Difference between revisions of "Matt 1:1-5"

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The New Testament > Matthew > Chapter 1

Questions

Verses 1-16

It is clear that Matthew is not giving an exact genealogy. For example, he tells us that there were fourteen generations between each of the three important events in Israel’s history—from Abraham, to David, to the Babylonian captivity, to the coming of Christ: three groups of fourteen generations each, culminating in the birth of Christ. But if we compare this genealogy to the other genealogies in the Old Testament we can see that this is incorrect. Why would Matthew knowingly give us a genealogy that isn’t accurate? (Notice that Ezra does something similar: he omits six generations of priests from his genealogy. Compare Ezra 7:1-5 to 1 Chronicles 6:3-15.)

Genealogies in the Bible rarely mention women, but this one mentions three: Tamar (spelled “Thamar” here, verse 3), Rahab (here "Rachab," verse 5), Ruth (verse 5), and Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah (spelled “Urias” here—verse 6). Why would Matthew mention these women? What are the stories about these women? Do those stories have anything to do with the story of Mary and Joseph? If Matthew’s audience is the Jews, why might he include these particular women in the genealogy? (See the lexical notes for verse 6.)

Verse 1

By using the phrase "book of the genealogy," Matthew deliberately imitates passages such as Genesis 2:4 and 5:1. Why? What is he trying to tell us about what follows?

Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Related links

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Julie M Smith has a useful overview concerning the women included in Matthew's genealogy published in Segullah Spring 2008 (available here[1]).