Why are those genealogies of Gen. 5 and 11 in the Bible? So many strange names and so many numbers of years mean that few practical-minded Americans will have the interest or the patience to wade through them. But we know that "all scripture is God-breathed and profitable..." so what is the purpose of these genealogies?

Students have been known to complain about the study of history, saying it is only a bunch of names, dates, and places. But wait, the Bible is largely history, so it should not surprise us to finds names, dates and places specified in the record. God has revealed His Word to us in real time and space history. God dealt with real people with specific names, who lived an exact number of years.