MATTHEW
The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
1:1-17pp — Lk 3:23-38 1:3-6pp — Ru 4:18-22 1:7-11pp — 1Ch 3:10-17
1 This is the genealogy a of Jesus the Mes siah b the son of Da vid , a the son of Abra ham : b
2 Abra ham was the fa ther of Isaac , c Isaac the father of Jacob , d
Ja cob the fa ther of Ju dah and his broth ers , e 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah , whose mother was Tamar , f
Perez the father of Hezron , Hez ron the fa ther of Ram , 4 Ram the father of Amminadab , Amminadab the father of Nahshon , Nahshon the father of Salmon , 5 Sal mon the fa ther of Boaz , whose mother was Ra hab , Boaz the fa ther of Obed , whose mother was Ruth , Obed the fa ther of Jesse , 6 and Jesse the fa ther of King Da vid . g
1:1 a 2Sa 7:12-16 ; Isa 9:6 , 7 ; 11:1 ; Jer 23:5 , 6 ; Mt 9:27 ; Lk 1:32 , 69 ; Ro 1:3 ; Rev 22:16 b Ge 22:18 ; Gal 3:16
1:2 c Ge 21:3 , 12 d Ge 25:26 e Ge 29:35
1:3 f Ge 38:27‐30
1:6 g 1Sa 16:1 ; 17:12 h 2Sa 12:24
1:10 i 2Ki 20:21
1:11 j 2Ki 24:14-16 ; Jer 27:20 ; Da 1:1 , 2
Da vid was the fa ther of Sol o mon , whose mother had been Uri ah ’ s wife , h 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 , i
Manasseh the father of Amon , Amon the father of Josiah ,
11 and Jo siah the fa ther of Jec o niah c and his broth ers at the time of the ex ile to
Babylon . j
a 1 Or is an account of the origin b 1 Or Jesus Christ . Messiah ( Hebrew ) and Christ ( Greek ) both mean Anointed One ; also in verse 18 . c 11 That is , Jehoiachin ; also in verse 12
1:1 — 4:16 Introduction to Jesus ’ Ministry . Prior to narrating Jesus ’ main public ministry , Matthew provides Jesus ’ genealogy , selected events surrounding his birth and childhood , his association with John the Baptist , and his temptations by the devil . 1:1 — 2:23 Jesus ’ Birth Narrative . Chs . 1 – 2 depict Jesus ’ origins . His family tree shows that he has the right credentials for his Godappointed ministry . His fulfilling prophecy points to him as the only possible descendant of David who qualifies to be the Messiah . Ch . 1 also identifies who Jesus is : “ the Messiah the son of David , the son of Abraham ” ( 1:1 ) and “ Immanuel ” ( 1:23 ). Ch . 2 highlights key locations associated with his youngest days : Bethlehem ( 2:5 ), Egypt ( 2:13 ), Ramah ( 2:18 ), and Nazareth ( 2:23 ). 1:1 – 17 This genealogy introduces a select list of Jesus ’ ancestors from Abraham onward in the style of OT genealogies ( especially Gen 5:1 – 32 ). Luke 3:23 – 38 contains a longer but still selective list moving backward from Jesus all the way to Adam and then to God . Matthew probably provides the legal or royal line ; Luke , the biological line . 1:1 This is the genealogy . The genealogy demonstrates that Jesus was qualified to be the Messiah , the prophesied liberator of Israel ( Greek christos , “ anointed one ”). 2 Sam 7:14 requires him to be a descendant of David , the great king of Israel a millennium earlier , which also makes him a descendant of Abraham , the founder of the Israelite nation , through whose offspring all the peoples of the world would be blessed ( Gen 12:1 – 3 ). Jesus will rule as king on earth when he returns ( Rev 19:11 — 20:4 ), but first he must die as the suffering servant ( Isa 52:13 — 53:12 ). 1:2 – 16 The list of names follows the conventional Jewish practice of itemizing fathers . the father of . Could also mean “ the ancestor of .” Matthew skips generations at times ( see also , e . g ., 1 Chr 3:10 – 14 ). 1:2 Judah and his brothers . The 12 sons of Jacob , the ancestors of the 12 tribes of Israel . 1:3 Perez and Zerah . Both mentioned probably because they were twins . Tamar . The daughter-in-law of Judah . She was a Canaanite who disguised herself as a prostitute to trick Judah into impregnating her so that she could bear children for the family line after his successive sons had failed to do so ( Gen 38 ).
She is the first of five mothers included in the genealogy . All , including Mary , were shrouded in suspicions , founded or unfounded , of sexual sin . Jesus will thus be the Messiah for the least , the last , and the lost of the world as well as for the righteous in Israel . 1:5 Rahab . The famous Canaanite prostitute who harbored the Israelite spies ( Josh 2 ). Ruth . A Moabite who followed her motherin-law , Naomi , back to Israel . By lying down at Boaz ’ s feet in the middle of the night while he was sleeping — an ancient custom apparently equivalent to a marriage proposal ( Ruth 3 ) — she left herself open to suspicions of illicit sex , even though the charge would have been unfounded . 1:6 Uriah ’ s wife . Bathsheba ; probably called “ Uriah ’ s wife ” to recall not only David ’ s adultery with Solomon ’ s mother but also his indirect murder of her husband ( 2 Sam 11 ). 1:8 Jehoram the father . Matthew calls Jehoram the father of Uzziah , but from 2 Chr 21:4 — 26:23 it is clear that several generations were assumed ( Ahaziah , Joash , and Amaziah ) and that “ father ” is used in the sense of “ forefather ” or “ ancestor .”