Matthew 1 - IVP New Testament Commentaries

INTRODUCTION TO THE KINGDOM

Ancient biographies could open with the subject's public vocation, as in Mark, but often began by rehearsing the background of the central character. Such background might include a noble or prominent ancestry (Mt 1:1-17), virtuous parents (1:18-25), childhood background that introduced themes relevant to the subject's later public activity (2:1-23), the attestation of others to the person's character (3:1-17), including that of the person's adherents (4:18-25), and qualifying tests through which the person's character was proved (4:1-11). Such introductory comments set the tone for the whole of the work that would follow.