The concept of heredity in the Bible is often intertwined with themes of inheritance, lineage, and the transmission of traits or consequences from one generation to another. While the term "hereditary" itself is not explicitly used in the Berean Standard Bible, the principles surrounding it are evident throughout Scripture.

Biblical Lineage and Inheritance

The Bible places significant emphasis on genealogies and the passing down of blessings, promises, and land. The genealogies in Genesis, for example, trace the lineage from Adam through the patriarchs, underscoring the importance of family lines. Genesis 5 and 11 provide detailed genealogical records, highlighting the continuity of God's promises through specific family lines.

Inheritance laws in the Old Testament further illustrate the hereditary principle. The land of Canaan was divided among the tribes of Israel, and specific portions were allotted to families as a perpetual inheritance (Numbers 26:52-56). This inheritance was to remain within the family, as seen in the case of Zelophehad's daughters, who were granted the right to inherit their father's land to preserve his name and property within the tribe (Numbers 27:1-11).

Hereditary Sin and Consequences

The Bible also addresses the concept of hereditary sin and its consequences. The fall of Adam and Eve introduced sin into the human race, affecting all their descendants. Romans 5:12 states, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned." This passage highlights the hereditary nature of sin, passed down from generation to generation.

The consequences of sin can also be seen in the generational curses mentioned in the Old Testament. Exodus 20:5-6 warns of the iniquity of the fathers being visited upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate God, but also promises mercy to thousands of generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments. This reflects the idea that the actions and sins of one generation can have lasting effects on subsequent generations.

Hereditary Blessings and Promises

Conversely, the Bible also speaks of hereditary blessings. God's covenant with Abraham included promises that extended to his descendants. Genesis 17:7 states, "I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you." This covenantal promise was reaffirmed to Isaac and Jacob, emphasizing the hereditary nature of God's blessings.

The Davidic covenant further illustrates hereditary blessings, as God promised David that his throne would be established forever through his descendants (2 Samuel 7:12-16). This promise finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, whose kingdom is eternal.

Spiritual Heredity

In the New Testament, the concept of spiritual heredity is introduced through the idea of being born again into the family of God. John 1:12-13 states, "But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God." This spiritual rebirth transcends physical lineage, offering believers a new identity and inheritance in Christ.

The Apostle Paul speaks of believers as heirs with Christ, sharing in His sufferings and glory (Romans 8:17). This spiritual inheritance is not based on earthly lineage but on faith in Jesus Christ, making all believers part of God's family and recipients of His promises.

In summary, the Bible presents a multifaceted view of heredity, encompassing physical lineage, the transmission of sin and its consequences, the passing down of blessings and promises, and the spiritual inheritance available to all who believe in Christ.1. (a.) Passing from a parent to a child; as, a hereditary disease.

2. (a.) Descended, or capable of descending, from an ancestor to an heir at law; received or passing by inheritance, or that must pass by inheritance; as, an hereditary estate or crown.

3971. patroos -- of one's fathers, received from one's fathers
... from one's fathers. Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: patroos Phonetic
Spelling: (pat-ro'-os) Short Definition: hereditary Definition: hereditary ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3971.htm - 6k5159. nachalah -- possession, property, inheritance
... Word Origin from an unused word Definition possession, property, inheritance NASB
Word Usage gift (1), give (1), hereditary (1), heritage (14), heritages (1 ...
/hebrew/5159.htm - 6k

Slum Novelists and the Slums
... a nation of kings. Next to a genuine republic, the most democratic thing
in the world is a hereditary despotism. I mean a despotism ...
//christianbookshelf.org/chesterton/heretics/xix slum novelists and the.htm

Period I: the Imperial State Church of the Undivided Empire, or ...
... feature of Roman society, which affected the position of the Church not a little,
was the tendency to regard callings and trades as hereditary, and by the ...
/.../ayer/a source book for ancient church history/period i the imperial state.htm

Preface.
... Physical science is proving more and more the immense importance of Race; the
importance of hereditary powers, hereditary organs, hereditary habits, in all ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/westminster sermons/preface.htm

Additional Notes
... which they occur. B."The Hereditary Succession of the Coarbs Of Patrick.
Life, Secs.19.20, 30. The assertions of St. Bernard in ...
/.../st bernard of clairvauxs life of st malachy of armagh/additional notes.htm

Biographical Sketch.
... Another periodical presently repeated the paragraph, prefaced by the remark that
what is true in regard to faith"that it is not hereditary"is happily no ...
/.../schleiermacher/selected sermons of schleiermacher/biographical sketch.htm

The Preparations of the Greeks for Defense.
... properly express the idea. They were commanders, chieftains, hereditary
generals, but not strictly kings. We shall, however, often ...
//christianbookshelf.org/abbott/xerxes/chapter vii the preparations of.htm

Preface
... be necessarily like them. Hereditary Christianity in India is much like
hereditary Christianity at home. The Church in Tinnevelly ...
//christianbookshelf.org/wilson-carmichael/things as they are/preface.htm

'Make us a King'
... It was God who made the judges, and the introduction, in however slight a degree,
of the hereditary principle, was not only politically a blunder, but ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/make us a king.htm

Being Made Archbishop of Armagh, He Suffers Many Troubles. Peace ...
... But a very evil custom had developed, by the devilish ambition of certain powerful
persons, that the holy see[373] should be held by hereditary succession. ...
/.../chapter iv being made archbishop.htm

The Helvetic Consensus Formula. AD 1675.
... In connection with this doctrine of hereditary sin there arose among the Calvinists
of the seventeenth century a controversy about immediate or antecedent, and ...
/.../ 61 the helvetic consensus.htm

Hereditary (1 Occurrence)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (a.) Passing from a parent to a child; as, a hereditary
disease. ... Multi-Version Concordance Hereditary (1 Occurrence). ...
/h/hereditary.htm - 7k

Priesthood (30 Occurrences)
... prest'-hood: 1. Priesthood Is an Office 2. In the Old Testament 3. Hereditary
Priesthood 4. In the New Testament 5. Conclusions LITERATURE All worship is based ...
/p/priesthood.htm - 40k

Heredity
... Moreover Deuteronomy 28:59-61 may contain a thought of hereditary diseases (compare
2 Kings 5:27). On the psychical side the data are almost equally scanty. ...
/h/heredity.htm - 13k

Ahab (85 Occurrences)
... For the first time since the division of the kingdoms the hereditary internecine
quarrels are forgotten, "and Jehoshaphat," the good king of Judah, "made peace ...
/a/ahab.htm - 52k

Jubilee (25 Occurrences)
... large. 2. It would render it impossible for any one to be born to absolute
poverty, since every one had his hereditary land. 3. It ...
/j/jubilee.htm - 27k

Genealogy (29 Occurrences)
... important by the facts that the land was promised to the descendants of Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, that the priesthood was exclusively hereditary, that the royal ...
/g/genealogy.htm - 70k

Judah (802 Occurrences)
... of the Semites 2. The Canaanites 3. The Israelite Confederacy 4. Migration into
Canaan 5. The Bond of Union 6. Early Rulers 7. The Judges 8. Hereditary Kings II ...
/j/judah.htm - 101k

Saul (371 Occurrences)
... Saul now undertook the great and difficult enterprise of freeing the land from its
hereditary enemies the Philistines, and for this end he gathered together an ...
/s/saul.htm - 76k

Hereby (17 Occurrences)

/h/hereby.htm - 12k

Testaments
... Simon succeeded him, and by the help of the Romans was made hereditary ruler
of Palestine. He in turn was followed by John Hyrcanus. ...
/t/testaments.htm - 35k

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