Genealogy of Jesus

Biblical Text

The genealogy of Jesus appears in two places in the New Testament.

• Matthew 1:1-17: It opens with "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." It descends from Abraham through David and Solomon to Joseph. At its close it divides the genealogy into three periods of fourteen generations each (Matthew 1:17): from Abraham to David, from David to the carrying away into Babylon, and from then to Christ. Besides Mary, the genealogy names four women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and the wife of Uriah (Bathsheba).
• Luke 3:23-38: It follows the account of the baptism of Jesus. It runs backward from Jesus through Nathan, the son of David, to Adam, and ends with "which was the son of God."

Neither genealogy states that Joseph begot Jesus. Matthew writes "Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ" (1:16), and Luke writes "being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph" (3:23). This wording connects with the accounts of the virgin birth in the surrounding narratives.

Background

In ancient Israel, genealogies served as evidence of tribe and family, of land inheritance, and of eligibility for the priesthood. 1 Chronicles 1–9 likewise contains a long genealogy beginning with Adam. After the return from exile, those who could not find their genealogical records were excluded from the priesthood (Ezra 2:62). The phrase "book of the generation" in Matthew 1:1 (Greek biblos geneseōs) is the same expression that introduces genealogies in the Septuagint version of Genesis. For this reason, some interpreters hold that it recalls "the book of the generations of Adam" in Genesis 5:1-3.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

The genealogies present Jesus as the Messiah who inherits the promise given to Abraham and the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7:12-16). Paul likewise writes that Jesus was "made of the seed of David according to the flesh" (Romans 1:3). A common interpretation holds that Matthew, writing with Jewish readers in mind, placed Abraham and David in the foreground, while Luke traced the line back to Adam to connect Jesus with all humanity.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

• Differences between the two genealogies: Most of the names after David differ. Even Joseph's father is given as Jacob in Matthew and as Heli in Luke. Julius Africanus, writing in the third century, is reported to have explained this difference by levirate marriage, the custom by which a man married the widow of a brother who had died childless in order to continue his line (Deuteronomy 25:5-6). Other views hold that Matthew gives Joseph's genealogy and Luke gives Mary's, or that Matthew gives the legal line of royal succession and Luke the line of physical descent. Scripture, however, does not directly state that Mary belonged to the house of David. Some critical scholars regard the two genealogies as arising from different sources and theological purposes.
• Fourteen generations: Matthew arrives at fourteen generations by omitting Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah from among the kings listed in Kings and Chronicles. Some interpreters find significance in the fact that the numerical value of David's name written in Hebrew letters is 14. The text itself, however, gives no reason.
• The four women: Rahab and Ruth were of Gentile origin, and Tamar and Bathsheba continued the line through relationships with complicated histories. For this reason, they are often interpreted as illustrating grace and the inclusion of the Gentiles. The text, however, does not explain why they were included.

In Korean Churches

In Korean churches, Matthew 1 is frequently used as a sermon text during Advent and around Christmas, and sermons focusing on the four women and the grace reflected in the genealogy are common. Because this list of unfamiliar names is the first thing a reader encounters on opening the New Testament, it is also often mentioned as a difficult passage for those beginning to read through the Bible.