A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ
the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham
was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah
and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez
the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab
the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed
the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the
father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat
the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, Uzziah the father of
Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah the
father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, and
Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to
Babylon.
After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthanthe father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.(Matthew 1) If you read Luke 3, you’ll find a genealogy that doesn’t match this one. The reason most often given for this is that one of them is Jesus’s presumed lineage (as the son of Joseph) while the other is His lineage through Mary. Another explanation has to do with the possibility of a Levirate marriage involving a half-brother.
Two other differences my study Bible points out are that Luke’s gospel traces all the way to Adam while Matthew’s only goes as far as Abraham. Matthew’s genealogy does something unusual for Jewish genealogies of the time. It includes four women, and such women! Tamar, a Canaanite woman who resorted to pretending to be a prostitute to get Judah to fulfill his promise to her; Rahab, a Jerichoite harlot and traitor; Ruth, a Moabitess; and Bathsheba, an adulteress. There is also a note saying that Matthew’s genealogy misses some generations in order to fit the fourteen-generation pattern. That was an acceptable practice at the time and not a contradiction, because “the son of” in the original language could also mean “the descendant of.” We still do this today. To be a Son or Daughter of the American Revolution, one does not have to have a direct parent who served in the Revolutionary War. One does need to have an ancestor who did so.
Luke’s genealogy, supposedly, emphasizes Jesus’ humanity. Matthew’s focuses on the prophetic. The Messiah had to be the son of Abraham, the son of Isaac, the son of Jacob, the son of Judah, and the son of David. This is the reason for a lot of those boring “begats” in the Old Testament.
After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthanthe father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.(Matthew 1) If you read Luke 3, you’ll find a genealogy that doesn’t match this one. The reason most often given for this is that one of them is Jesus’s presumed lineage (as the son of Joseph) while the other is His lineage through Mary. Another explanation has to do with the possibility of a Levirate marriage involving a half-brother.
Two other differences my study Bible points out are that Luke’s gospel traces all the way to Adam while Matthew’s only goes as far as Abraham. Matthew’s genealogy does something unusual for Jewish genealogies of the time. It includes four women, and such women! Tamar, a Canaanite woman who resorted to pretending to be a prostitute to get Judah to fulfill his promise to her; Rahab, a Jerichoite harlot and traitor; Ruth, a Moabitess; and Bathsheba, an adulteress. There is also a note saying that Matthew’s genealogy misses some generations in order to fit the fourteen-generation pattern. That was an acceptable practice at the time and not a contradiction, because “the son of” in the original language could also mean “the descendant of.” We still do this today. To be a Son or Daughter of the American Revolution, one does not have to have a direct parent who served in the Revolutionary War. One does need to have an ancestor who did so.
Luke’s genealogy, supposedly, emphasizes Jesus’ humanity. Matthew’s focuses on the prophetic. The Messiah had to be the son of Abraham, the son of Isaac, the son of Jacob, the son of Judah, and the son of David. This is the reason for a lot of those boring “begats” in the Old Testament.
When I was working on my family’s history, I got excited when I discovered that one of my relatives was someone who did something historically significant, or at least was married to someone who did something significant. It’s a little less pleasant to discover two relatives who murdered a man (a shotgun marriage apparently wasn’t sufficient.) Even that pales in comparison to the day when I discovered a relative who was (gasp!) a professional wrestler – oh, the shame! – until I discovered that he won a gold medal in Greek-style wrestling in the Olympics. He was an actual wrestler, and a good one.
If you read about some of the people listed in Jesus’ genealogy, you’ll find that many of them were kings. A king! Time for a computer chair dance and a little more reading. Oh…ew…um…well…. But Jesus had to be descended from such people, because we are all such people. That’s why we need to be aware of his ancestry.
If you read about some of the people listed in Jesus’ genealogy, you’ll find that many of them were kings. A king! Time for a computer chair dance and a little more reading. Oh…ew…um…well…. But Jesus had to be descended from such people, because we are all such people. That’s why we need to be aware of his ancestry.
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