“Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon. And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ. 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’s genealogy answers the question a Jew would ask about anyone claiming to be king of Israel. Jesus Christ is in the rightful line of David.
1:7, 8
Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah.
Matthew omits three kings in this list: Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah.
1:9-11
Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.
Matthew skips Jehoiakim but includes Jeconiah. Jeconiah was Josiah’s grandson (1 Ch 3:15). God said that none of Jeconiah’s children would sit on the throne because of his sin (Je 22:24,30). Joseph was in his line but was not the natural father of Jesus. Joseph gave Jesus the legal title to the throne of David, but He was not the physical seed of Jeconiah. In Mary’s line (Luke), Jesus’ lineage came through David’s son Nathan. Joseph’s line came through Solomon.
1:12
And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel.
After the deportation to Babylon, Jeconiah begot three sons. Jeconiah was to have seed but no reigning son.
This is the Zerubbabel of Ezra 3:2; Ne 12:1; Hag 1:1.
1:13-15
Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.
We find none of these names in the Old Testament except Zerubbabel. However, the Jews kept very careful records of genealogies.
1:16
And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus
This does not say that “Joseph begot Jesus” but instead it says that “Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary.” Matthew makes it clear that Joseph was not the father of Jesus and explains all of this in the rest of the chapter—that Jesus was born of a virgin.
The Greek “of whom” is singular and feminine in gender, indicating that Jesus was born of Mary, not Joseph.
who is called Christ.
The word “Christ” signifies anointed. Anointed applied to kings, priests, and prophets. All were anointed with oil. It applies most significantly to the Messiah. The Messiah was consecrated to office like no other (Is 61:1).
1:17
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 lists only 14 generations in each of the time periods. Jewish reckoning did not require every name to be listed in the genealogy.
PRINCIPLE:
The credentials of Christ are impeccable.
APPLICATION:
God carefully presents the differences between the genealogies of Matthew and Luke. Jesus was not the physical descendant of Joseph, but his legal descendant. Jesus has the legal right to the Messiahship and throne of David.
satisfying commentary!
Thank you for making me read this genealogy with so much insight…. its wonderful. God bless your work!For the first time i found that this passage is so interesting and much to learn
I have a question, in some other translations of the bible, specifically the (ESV, ISV, NAM, ect.), and some manuscripts read “Asaph” and in (v.10) a similar situation, reading “Amos.”
Have you heard this before and would you happen to know anything on the reasoning behind it? Not many people seem to comment on these issues. Many of the commentaries I come across dodge (v.7, 10)
I’ve read 6 explanations, which none seem to be completely satisfactory:
1. Matthew deliberately changed the text for theological purposes
2. Matthew confused Asa with Asaph, also Amos with Amon
3. According to Metzger, Matthew used, not the O.T. genealogy but some subsequent genealogy that had an error from 1 Chronicles
4. A scribal error
5. These are spelling variations (orthographic variations)
6. JESUS was fulfilling the hopes of the Psalms (Asaph) and Prophets (Amos)
Donnie, some texts have textual variations: “tc The reading ᾿Ασάφ (Asaph), a variant spelling on ᾿Ασά (Asa), is found in the earliest and most widespread witnesses (1vid א B C [Dluc] f1, 13 700 pc it co). Although Asaph was a psalmist and Asa was a king, it is doubtful that the author mistook one for the other since other ancient documents have variant spellings on the king’s name (such as “Asab,” “Asanos,” and “Asaph”). Thus the spelling ᾿Ασάφ that is almost surely found in the original of Matt 1:7–8 has been translated as “Asa” in keeping with the more common spelling of the king’s name.”
Biblical Studies Press. (2019). The NET Bible (Second Edition). Thomas Nelson.
Ok, thank you so much for the response. I have another question. in (v.11) is reads Josiah begot Jeconiah “and his brothers.”
In (1 Chr.3:16), it seems to imply Jeconiah only had one brother, Zedekiah, and not brothers (plural).
I’ve read 3 explanations of this, which also seem to be unconvincing:
(1) Matthew confused Jehoiakim (who had brothers) with Jeconiah (who had only 1 brother) because in the Greek (LXX) they are spelled the same.
(2) “Jehoiakim” is another name for “Jeconiah.”
(3) Josiah’s son, Johanan from (1 Chr.3:15) is the uncursed Jeconiah, not the Jeconiah of (Jer.22) and since Josiah’s three other sons were kings, it would stand to reason that Johanan would be, also.
I don’t believe any of these are correct. So, my question is, would you happen to know who the “brothers” are in (v.11)?
Thank you and God bless
Donnie, “brothers” here appears to be a reference to the nation Israel:”Deviations from the otherwise repetitive pattern of “X the father of Y” throughout these verses begin with the addition of “and his brothers” to the reference to Judah in v. 2. Obviously, it was natural to speak of all twelve of the sons of Jacob as founding fathers of the tribes of Israel. In v. 3 Zerah appears along with his twin brother Perez, a natural pairing (Gen 38:27–30). In v. 11 Jeconiah also appears with “his brothers,” again a reference to the nation of Israel as a whole at the time of its deportation. Otherwise the most notable break in pattern in Matthew’s genealogy involves the introduction of five women, both unnecessary and unusual in Jewish genealogies. These include Tamar (v. 3; cf. Gen 38), Rahab5 (v. 5; cf. Josh 2), Ruth (v. 5; cf. Ruth 3), Bathsheba (v. 6; cf. 2 Sam 11)—referred to only as “Uriah’s wife,” perhaps to remind the reader of David’s adulterous and murderous behavior—and Mary (v. 16).” New American Commentary, Craig Bloomberg.
Praise God! Thank you for helping my understanding. Ok, I have another question. In (Mt.1:13) it reads, “and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud….”
But in (1 Chr.3:19) it reads, “and the sons of Zerubbabel: Meshullam and Hananiah, and Shelomith was their sister,” but not mention of Abiud or the other 8 individuals from (Mt.1:13-15).
Would you happen to have any solutions on how to resolve this?
Donnie, it hard to prove a negative, but note this:
Zerubbabel is named in Ezra-Nehemiah (Ezra 3:2, 8; 5:2; Neh 12:1), Haggai (1:1, 12, 14; 2:2), and the New Testament (Matt 1:12; Luke 3:27) as the son of Shealtiel, Jehoiachin’s oldest son (1 Chr 3:17). Here he is called the son of the younger Pedaiah, one apparently less significant in status. The explanation may be that Shealtiel died childless and Zerubbabel was born to Pedaiah by a levirate marriage with Shealtiel’s widow.
Royal Family of David (3:1–24)
THE FAMILY OF David is the feature attraction of Judah’s genealogy. The Chronicler’s emphasis on David stems from his knowledge of prophetic statements about the unbreakable covenant God made with David and the reestablishment of Davidic kingship in Israel (cf. Jer. 33:19–22). He then offers this hope to his audience through the repetition of the word of the Lord to Nathan announcing the Davidic covenant (1 Chron. 17:4–14, esp. vv. 10–14; cf. 2 Sam. 7:4–16). The record of the royal line continues the genealogy tracing David’s ancestry from Ram to Jesse (1 Chron. 2:10–17). The chapter divides naturally into three distinct sections: David’s children (3:1–9), the kings of Judah (3:10–16), and the postexilic descendants of David (3:17–24).
David’s sons are registered in two lists according to the capital city in which they were born: Hebron (3:1–4) or Jerusalem (3:5–9). The genealogy highlights birth reports citing the name of the mother (e.g., 3:1), concluding tallies (e.g., 3:4), and name lists (e.g., 3:5). Chronicles reports the parallel record of David’s sons born in Hebron with only minor variation (e.g., Daniel is mentioned as the son of Abigail, not Kileab, cf. 2 Sam. 3:2–5). The roster of sons born to David in Jerusalem differs more noticeably from the Samuel parallel (2 Sam. 5:14–16) and the Chronicler’s internal parallel (1 Chron. 14:3–7). For example, this list enumerates the four sons of Bathshua (probably an alternative spelling of Bathsheba, 3:5) and includes the names of Nogah and Eliphelet (not found in the parallel lists in 2 Sam. 5). Shimea (1 Chron. 3:5) and Shammua (2 Sam. 5:14; 1 Chron. 14:4) are variations on the name of the firstborn son of Bathsheba.
The birth reports citing the name of the individual mothers of David’s sons recall the annals of the kings of Judah, where similar information is preserved (e.g., 1 Kings 15:2). Theologically, the practice reflects the association of the “offspring of the woman” promise (Gen. 3:15) with the line of David (cf. 2 Sam. 7:16). Tamar (1 Chron. 3:9) is mentioned because she is the only daughter of David; her story is known from 2 Samuel 13.
The Chronicler reports the complete list of Davidic kings reigning in the southern kingdom of Judah during the period of the divided Hebrew monarchies (3:10–16). Naturally, Athaliah (the evil queen who reigned between the regimes of Ahaziah and Joash) is omitted as a non-Davidide. Azariah (3:12) is also known as Uzziah (2 Chron. 26:1). The parallel accounts in 2 Kings omit Johanan, the firstborn son of Josiah (1 Chron. 3:15). Shallum (3:15) is the throne name of Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:31; Jer. 22:11).
Jehoiachin (1 Chron. 3:16), the next to last king of Judah, was taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar and exiled as a prisoner of war in Babylonia (2 Kings 24:15). His release from prison upon the ascension of Evil-Merodach (2 Kings 25:27–30) serves as the postscript for the book of Jeremiah (Jer. 52:31–34) and rekindled hope for the restoration of the Davidic monarchy after the Babylonian exile.14 It is for this reason that the Chronicler introduces the last section of the Davidic genealogy with King Jehoiachin “the captive” (1 Chron. 3:17). Payne admits that the Chronicler’s birth order of Josiah’s sons is difficult to harmonize with the age formulas in 2 Kings 23:31, 36; 24:18; he assumes a scribal error in the transmission of the numbers.15
The final section of the royal genealogy contains the register of the post-exilic descendants of David (3:17–24).16 The eight generations counted after the Exile may be suggestive, perhaps identifying contemporaries of the Chronicler.17 The key figures of the list include Shenazzar, probably the same “prince of Judah” named Sheshbazzar, who led the initial wave of Jewish emigrants back to Jerusalem with the help of King Cyrus of Persia (cf. Ezra 1:8–11), and Zerubbabel, who headed up a second Hebrew migration from Persia sometime later (Ezra 2:2). Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel (through Pedaiah, 1 Chron. 3:17–19), served as governor of postexilic Judah for a time (cf. Zech. 4:6–10). It was Haggai’s blessing of Zerubbabel as God’s “signet ring” that overturned Jeremiah’s curse on the line of King Jehoiachin and restored royal authority to the descendants of David (Hag. 2:23; cf. Jer. 22:28–30).
According to Selman, these postexilic descendants of David are the corporate incarnation of a living hope for the eventual restoration of Davidic kingship in Israel.18 This hope is exemplified even in the names of Zerubbabel’s children, such as Meshullam (“Restored,” 1 Chron. 3:19), Hananiah (“Yahweh is merciful,” 3:19), Shelomith (“Peace,” 3:19), Hashubah (“Yahweh has considered,” 3:20), Ohel (“Tent” [of Yahweh], 3:20), Berekiah (“Yahweh has blessed,” 3:20), Hasidiah (“Yahweh is love,” 3:20), and Jushab-Hesed (“Covenant love returns,” 3:20).19
Thank you so much for the help. I’m going to check it out. That’s a lot of information to unpack. I’ll be busy but its well worth it. I have more questions and will come to you soon.
Thank you for your work and commentary!
God bless
Hi, Mr. Grant. I have come with another question. In (v.17) is mentions the 14X14X14 generations and in each set its from “so and so” to “so and so.”
I was watching a video and read some articles and one guy was commenting, saying:
* Abraham to David is around 1000yrs
* David to the Exile is around 430 yrs
* from Exile to JESUS is around 580yrs
The problem he was having was if they are 14 generations apart in each set, then the years between them should be somewhat equivalent in time and not 1000, 430, and 580 differences.
So, he’s saying from David to Abraham, in 1000yrs, how do you get 14 generations when there were many people left out and when you leave names out, is that not deceitful because they were not 14 direct sequential generations
Here’s a quote I found,
“If the ‘fourteen generations’ were directly sequential generations, each of the eight generations of men directly preceding David would have had to wait until 104 years of age to father their sons. While some of them may have lived to be that old, they didn’t all become fathers as centenarians.”
I hope I explained that right.
Donnie,
The 3 sets of 14 generations was not intended to include every person during each period, but was a memory device from oral history: 1) before the monarchy of David, 2) during the monarchy, and 3) after the monarchy. The lists are systematic but not exhaustive. Matthew is not concern with statistics but with the theological authenticity of Jesus as the Messiah. The gospels are not biographies but theological arguments.
Thank you for your response. I think a light bulb just clicked, hopefully. I would like to propose something and get your thoughts, perhaps, I may be wrong…..?
In (v.17) it says “and all the generations from….”
The “all” there, I am assuming, is referring to only the names Matthew listed (v.2-16) and not every generation in between them, this is correct?
If so, then would it stand to reason that the “14 generations” in each set are only referring to the 14 generations Matthew listed?
“Of all the generations that I have listed here from Abraham to David, are 14 generations”…?
Donnie, the word “so” is an inference from the context, so the “all” does not mean all generations that lived from Abraham to Jesus, but to those enumerated by Matthew in context.