NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible CBSB_Digital Sampler | Page 32
1608 | Matthew 1:15
15 Elihud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the
hus
band of Mary, m and Mary
1:16 m Lk 1:27
n Mt 27:17
1:17 fourteen generations. Even though Matthew skips
some generations, the three sets of names he has listed
in this verse do not come out to exactly the same number
each. Matthew is giving a rounded number, showing that
was the mother of J esus who is
called the Messiah. n
17 Thus there were fourteen generations
in all from Abraham to David, fourteen
at roughly equivalent intervals in Israel’s history, some-
thing dramatic happened. These focal times of conspicu-
ous divine activity surround Abraham, David, the exile,
and now the coming of the Messiah, son of David (see
MATTHEW 1:1 – 17
P
Matthew’s Genealogy
eople often preserved genealogies, especially if they included some important or
prominent ancestors. In Egypt, e.g., genealogies were important for determin
ing tax status, so there were sometimes financial implications of not preserving
the list of one’s ancestors correctly! Among the Jewish people, priests and Levites
could perform their duties only if they could demonstrate their ancestry. But no Jew
ish family ancestry could be more prominent than the Davidic royal line. Although
Matthew’s and Luke’s genealogies trace Jesus’ royal ancestry on Joseph’s side of the
family through somewhat different paths (which some attribute to levirate marriage
adoptions), both emphasize that, many centuries earlier, J esus’ line proceeded from
King David (cf. Ro 1:3; Rev 5:5).
Ancient Jewish genealogies had several purposes. One was often to highlight the
purity of one’s Israelite (or Levite, etc.) ancestry. It is thus striking that Matthew
includes in his genealogy four women who had clear associations with Gentiles (see
notes on Mt 1:3,5,6). These women include three ancestors of King David and the
mother of King Solomon; Matthew thus highlights God’s welcome for God-fearing
Gentiles already in his opening paragraph, based on Israel’s history.
Another purpose of Biblical genealogies was to provide a connection between signif
icant generations. Genesis does not narrate the activities of every generation between
Adam and Noah or between Noah and Abraham. Rather, Genesis focuses on those
major figures and summarizes the time between them by listing others (see note on
Mt 1:1). In the same way, Matthew lists many generations, here in schematic groups
of roughly 14 each, connecting the most momentous occasions in Israel’s history:
Abraham, David, the exile and now the Messiah (see note on Mt 1:17).
Jewish teachers observed that one’s ancestry showed God’s faithfulness; some
remarked that arranging all the marriages in people’s ancestry was a greater miracle
than the parting of the sea in Moses’ day. Matthew’s genealogy sets the tone of this
Gospel by evoking the Biblical history of Israel. Jewish recipients familiar with Scrip
ture would hear the names of most of these ancestors with rich nuances of how God
had guided his people’s history. Far from being foreign to their heritage, Jesus was
its climax.
Although the genealogy does not quote Scripture, it evokes the entire Biblical nar
rative of Israel’s history. Ancient rabbis sometimes developed wordplays by changing
a letter here or there, and some scholars find such wordplays in Matthew’s genealogy.
In addition to Jesus being the direct heir of the royal line of David, he is the spiritual
heir to the Psalms and the Prophets. Thus, these scholars note, the Greek text of Mat
thew’s genealogy speaks of not precisely “Asa” but the psalmist Asaph (Mt 1:8) and
not precisely the wicked king “Amon” but the prophet Amos (Mt 1:10). ◆