The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah

The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+1&version=NIV

1 This is the genealogy[a] of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

4 Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

6 and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

9 Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

12 After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

14 Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

15 Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

17 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 Messiah.

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[d]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[e] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[f] because he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[g] (which means “God with us”).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Wikipedia: Genealogy of Jesus

Charles Haddon Spurgeon September 15, 1878
Scripture: Matthew 1:21
https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/jesus/#flipbook/

Genealogy of Christ

The Line of Joseph in Matthew's Genealogy
Matthew's genealogy traces the line of Joseph, the stepfather of the Messiah. The line is traced from Abraham (v. 2), and continues down to David and Solomon (v. 6), and then to King Jechoniah (v. 11), who was one of the last kings before the Babylonian Captivity. It is the person of Jechoniah that is significant in dealing with the genealogy of Matthew because of the special curse pronounced on him in Jeremiah 22:24-30:

New International Version
24 “As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “even if you, Jehoiachin[a] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. 25 I will deliver you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians. 26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. 27 You will never come back to the land you long to return to.”

28 Is this man Jehoiachin a despised, broken pot,
   an object no one wants?
Why will he and his children be hurled out,
   cast into a land they do not know?
29 O land, land, land,
   hear the word of the Lord!
30 This is what the Lord says:
“Record this man as if childless,
   a man who will not prosper in his lifetime,
for none of his offspring will prosper,
   none will sit on the throne of David
   or rule anymore in Judah.”

Because of the kind of man Jechoniah was, God, through the Prophet Jeremiah, pronounced a curse upon him. The content of this curse was that no descendant of Jechoniah would have any right to the Throne of David (v. 30).

In the Matthew genealogy, it should be noted that Joseph was a direct descendant of Jechoniah (v. 16). This means, then, that Joseph, having the blood of Jechoniah in his veins, was not qualified to sit on David's throne. This would also mean that no son of Joseph would have the right to claim the Throne of David. So, if Yeshua were really the son of Joseph, this would have disqualified Him from sitting upon David's throne.

The point of Matthew's genealogy, then, is to show why Jesus could not be king if He were really Joseph's son. For this reason, Matthew starts out with the genealogy, and then proceeds with the account of the Virgin Birth, which from Matthew's viewpoint, is the way out of the Jechoniah problem. In essence, Matthew's point is this: if Jesus were really Joseph's son, He could not claim to sit on David's throne because of Jechoniah's curse. Then Matthew proceeds to show that Yeshua was not truly Joseph's son, for He was born of the virgin Mary (Mat. 1:18-25).

If, by Jewish law, the name of a woman could not be mentioned in a genealogy, but you wished to trace a woman's line, how would you go about doing so? The answer is that you would use the name of her husband. However, if the husband's name were used, that raises a second question. Suppose somebody picked up a genealogy to read, how would he know whether the genealogy is that of the husband or that of the wife because, in either case, it would be the husband's name that was used?

The answer to that riddle lies in a problem with the English language, which does not exist with the Greek or Hebrew language. In English, it is not good grammar to put the word “the” before a proper name. We do not use a definite article before a proper name; such as, the Matthew, the Luke, the Mary, the John; however, it is quite permissible in both Greek and Hebrew grammar. The Greek text of Luke's genealogy is very interesting because of this. In the Greek text, every single name mentioned in the genealogy of Luke has the definite article “the,” with one exception, and that is the name of Joseph; his name does not have the definite article “the” in front of it. What that would mean to someone reading the original is this: when he saw the definite article missing from Joseph's name while it was present in all the other names, it would mean that this was not really Joseph's genealogy; rather, it is Mary's genealogy. So, in keeping with Jewish law, it was the husband's name that was used. We have two examples of this in the Old Testament: Ezra 2:61 and Nehemiah 7:63.

The Line of Mary in Luke's Genealogy
Luke's genealogy traces the line of Mary and portrays how Jesus could claim the Throne of David. Luke begins his genealogy in the reverse order of Matthew's, going from the present back into the past. The line is traced until it returns to the family of David (vv. 31-32). However, the son of David involved in this genealogy is not Solomon but Nathan. The important point here is that Mary was a member of the House of David totally apart from Jechoniah. Since Jesus was Mary's son He, too, was a member of the House of David, totally apart from the curse of Jechoniah.

One Old Testament requirement for kingship was that of being a member of the House of David. In the days of Jeremiah, there was the added requirement that one had to be a member of the House of David apart from Jechoniah. Zedekiah, who reigned after Jechoniah, was not the son of Jechoniah. In the case of Yeshua, through Mary, He was a member of the House of David, totally apart from Jechoniah. In this manner, He fulfilled the first Old Testament requirement for kingship.

Divine Appointment
However, Yeshua was not the only member of the House of David apart from Jechoniah. There were a number of other descendants who could claim equality with Yeshua to the Throne of David, for they, too, did not have Jechoniah's blood in their veins. At this point, it is important to note the second Old Testament requirement for kingship: divine appointment. Of all the members of the House of David apart from Jechoniah, only One received divine appointment.

We read in Luke 1:30-33:

Luke 1:30-33
New International Version

30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

On what grounds, then, could Jesus claim the Throne of David? First, He was a member of the House of David apart from Jechoniah; and secondly, He alone received divine appointment to that throne.

So while Matthew's genealogy showed why Yeshua could not be king if He really were Joseph's son, Luke's genealogy shows why Yeshua could be king. Luke, in contrast to Matthew, does not begin with the account of the Virgin Birth. Only later does he record the genealogy, for he does not need, like Matthew, to get around the Jechoniah problem.

The final question is: “On what grounds can it be said that Luke's account is actually Mary's genealogy?” While there is much evidence to support this, it will be necessary to limit it to only three lines of argument.

First, the Talmud itself refers to Mary as the daughter of Heli. It is obvious, then, that in longstanding Jewish tradition, Mary was recognized to be the daughter of Heli as mentioned in Luke 3:23.

Secondly, although most versions translate Luke 3:23 as follows: being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli.

That same Greek phrase could easily be translated in a different way. While all of the names in Luke's genealogy are preceded with the Greek definite article, the name of Joseph is not. Because of this grammatical point, that same verse could be translated: being the son (as was supposed of Joseph) the son of Heli. In other words, the final parenthesis could be expanded so that the verse reads that although Jesus was supposed or assumed to be the descendant of Joseph, He was really the descendant of Heli. The absence of Mary's name is quite in keeping with Jewish practices on genealogies, and it was not unusual for a son-in-law to be listed in his wife's genealogy.

The third argument is the obvious viewpoint of the two genealogies. Matthew is clearly writing from the viewpoint of Joseph. Mary plays a very passive role in Matthew's account. Matthew records only the angelic annunciation to Joseph concerning the coming birth, and only Matthew records the warning of the angel to Joseph to flee from Bethlehem before Herod's soldiers arrived for the slaughter. In the context of Matthew's Gospel, it is Joseph who is emphasized, and the genealogy gives Joseph's line.

Luke, however, is obviously writing from the viewpoint of Mary. In Luke, Joseph is the one who plays the passive role. Luke alone records the annunciation of the birth of John the Baptist, whose parents were related to Mary. Luke alone records the angelic annunciation to Mary and ignores the one to Joseph. Luke also is the one who records the innermost thoughts of Mary as she ponders things that are said to her by shepherds and prophets. Even when Yeshua is twelve years old, only Luke records the words of Mary to Yeshua and not those of Joseph. Mary is the active player, while Joseph is the passive player. So from the context alone, it would appear that Luke is giving Mary's lineage, because his whole perspective is focused on Mary.

In conclusion, then, both from the Talmudic reckoning and from the reckoning of biblical theology, Jesus indeed has the right to sit on David's throne.

In these genealogies, we are given four specific titles of Yeshua. In Matthew 1:1, He is called the son of David, and the son of Abraham. In Luke 3:38, He is called the son of Adam, and the son of God. These four titles give us the fourfold portrait of the Messianic Person.

First, by saying Yeshua is the son of David, this means He is a king through Mary.

Secondly, by calling Jesus the son of Abraham, this means He is a Jew.

Thirdly, by giving Yeshua the title, the son of Adam, this means that He is a man.

And fourthly, by giving Him the title, the son of God, this means Jesus is God.


1.http://www.messianicassociation.org/ezine36-af.christology-messianic.htm

Archeological Evidence For The 14 Generations “Error” In Matthew

Follow us as we explore the archeological evidence for the 14 generations “error” in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus.

“So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.” – Matthew 1:17
A difficulty arises when trying to divide the people listed in the passage into three distinct divisions of 14 people each. If you count the number people from Abraham to David in the first division, there is no problem:


First division of 14 generations:

(1) Abraham, (2) Isaac, (3) Jacob, (4) Judah, (5) Perez, (6) Hezron, (7) Ram, (8 ) Aminadab, (9) Nahshon, (10) Salmon, (11) Boaz, (12) Obed, (13) Jesse, and (14) David.

Since David is counted in the first division, it would not make sense to double count him into the second division as one individual cannot be seen as 2 separate generations.. Hence, there is also no problem counting the second division.

Second division of 14 generations:

(1) Solomon, (2) Rehoboam, (3) Abijah, (4) Asa, (5) Jehosophat, (6) Joram, (7) Uzziah, (8 ) Jotham, (9) Ahaz, (10) Hezekiah, (11) Manasseh, (12) Amon, (13) Josiah, and (14) Jeconiah; the time of the deportation to Babylon.

A problem only arises when counting the number of people from the time of the deportation to Babylon to Jesus Christ. The list comes up short:

Third division, there are only 13 generations!:

(1) Shealtiel, (2) Zerubbabel, (3) Abiud, (4) Eliakim, (5) Azor, (6) Zadok, (7) Achim, (8 ) Eliud, (9) Eleazar, (10) Matthan, (11) Jacob, (12) Joseph, and (13) Jesus Christ.

How then can we explain the discrepancy in the genealogies of Jesus?

The solution can simply be discovered if someone goes through the trouble of doing some research study, go pass all readily available translations and takes a look at a few of the original texts of the Gospels with the intent of discovering the solution. When the archeological evidence for the 14 generations “error” in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus is discovered, whatever falls in place and makes great sense, like it should, as the Word of God is perfect.

After discovering that some Hebrew manuscripts of the Gospel of Matthew, or including parts of it, had actually been preserved over the centuries, we embarked on our research study and discovered 2 extremely fascinating ones containing the complete genealogy of Jesus.

In a previous archeological dig, we discovered one single page of the Gospel of Matthew – Chapter 1 in Hebrew from a manuscript going back to 1576-1600 AD, whose place of origin is Italy, and which is now readily available to see online at the click of a button inside the virtual library of Bodleian Library, which is the primary research study library of the University of Oxford and among the earliest libraries in Europe.

In the Hebrew text of Matthew 1:16 we discover that the Joseph stated there is NOT the husband of Mary.

As you can see in the picture shown below, the Hebrew text reads:

Yoseph abi Miryam = Joseph father of Mary



We likewise discovered a 2nd witness of the Gospel of Matthew – Chapter 1 in Hebrew, from a Hebrew manuscript going back to 15th-16th century AD, whose place of origin is likewise Italy.

As you can see in the picture shown below, the Hebrew text, much like the previous one, reads:

Yoseph abi Miryam = Joseph father of Mary






Mary undoubtedly married a man named Joseph, who was the adoptive father of Jesus, but ALSO had a father whose name was Joseph, which was a pretty common name in Israel.

The confusion in understanding Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew is due to some conservative Christian Bible scholars, who find it inconceivable that the bloodline of a man would be traced through his mother’s side in a patriarchal society, and when it was, the husband would be named instead of her, and she would remain invisible. Unfortunately, this explanation is also totally made-up! The Word of God had already plainly stated that the Messiah was going to come from a woman.

Now that we have learned the archeological evidence for the 14 generations “error” in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus that Joseph in Matthew 1:16 was the father of Mary and NOT her husband, we have 14 generations(including Mary), instead of 13, from the captivity in Babylon until Christ, as we should according to Matthew 1:17!!

Return from “Archeological Evidence For The 14 Generations Error In Matthew’s Genealogy Of Jesus” to “Archeological Evidence For The Bible”

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