Why Bother Reading the Lists in the Bible?

Today is Vesak Day. Let us take the opportunity to look at a booklet written by A.L. De Silva, "Beyond Belief: a Buddhist Critique of Christianity", Chapter 6: A Critique of the Bible, which I had quoted in an earlier post A Woman Named Damaris.

QUOTE
If the Bible really is God's word it indicates that he is a very strange being indeed One would expect that the creator of the universe would only speak to man when he had something of great importance to say and that what he said would be of universal significance. Not so. The book of Chronicles for example consists of little more than lists of names of people we know little or nothing about and who died thousands of years ago. No commandments, no ethical principles, no hints on how to live properly or to worship God - just page after page of useless names. Why would God waste his and our time revealing such things?
UNQUOTE

The author questioned the "page after page of useless names" in the Bible. And I happened to find the answer today in Why Bother Reading the Lists in the Bible? - ONE FOR ISRAEL Ministry.

QUOTE
Lists and genealogies are evidence that the Bible is no fairy tale
Consider the profound difference between "Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, lived a king…" and the Biblical way of introducing a story:
"The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month." (Jeremiah 1:1-3)
Instead of the vague introductions of myths and legends, the Biblical insistence on telling you not just one but often several generations of relatives, on clarifying the tribe and clan, specifying the exact year and month (and sometimes day), giving the timing in reference to other events (the reign of a certain king, the captivity of Jerusalem, and so on) is an indication that the author expects their readers to accept what they are saying as historical fact. They provide abundant and verifiable data because they are giving an account of what actually happened, and want you to be sure of that. Lists of people, numbers and places are a sign of authenticity. Through examination of verifiable names and places in the New Testament, scholars can show that the gospels are eyewitness accounts, and not fabrications. Similarly, thanks to the information given to us in such great detail, study of the Bible is made a lot easier when trying to build timelines and understand family trees. Archaeologists and historians use the Bible as a source for these reasons.
UNQUOTE

Compare and contrast the lists found and in Bible and an example of list in the Buddhist sutra, The Larger Sūtra of Immeasurable Life.

QUOTE
佛告阿難。乃往過去久遠無量不可思議無央數劫。錠光如來興出於世。教化度脫無量衆生。皆令得道乃取滅度。次有如來名曰光遠。次名月光。次名栴檀香。次名善山王。次名須彌天冠。次名須彌等曜。次名月色。次名正念。次名離垢。次名無著。次名龍天。次名夜光。次名安明頂。次名不動地。次名琉璃妙華。次名琉璃金色。次名金藏。次名炎光。次名炎根。次名地種。次名月像。次名日音。次名解脫華。次名莊嚴光明。次名海覺神通。次名水光。次名大香。次名離塵垢。次名捨厭意。次名寶炎。次名妙頂。次名勇立。次名功德持慧。次名蔽日月光。次名日月琉璃光。次名無上琉璃光。次名最上首。次名菩提華。次名月明。次名日光。次名華色王。次名水月光。次名除癡冥。次名度蓋行。次名淨信。次名善宿。次名威神。次名法慧。次名鸞音。次名師子音。次名龍音。次名處世。如此諸佛皆悉已過
The Buddha said to Ānanda, "In the distant past - innumerable, incalculable and inconceivable kalpas ago - a Tathāgata named Dīpaṃkara appeared in the world. Having taught and freed innumerable beings and led them all along the path of Enlightenment, he passed into Nirvāṇa. Next appeared a Tathāgata named Far-reaching Light. After him came Moonlight, and then Sandalwood-Incense, King of Beautiful Mountains, Crown of Mount Sumeru, Brilliant like Mount Sumeru, Color of the Moon, Right Recollection, Free of Defilement, Non-attachment, Dragon-deva, Nocturnal Light, Peaceful and Brilliant Peak, Immovable Ground, Exquisite Beryl Flower, Golden Beryl Luster, Gold-treasury, Flaming Light, Fiery Origin, Earth-shaking, Image of the Moon, Sound of the Sun, Flower of Freedom, Glorious Light, Miraculous Power of the Ocean of Enlightenment, Water Light, Great Fragrance, Free of Dust and Defilement, Abandoning Enmity, Flame of Jewels, Beautiful Peak, Heroic Stance, Merit-possessing Wisdom, Outshining the Sun and the Moon, Beryl Light of the Sun and the Moon, Supreme Beryl Light, Highest Peak, Flower of Enlightenment, Brightness of the Moon, Sunlight, King of the Colors of Flowers, Moonlight on the Water, Dispelling the Darkness of Ignorance, Practice of Removing Hindrances, Pure Faith, Storage of Good, Majestic Glory, Wisdom of the Dharma, Call of the Phoenix, Roar of the Lion, Voice of the Dragon and Dwelling-in-the-world. All these Buddhas have already passed into Nirvāṇa."
UNQUOTE