered pedigree or genealogy, especially of the priests in the post-exilic community, for the absence of the list of their pedigrees, or their genealogical records, was sufficient to cause the exclusion from the priesthood of certain enrolled priests.