NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible | Page 106
Matthew 1:25 | 1699
1:12 k 1Ch 3:17
Ezr 3:2
1:16 m Lk 1:27
n Mt 27:17
1:18 o Lk 1:35
1:19 p Dt 24:1
1:21 q Lk 1:31 r Lk 2:11;
Ac 5:31; 13:23, 28
1:23 s Isa 7:14; 8:8, 10
1:25 t ver 21
l 1Ch 3:19;
12 After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, k
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, l
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, m and Mary was the mother
of Jesus who is called the Messiah. n
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 a : His mother Mary was pledged
to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was f ound to be pregnant
through the Holy Spirit. o 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet b
did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce p her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a d
ream 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 b
irth to a son, and you are to give
him the name Jesus, c q because he will save his people from their sins.” r
22 All this took p
lace to fulfill what the Lord had said t hrough the prophet: 23 “The virgin
will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” d s (which m
eans
“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. t
a 18 Or
The origin of Jesus the Messiah was like this b 19 Or was a righteous man and c 21 Jesus is the Greek form
of Joshua, which means the Lord saves. d 23 Isaiah 7:14
1:16 husband of Mary. Matthew does not say
that Joseph was the father of Jesus but only
that he was the husband of Mary and that
Jesus was born of her.
1:17 fourteen generations. By counting both
inclusively and exclusively, Matthew selects
enough members of Jesus’ lineage to create
three segments of 14 names. Because Hebrew
used letters for nu merals, the consonants of ev-
ery Hebrew word added up to a certain number.
This practice was called gematria. The gematria
for the Hebrew consonants for at least one
spelling of “David” was 14 (D + V + D = 4 + 6 + 4).
Matthew is probably using a Jewish device for
highlighting David as Jesus’ key ancestor; David
also appears as the 14th name in this genealogy.
1:18 — 2:23 Matthew chooses to narrate five
episodes from the events surrounding the
conception, birth, and infancy of Jesus, all
of which fulfill OT prophecy. He continues to
demonstrate that Jesus is the Messiah (Christ)
who has come to save his people.
1:18 – 25 Christians have traditionally labeled
this account as “the virgin birth,” but the impor-
tant point, theologically, is not that Mary was a
virgin at the time Jesus was born but that she
was a virgin at the time Jesus was conceived.
1:18 pledged to be married. Engagement,
a legally binding commitment in ancient
Judaism. Jewish couples often wed when
the young man was about 18 and the young
woman was in her very early teens. Prior to
marriage they would not live together and
were expected to refrain from sexual relations
until after their wedding ceremony. pregnant
through the Holy Spirit. Jesus had no human
paternity but was supernaturally conceived
by the power of God. the Holy Spirit. The
common NT way of referring to the divine
Spirit, who in the OT was almost always called
“the Spirit of God” or “the Spirit of the Lord”
(but see Ps 51:11). Christian reflection on the
Biblical word about him (see 3:16 – 17; 28:19;
2 Cor 13:14) led to the understanding that he is
one of the three persons of the Trinity.
1:19 to divorce her quietly. Jewish tradition re-
quired divorce in the case of adultery. (Sexual
relations with another partner even during
engagement constituted adultery.) Joseph
does not initially believe Mary’s story that she
is pregnant without another man having been
involved. Joseph wanted to fulfill the law but
also show compassion to his fiancée.
1:20 – 21 Not surprisingly, it takes a supernatu-
ral appearance of an angel to convince Joseph
that Mary has not been unfaithful and that they
may proceed with their wedding plans. The an-
gel addresses Joseph as “son of David” to pre-
pare him for the promise that Mary “will give
birth to a son” who will fulfill the role of Mes-
siah. But instead of the political liberator for
which many Jews longed, this child will grow
up to die and bring spiritual salvation to Israel.
1:22 to fulfill. Twelve times (here; 2:15,23; 3:15;
4:14; 5:17; 8:17; 12:17; 13:14,35; 21:4; 27:9) Matthew
speaks of the OT being fulfilled in the events
of Jesus’ life. Some of these prophecies are
uniquely fulfilled by Jesus, while others are
typological, where Jesus is the ultimate fulfill-
ment of an OT type (see note on 2:15). Here the
OT text in question is Isa 7:14. The immediate
OT context suggests a partial fulfillment in
Isaiah’s day: “Before the boy knows enough to
reject the wrong and choose the right, the land
of the two kings you dread will be laid waste”
(Isa 7:16) refers back to Rezin and Pekah (Isa 7:1).
1:23 virgin. The word in Hebrew can also mean
any young woman of marriageable age. But
the larger context in Isaiah promises a child
who “will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace,” and of “his government . . . there will
be no end” (Isa 9:6 – 7). This was never true
of any previous Jewish king. The Greek word
Matthew uses for “virgin” (parthenos) more
consistently refers to a woman who has never
had sex. The Septuagint (the pre-Christian
Greek translation of the OT) had already cho-
sen it in translating the Hebrew text. Appar-
ently at least some pre-Christian Jewish circles
thought that this passage would have a dou-
ble fulfillment. Immanuel. Means “God with
us,” which also points to more than just an
ordinary child in Isaiah’s day (see note on v. 22).
1:24 – 25 Joseph obeys the angel’s instruc-
tions. We do not know when Mary and he
had their actual wedding ceremony, but they
remain chaste until after Jesus is born.
1:25 did not consummate their marriage until
she gave birth. The most natural interpreta-
tion is that after Jesus’ birth they have normal
marital relations.