If you’re like me, the genealogies can be a tough part of the Bible to read. When I try to wade through one of these, I find that my mind begins to wander, mostly because so many of the names don’t mean anything to me. It’s like looking through a stranger’s family pictures. There’s no story to put with the faces. But when I look through my wife’s family pictures, they’re important for several reasons – I love my wife and I want to find out more about her life and her family. Also these are the relatives and ancestors of my sons. And of course I have met some of these people and become close to them. And above all, my wife tells me their stories.
The first Gospel, the Gospel of Matthew, begins with one of these genealogies. Matthew gives us a couple of breaks with it. First, he has condensed it. Also, he hits the highlights for us, knowing that if you really want to find out more about this family you can always dig back into 1 Chronicles and gorge yourself on genealogical minutiae. But on top of that, the genealogy we have before us is the family tree of the Messiah we already know and love: Jesus Christ.
MATTHEW 1:1
1 Βίβλος γενέσεως ᾽Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ υἱοῦ Δαυὶδ υἱοῦ ᾽Αβραάμ.
1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
In the first verse, Matthew lets us know what he’s driving at: This is the genealogy, the family record, of Jesus the Christ. It's his "Book of Genesis" (see verse 18 below). The Christ or Messiah was promised throughout history. It began in the Garden of Eden, when God confronted Adam and Eve, fruit juice running down their shamed faces. God kept his promise to them, which meant that they had given themselves a death sentence. But the Lord who keeps all his promises is the same God who loves us for no other reason than he loves us.
This is the God who has promised a Savior for mankind, and this genealogy in Matthew is like a red carpet in which every single stitch has significance. Just listing these names as he has, Matthew tells us: CHRIST, THE PROMISED ONE COMES.
MATTHEW 1:2
2 ᾽Αβραὰμ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Ισαάκ, ᾽Ισαὰκ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Ιακώβ, ᾽Ιακὼβ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Ιούδαν καὶ τοὺς ἀδελϕοὺς αὐτοῦ,
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Christ’s coming was again promised to ABRAHAM. Abraham was happily married and settled down in a place called Ur when God spoke to him and told him to move. Where to? Abraham didn’t know. How far away? Abraham didn’t know. What was he supposed to do when he got there? Abraham didn’t know. Would his wife Sarah go along with this or not? Abraham didn’t know. But one thing he did know. God promised him something: From Abraham’s own family, Christ, the Promised One, would come.
Christ, who would pay for all of our sins, who would cover over the sins of Abraham’s lie to Pharaoh (“She’s not my wife, she’s my sister”), and Abraham’s adultery with Hagar, and all of his other sins. Abraham responded to God’s grace with faith.
The line of the Savior was passed down physically from fathers to sons. Matthew repeats the verb ἐγέννησεν over and over again. ἐγέννησεν is the aorist indicative of γεννάω. When the subject is a man, it means "was the father of" or "begat," and when the subject is a woman, it means "gave birth to; bore" as in Luke 1:57. The aorist is a simple past tense without reference to a time when or during which something happened; it simply relates a fact that took place in the past.
ISAAC is best known simply as Abraham’s son. He is sometimes mistaken for a Type or Foreshadowing of the coming Christ, but actually, if Isaac’s role in the sacrifice can be compared to someone, it’s you and me. The ram that was substituted for Isaac is a picture of the coming Christ, who was the substitute for our sins.
Isaac spent the rest of his life following in his father’s footsteps. He re-dug Abraham’s wells that had been filled in by human enemies and perhaps by some natural enemies, too, such as weather and time. He repeated his father’s lie, telling a king named Abimelech that his beautiful wife Rebekah wasn’t his wife, but just his sister – and that sin too, and all Isaac’s other sins, was covered over by the blood of the coming Christ. Knowing that, Isaac served God.
JACOB was also known as Israel because he wrestled with God. The promise of the coming Christ continued through Jacob despite his many sins, such as deceiving his father and stealing his brother’s birthright. Jacob was guilty of other sins, as well – such as favoring one of his sons over the others. And there was adultery, too, in Jacob’s life. But the coming Christ would cover over Jacob’s sins, as well – and Jacob served his coming Savior with his life.
MATTHEW 1:3
3 ᾽Ιούδας δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Φάρες καὶ τὸν Ζάρα ἐκ τῆς Θαμάρ, Φάρες δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ῾Εσρώμ, ῾Εσρὼμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Αράμ,
3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.
JUDAH was the fourth son of Jacob and his first wife, Leah. And here we have a side-note from Matthew, reminding us of a particular story in the life of Judah. There was a tradition in their time, which a few hundred years later became a law, but wasn’t yet, that when a husband died without producing an heir, and maybe especially a son, his brother or next closest relative would be required to produce a child with the dead man’s widow, and their child would be counted as the son of the dead man. When one of Judah’s sons died, the others refused to have a child with her, and yet enjoyed her bed, for which God put him to death. So the woman, whose name was TAMAR, laid a simple trap for her sinful father-in-law by posing as a prostitute near the place where he was taking care of his sheep. They had twins. This now becomes a story you may remember. The birth was not a text-book case, and one of the boys thrust his hand out first. A woman who was helping with the birth tied a red cord around that boy’s wrist so they would know who started to be born first, but as it happened, the other one, who they named PEREZ, came first.
We sometimes talk about the “red thread” of the line of the Savior throughout the Old Testament, but the irony is that the guy who actually did have a red thread was not in the Savior’s line – his brother was. The son of Perez was named Hezron.
HEZRON was the father of three sons, and two of them were RAM and Caleb. Although Ram was the one through whom the Savior’s line is traced, I was pretty excited to discover that he was the brother of Caleb. But the famous Caleb is a different man. This Caleb’s only contact with the Savior’s story is as Ram’s brother, and in fact, they lived a generation before the exodus.
MATTHEW 1:4
4 ᾽Αρὰμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Αμιναδάβ, ᾽Αμιναδὰβ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ναασσών, Ναασσὼν δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Σαλμών,
4 Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon.
AMMINADAB really does fall into the story of the Exodus. His daughter married Aaron, Moses’ brother and the first High Priest of Israel. His son NAHSHON was also a key figure in the Exodus. The book of Numbers calls him “the leader of the tribe of Judah.” At Mount Sinai, just after the LORD gave Moses and Aaron the words of the Aaronic blessing that we still use to this day in worship (the Lord bless you and keep you…), all twelve tribes of Israelites sent their leaders forward with gifts for the newly dedicated tabernacle. The people were not all able to serve in person but they wanted to do something, so they gave what they had. At the foot of Mount Sinai, this man, Nahshon, was the representative of the tribe of Judah with their gifts to the Lord.
After the Israelites arrived in the Promised Land, they were helped by a prostitute named Rahab. The genealogy of Jesus tells us the rest of her story – she married Nahshon’s son or descendant SALMON.
MATTHEW 1:5-6a
5 Σαλμὼν δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Βόες ἐκ τῆς ῾Ραχάβ, Βόες δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Ιωβὴδ ἐκ τῆς ῾Ρούθ, ᾽Ιωβὴδ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Ιεσσαί, 6 ᾽Ιεσσαὶ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Δαυὶδ τὸν βασιλέα.
5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. 6 Jesse was the father of David the king.
The conquest of Canaan led to a time of peace under the early Judges, and it was probably in this peaceful time that the Moabite widow RUTH married Salmon’s son or descendant, BOAZ. Their son OBED was the ancestor of JESSE, who so badly misread his own children that when the Prophet Samuel came to his door to select the Second King of Israel, he didn’t even ask his youngest son David to come inside the house. But it was through both Jesse and his son DAVID that Christ, the Promised One, would come.
There is no one who is without sin. There is no one who does not need the Savior. Some of the most impressive and righteous people in history are actually here in this list -- Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David -- but they're sinners just like us. They need a Savior, just like us. They need to be rescued, just like me.
Every one of our sins needs to be covered. Not one of them can stick to us, like a barnacle to a ship or a bit of fluff to a sweater. There can't be a hint of a sin, and for that to happen, God himself had to pay for our sins. God himself came down and took on flesh: Christ, the Promised One, came.
Christ, the Promised One, comes. How have you been preparing? What service do you have to give him? Is there a kind of service you have to offer that you think nobody has ever tried? Why not try? Is there a project you could help with? Is there something you could do for yourself today that might help someone else tomorrow – something like growing in God’s word; in deepening your own understanding of the teachings of the Bible and the stories of the Bible? Is there some other offering you might have to make? Christ, the Promised One, comes. Open your heart. Open your life. Open your eyes.
MATTHEW 1:6b
Δαυὶδ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Σολομῶνα ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Οὐρίου,
David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.
Matthew’s culture and generation was focused on the prophecies of the Old Testament. One thing in particular that Matthew’s readers wanted to know about that we don’t give much attention to was the issue of the genealogy or family tree of the Savior. This is not one of the “endless genealogies” that Paul warned Timothy about. This was the fulfillment of Scripture itself. The promise was that the Messiah would come from the line of David through Solomon, and it was a perfectly legitimate question to ask, Did Jesus actually come from David’s line?
And as we scan this list of kings that Matthew gives us, we might also rightly wonder, what does this list tell us about our relationship with God? It uncovers sins that each one of us has, and it shows us our desperate need for a Savior.
By mentioning Solomon’s mother, who had been “Uriah’s wife,” (you know her better as Bathsheba, and you know the story) we are reminded that adultery is a sin God that condemns, not only because it breaks the Tenth Commandment and the Sixth Commandment, but because it violates the First, as the opinion of one person, or two, becomes more important that the will of God himself.
MATTHEW 1:7
7 Σολομὼν δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ῾Ροβοάμ, ῾Ροβοὰμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Αβιά, ᾽Αβιὰ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Ασάϕ,
7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa.
REHOBOAM [2 Chron. 10:1–12:16] was Solomon’s son, who ruled a long time. He’s known for taking some poor advice, but the main criticism the Bible has of him is simply that “he did not seek the Lord.” He didn’t take an active role in his faith. Rehoboam was content to go to the temple, make the sacrifices, go through the motions, and go home again. He didn’t want to pursue his faith or deepen it, and in doing so, he didn’t set an example for his family.
Forgive us, Lord, for these sins in our lives.
ABIJAH [2 Chron. 13:1–14:1] won a good military victory, and became a popular king, but he followed in his father’s sins. He didn’t break the cycle his dad had begun of just going through the motions at church, which seems like it was hardly a sin at all, except that God looks at the heart, more than at what we do, and yet children so often look at what we do without knowing what’s in our hearts.
Forgive us, Lord, for these sins in our lives.
MATTHEW 1:8
8 ᾽Ασὰϕ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Ιωσαϕάτ, ᾽Ιωσαϕὰτ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Ιωράμ, ᾽Ιωρὰμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Οζίαν,
8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah.
ASA [2 Chron. 14:2–16:14) broke out of the cycle of his father and grandfather. He was a Reformer. He put an end to a lot of false worship that was happening in the land, except some of the shrines – the Bible calls them “High Places” – he left standing, which became a problem later. But he had success as a king and as a military leader, and he repulsed an invasion of Africans (from Cush) with a smaller army than his father had, and with more success. But later on he became angry when a prophet pointed out a sin he had fallen into during a war. His struggle in the end was with the First Commandment in a contest between God’s will and his own pride.
Forgive us, Lord, for these sins in our lives.
JEHOPSHAPAHAT [2 Chron. 17:1–21:3] was a fantastic king. Jehoshaphat sent prophets around with copies of the Old Testament to teach the people! What a concept! Philistines, Arabs and other enemies respected him and paid him tribute. Jehoshaphat temporarily reinstated the office of the judges to help him administer justice! He even built Israel’s only navy, but the Lord allowed it to be wrecked because he built it in a treaty with Israel, which had turned away from the Lord (fellowship is always a concern, and always a problem). Fellowship is also something God wants us to watch and respect.
Forgive us, Lord, for these sins in our lives.
JEHORAM [2 Chron. 21:4–20] was such an obviously wicked man that Scripture says he “passed away to no one’s regret.”
Preserve us, Lord, from such men in our lives.
UZZIAH [2 Chron. 26] reigned more than 50 years, and let pride get in his way. His son JOTHAM [2 Chron 27:1-9] was a good king, and a faithful believer, but his entire time on the throne was a battle against the people’s sins because of his father’s prideful later years.
Forgive us and preserve us, Lord, from these sins.
MATTHEW 1:9
9 ᾽Οζίας δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Ιωαθάμ, ᾽Ιωαθὰμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Αχάζ, ᾽Αχὰζ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ῾Εζεκίαν,
9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
AHAZ [2 Chron. 27:10–28:27] was such an evil man that we are amazed that one of his sons actually survived his insane rule to take the throne as King HEZEKIAH [2 Chron. 29:1–32:33] who knew and worked with the prophet Isaiah. Hezekiah was a good king, but he had plenty of problems. His father had invited the Assyrian Army to his doorstep, and Hezekiah had to watch and pray throughout the invasion of Sennacherib and the downfall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
Preserve us, Lord, from such troubles in our lives.
MATTHEW 1:10
10 ῾Εζεκίας δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Μανασσῆ, Μανασσῆς δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Αμώς, ᾽Αμὼς δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Ιωσίαν,
10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah.
MANASSEH [2 Chron. 33:1-20] was very wicked, and probably murdered the prophet Isaiah in an unspeakable act hinted at in Hebrews chapter 11. But to his credit, he repented of his sins at the end of his life – but his son, AMON [2 Chron 33:21–25] did not follow Manasseh’s later example.
Forgive us, Lord, for these sins in our lives.
MATTHEW 1:11
11 ᾽Ιωσίας δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Ιεχονίαν καὶ τοὺς ἀδελϕοὺς αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς μετοικεσίας Βαβυλῶνος.
11 Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
JOSIAH [2 Chron. 34:1–36:1] was another great Reformer. He rediscovered the Bible, which had been forgotten in an unused room in the temple for who knows how long! In later years, men like St. Jerome and Martin Luther would put the Bible into the language of the people, but Josiah stands in a class by himself, giving the Bible back to people who had lost it altogether. Josiah’s poor military tactics and misunderstanding of God’s plan cost his life, but he was without a doubt the greatest king of the final century Judah had under the kings.
JECONIAH AND HIS BROTHERS (2 Chron 36:9-10) were the final rulers of Judah. The Babylonians came during their lifetime and carried Judah away. Jeconiah (who was only eighteen years old) was on the throne just three months and ten days before he was taken into exile, along with almost everything of value and everything that mattered from the temple. When Jeconiah left Jerusalem, worship in the temple all but stopped. Jerusalem was destroyed eleven years later.
In this group of the Kings of Judah, we have pride, idolatry, adultery, coveting, murder, poor leadership, poor organization, even poor worship habits and poor fellowship practices. There are some bright spots – but they’re not the best group, are they.
Think about the reason Matthew chose them. These are not all the kings of Judah, by any means. Some of the kings that are left out were not in the line of the Savior – others who were in the line are also left out. So why these? Those who were left out are not any worse than those here – it would be hard to imagine a human being who could be worse than men like Jehoram, Ahaz, Manasseh and Amon. Even the worst tyrant dictators of the Twentieth Century would be up against some pretty tough competition compared to them.
Besides the crown of Judah, they had two things in common. They were ancestors – the whole rogues gallery were actual blood relatives – of Jesus Christ. That’s what they had in common with him. And we don’t. But they had something in common with us that Jesus doesn’t have. They were all sinners.
Some were bad sinners. Some were worse. But idolater, adulterer, voice too loud, head in the clouds, prouder than proud – we all fall flat on our faces in sin. In guilt. In shame. In debt – and the debt is what Jesus paid.
When we get to thinking we’d like to be rulers of our own little roosts we have to remember that even these great kings of Judah failed. Christ, our true King, greater than any of his great ancestors, more magnificent than any of the mighty rulers of the earth, and more compassionate than any loving parent – Jesus Christ rescued us from our own miserable prisons of the proud, the prejudiced, the prima donnas, and the poor fellowship practices.
Our king has come, and he will come again. For us, his family doesn’t matter – except that it fulfilled what God promised. And God always keeps his promises. And he had promised us, and won for us, eternal life, through Jesus Christ, our King. Our Savior. Our God.
MATTHEW 1:12-17
Have you ever carefully read a postmark? Or the 9-digit zip code? Most of us just rip open the letter and read what's inside. But for thousands of people in our nation, the postmark and the address are the most important and crucial part of the letter -- every one of those people works for the U.S. Postal system. For a postal employee, it is the writing on the outside of the package that's important.
For a Jew, the packaging of the Messiah was one of the most important things about the Messiah. If he couldn't show his family line, we wouldn't know whether he met the requirement of being "of the house and line of David." For the Jews of Jesus' day, then, this last part of Jesus' family tree was the most important, although for us it seems to be the least.
We don't know much about any of these people, save for a few.
12 Μετὰ δὲ τὴν μετοικεσίαν Βαβυλῶνος ᾽Ιεχονίας ἐγέννησεν τὸν Σαλαθιήλ, Σαλαθιὴλ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ζοροβαβέλ, 13 Ζοροβαβὲλ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Αβιούδ, ᾽Αβιοὺδ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Ελιακίμ, ᾽Ελιακὶμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Αζώρ, 14 ᾽Αζὼρ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Σαδώκ, Σαδὼκ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Αχίμ, ᾽Αχὶμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Ελιούδ, 15 ᾽Ελιοὺδ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Ελεάζαρ, ᾽Ελεάζαρ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ματθάν, Ματθὰν δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Ιακώβ, 16 ᾽Ιακὼβ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ᾽Ιωσὴϕ τὸν ἄνδρα Μαρίας, ἐξ ἧς ἐγεννήθη ᾽Ιησοῦς ὁ λεγόμενος Χριστός. 17 Πᾶσαι οὖν αἱ γενεαὶ ἀπὸ ᾽Αβραὰμ ἕως Δαυὶδ γενεαὶ δεκατέσσαρες, καὶ ἀπὸ Δαυὶδ ἕως τῆς μετοικεσίας Βαβυλῶνος γενεαὶ δεκατέσσαρες, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς μετοικεσίας Βαβυλῶνος ἕως τοῦ Χριστοῦ γενεαὶ δεκατέσσαρες.
12 After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. 14 Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. 15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. 16 Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
Jeconiah, known in the Old Testament as King Jehoiachin, was one of the last kings of Judah, and was carried off into Babylon into exile. He is mentioned in seven books of the Bible counting this moment in Matthew. The people of Judah seemed to have an affection for this king, although God’s judgment of him is not so good. To give you an example of what I mean, remember that in these years before anyone counted years with progressive number like we do, they usually just said the name of the king and then the number of years he had been on the throne. So Jehoiachin was carried away into exile in the eighth year of his reign. But after he was taken into exile, the people still numbered their years according to his life, and not to his successor, Zedekiah.
One other man in this part of the genealogy is mentioned in seven different books of the Bible—Zerubbabel. We know that Zerubbabel was an important figure after the exiles came back from Babylon (Ezra 2:2). He was their second governor, after the seemingly short term of another man named Sheshbazzar. Zerubbabel was one of the key figures in the rebuilding of the temple, and although he didn’t know it, was himself part of the line of the Savior, Jesus.
We don’t know much about the rest of the names here. We assume that the "Jacob" mentioned was Joseph's father and therefore Jesus' grandpa.
Let’s just take a moment to listen to what their names mean:
Jeconiah - The Lord establishes.
Shealtiel - I have asked God.
Zerubbabel - “Born in Babylon.”
Abiud - Abiud’s name has a foreign element, but includes “My father”
Eliakim - God establishes.
Azor - Help.
Zadok - Righteous.
Akim - The Lord will establish.
Eliud - Like Abiud, this name is uncertain, but includes “My God”
Eleazar - God has helped.
Matthan - Gift.
Jacob - Supplanter (cf. Israel’s name—but his son was also Joseph)
Joseph - He adds.
Apart from these things, this is simply a list of names. Or is it? There is something here that is not a name: "the exile to Babylon." God's people had gone into exile because of their sins: "The Lord has brought her (Mt. Zion) grief because of her many sins. Her children have gone into exile, captive before the foe" (Lamentations 1:5). God's people—even Jesus' own family—were and are sinful. We need a Savior. And God sent that Savior!
Have mercy on us Lord, and come. Come again. Come as you promised, come to judge, and come to carry us home with you. Amen.
MATTHEW 1:18
18 Τοῦ δὲ ᾽Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἡ γένεσις οὕτως ἦν. μνηστευθείσης τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ Μαρίας τῷ ᾽Ιωσήϕ, πρὶν ἢ συνελθεῖν αὐτοὺς εὑρέθη ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα ἐκ πνεύματος ἁγίου.
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
ἡ γένεσις "The genesis." There is no reason to doubt that Matthew knew that his book, probably the first account of Christ's life and ministry, would be the first new book of the Bible since Malachi, and that this new Greek Bible would have several books. He chose this word to echo the Greek title of the first book of Moses. Just as the Genesis of the Old Testament displayed God's saving activity among the Patriarchs, so this New Testament "Genesis" (Matthew's Gospel) displayed God's saving activity through his Son, in person.
Mary was μνηστευθείσης (aor passive participle) "engaged, betrothed" to Joseph, which in their culture was something less than married but far more that what we think of as engaged today. There were legal implications to being μνηστευθείσης that would require (as we shall see) an actual divorce to break. Mary's name Μαρίας is Greek for the Old Testament name of Moses' sister, Miriam. Judging from the name tags of the women at Jesus' tomb, it was a very popular name in their generation.
The phrase πρὶν ἢ συνελθεῖν αὐτοὺς "before they came together" refers to their first sexual union, which would not happen until after their wedding. The Bible is clear that Mary was still a virgin, although we don't know whether Joseph had a previous wife or not (it is not really relevant to the account). The Classical Greek particle πρὶν "before" is followed by its expected infinitive, but this is a rare construction in the New Testament (only 13 in the entire NT, all in the Gospels and Acts, and just three of these in Matthew). Quite a few of those πρὶν clauses involve the rooster crowing in the Passion story. One (Acts 7:2) is on the lips of Stephen describing Abraham "before" he moved to Haran from Mesopotamia.
Mary was εὑρέθη ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα "found to be with child," that is, impregnated, but not by Joseph or by any other human being. Miraculously, her child was the seed delivered by means of (ἐκ + genitive = means) the Holy Spirit (ἐκ πνεύματος ἁγίου).
MATTHEW 1:19
19 ᾽Ιωσὴϕ δὲ ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς, δίκαιος ὢν καὶ μὴ θέλων αὐτὴν δειγματίσαι, ἐβουλήθη λάθρᾳ ἀπολῦσαι αὐτήν.
19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.
Their engagement was so serious that Joseph can be called ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς "her man / her husband" with no other qualifier. Joseph is described as δίκαιος ὢν "being righteous." He knew, understood, believed and followed the Old Testament laws. He was a fine Old Testament believer. δειγματίσαι is the aorist infinitive (inf. with a verb of wishing or desiring) from δειγματίζω, "to disgrace, expose." In Colossians 2:15, one of the passages about Jesus' descent into hell, we see Jesus disarming the devil's evil angels ("rulers and authorities"), ἐδειγμάτισεν ἐν παρρησίᾳ, ϑριαμβεύσας αὐτοὺς ἐν αὐτῷ "making a public display of them, having triumphed over them with it (the cross)."
Joseph "planned to send her away secretly / quietly" (ἐβουλήθη λάθρᾳ ἀπολῦσαι αὐτήν), wanting her to be free, seemingly, to marry the man who was the father of her child. This shows that Joseph was compassionate on Mary, that he loved her, and that he loved her baby. He would have been within his rights to divorce her and to have her stoned for adultery, but his love moved him to mercy.
MATTHEW 1:20
20 ταῦτα δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐνθυμηθέντος ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος κυρίου κατ' ὄναρ ἐϕάνη αὐτῷ λέγων, ᾽Ιωσὴϕ υἱὸς Δαυίδ, μὴ ϕοβηθῇς παραλαβεῖν Μαριὰμ τὴν γυναῖκά σου, τὸ γὰρ ἐν αὐτῇ γεννηθὲν ἐκ πνεύματός ἐστιν ἁγίου·
20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
ταῦτα δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐνθυμηθέντος But when he had considered this, The aorist participle ἐνθυμηθέντος "considered" is preliminary. The accusative object ταῦτα refers back to everything leading up to this point in the narrative and leads up to ἰδοὺ!
ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος κυρίου behold, an angel of the Lord. Although there are times in the Old Testament in particular when the "angel of the Lord" is the pre-incarnate Christ, here the angel is simply an angel, one of God's holy messengers.
κατ' ὄναρ ἐϕάνη αὐτῷ appeared to him in a dream, ἐϕάνη is the aorist passive of ϕαίνω, "become visible; be revealed." ὄναρ is both the nom. and acc. neuter for "dream," and the construction κατ' ὄναρ means "in a dream." The word occurs 6 times in the Bible, all in Matthew, and always in this phrase (even Matt. 27:19, where the dream is that of Herod's wife).
λέγων, ᾽Ιωσὴϕ υἱὸς Δαυίδ, saying, "Joseph, son of David, Here the angel picks up what the earlier part of the chapter has already told us: Joseph is a descendant of David, and this coming child is very special.
μὴ ϕοβηθῇς παραλαβεῖν Μαριὰμ τὴν γυναῖκά σου, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; How often must angels tell their listeners something like μὴ ϕοβηθῇς "Do not be afraid"? But here it is not because Joseph fears the angel, but because Joseph knows that his family and friends can count, and they will suspect that Mary's child is not Joseph's, or that Joseph and Mary were intimate before their marriage. Either would bring disgrace and scandal, but the angel's message brings nothing but comfort and assurance.
τὸ γὰρ ἐν αὐτῇ γεννηθὲν for the child who has been conceived in her. τὸ is accusative neuter because its understood antecedent τέκνoν "child" would be accusative neuter.
ἐκ πνεύματός ἐστιν ἁγίου· is of the Holy Spirit. ἐκ with the genitive presents the means by which something was accomplished. How could it be that Mary was pregnant? The Holy Spirit has done this.
MATTHEW 1:21
21 τέξεται δὲ υἱὸν καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ᾽Ιησοῦν, αὐτὸς γὰρ σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν.
21 "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."
τέξεται δὲ υἱὸν She will bear a son; τέξεται is the future middle of τίκτω, "bear," referring either to a baby or to crops. This will be the most fruitful crop ever yielded: the son Jesus.
καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ᾽Ιησοῦν, and you shall call his name Jesus, "Jesus" is the Greek form of יְהוֹשֻׁעַ Joshua, which means "the Lord saves."
αὐτὸς γὰρ σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν. for he will save his people from their sins. The explanation of "Jesus" is exactly as above, except that Matthew expands the definition to the specific work of Jesus for the sake of mankind.
MATTHEW 1:22
22 Τοῦτο δὲ ὅλον γέγονεν ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ κυρίου διὰ τοῦ προϕήτου λέγοντος,
22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
Τοῦτο δὲ ὅλον γέγονεν Now all this took place. Of course this phrase relates to this context in particular, but the expression, "All this took place," could be a theme verse for Matthew's Gospel account overall.
ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ κυρίου to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord. The ἵνα points here to purpose; the reason all of this took place. ῥηθὲν is the aorist passive participle of λέγω, "to say."
διὰ τοῦ προϕήτου λέγοντος, through the prophet: The prophet, as we are about to see, was Isaiah.
MATTHEW 1:23
23 ᾽Ιδοὺ ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει καὶ τέξεται υἱόν, καὶ καλέσουσιν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ᾽Εμμανουήλ,ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον Μεθ' ἡμῶν ὁ θεός.
23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which translated means, "God with us."
The only departure from the Greek text of Isaiah 7:14 is that here καλέσουσιν "they will call" replaces the 2nd singular καλέσεις of the LXX. In Hebrew the passage runs this way:
הִנֵּה הָעַלְמָה הָרָה וְיֹלֶדֶת בֵּן וְקָרָאת שְׁמוֹ עִמָּנוּ אֵל
However, since Matthew quotes the LXX as we see here, we must acknowledge that here both versions are the inspired word of God; the Hebrew because it is Isaiah's text and the Greek because it is Matthew's (not because it is the Septuagint).
MATTHEW 1:24
24 ἐγερθεὶς δὲ [ὁ] ᾽Ιωσὴϕ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕπνου ἐποίησεν ὡς προσέταξεν αὐτῷ ὁ ἄγγελος κυρίου καὶ παρέλαβεν τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ·
24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,
ἐγερθεὶς δὲ [ὁ] ᾽Ιωσὴϕ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕπνου And Joseph awoke from his sleep. It is curious that Joseph "was awakened" (ἐγερθεὶς, passive participle) from the dream. God is the Mover of all things here. Note that we have the noun for "sleep" (ὕπνου) rather than "dream" here.
ἐποίησεν ὡς προσέταξεν αὐτῷ ὁ ἄγγελος κυρίου and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, Another simple aorist, ἐποίησεν "he did" tells us something more about Joseph's righteousness before the Lord. Like Abraham getting up early and taking Isaac out to the mountains for sacrifice, Joseph does not toss and turn, he does not pace around; he does not talk it over with three friends like Job sitting in ashes. Joseph just got up and did it. He believed God, and who would withhold the judgment "and he credited it to him as righteousness"?
καὶ παρέλαβεν τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ· and took her as his wife, παρέλαβεν, aorist of παραλαμβάνω, is not a violent or aggressive word. He did not "take" her physically, but "received" her; he married her but, we will see in a moment, was not yet intimate with her.
MATTHEW 1:25
25 καὶ οὐκ ἐγίνωσκεν αὐτὴν ἕως οὗ ἔτεκεν υἱόν· καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ᾽Ιησοῦν.
25 but he was not intimate with her until she gave birth to the son; and he called his name Jesus.
καὶ οὐκ ἐγίνωσκεν αὐτὴν ἕως οὗ ἔτεκεν υἱόν· but he was not intimate with her until she gave birth to the son; NASB's "kept her a virgin" expresses the meaning of οὐκ ἐγίνωσκεν αὐτὴν "did not know her." This action was not called for by the angel or by any other revelation from God. Joseph chose to do this for the sake of his wife, and the result is that there has been no question in our minds ever since but that this child was conceived through a miracle. There was no "mistaken pregnancy" that could be explained away. The child was and is the Son of God.
καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ᾽Ιησοῦν. and he called his name Jesus. Just as the angel had instructed him, Joseph was very careful to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment