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The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah

The record of the genealogy of [a]Jesus the [b]Messiah, the son (descendant) of [c]David, the son (descendant) of Abraham:(A)

Abraham [d]was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of [e]Judah and his brothers [who became the twelve tribes of Israel]. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Aminadab, Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz by [f]Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of [g]David the king.

David was the father of Solomon by [h]Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.(B) Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah. 11 Josiah became the father of Jeconiah [also called Coniah and Jehoiachin] and his brothers, at the time of the deportation (exile) to Babylon.(C)

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 [i]whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah (Christ).

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen; from David to the Babylonian deportation (exile), fourteen generations; and from the Babylonian deportation to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

Conception and Birth of Jesus

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been [j]betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by [the power of] the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her [promised] husband, being a just and righteous man and not wanting to expose her publicly to shame, planned to send her away and divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the Child who has been [k]conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus (The Lord is salvation), for He will [l]save His people from their sins.” 22 All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the [m]prophet [Isaiah]: 23 Behold, the [n]virgin shall be with child and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel”—which, when translated, means, “God with us.”(D) 24 Then Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and he took Mary [to his home] as his wife, 25 but he kept her a virgin until she had given birth to a Son [her firstborn child]; and he named Him Jesus (The Lord is salvation).

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:1 Heb Yeshua (Joshua), meaning The Lord is salvation.
  2. Matthew 1:1 Gr Christos. Greek for Messiah, which means Anointed One. Throughout his gospel, which is directed primarily to Jewish believers, Matthew uses OT Scripture to emphasize the fact that Jesus is their promised Messiah.
  3. Matthew 1:1 The shepherd boy who killed the Philistine giant Goliath, and later became king of Israel.
  4. Matthew 1:2 Lit begot, fathered, from the Greek word gennao, meaning “to father a child” (early modern English beget) and so throughout the genealogy whenever father occurs.
  5. Matthew 1:2 Gr Judas; names of people in the OT are given in their OT form.
  6. Matthew 1:5 The woman who assisted the Hebrew spies before the conquest of Jericho (Josh 2:1-21).
  7. Matthew 1:6 David is the only one addressed as “the king.” The text places an emphasis on David, showing that Jesus is a descendant of David and an heir to the throne of David and the Davidic Covenant.
  8. Matthew 1:6 Lit her of Uriah.
  9. Matthew 1:16 The Greek singular feminine pronoun hes, translated “whom,” shows that Jesus was born of Mary alone, without Joseph’s participation; however, Jesus was considered Joseph’s legal son and heir. Accordingly, Matthew’s genealogy confirms Jesus as a legitimate descendant of David.
  10. Matthew 1:18 The first stage of marriage (called shiddukin in Hebrew) in Jewish tradition and law, usually lasting for a year before the wedding night; unlike an engagement, it was legally binding and required a divorce to nullify it. The woman remained with her parents during the betrothal year and was referred to as a “wife” even though the marriage was not consummated during this period of time (cf Deut 22:23, 24).
  11. Matthew 1:20 Lit begotten.
  12. Matthew 1:21 Those who, by personal faith, accept Him as Savior are saved from the penalty of sin and reconciled with the Father.
  13. Matthew 1:22 The prophets in the Bible always have the ability to foretell the future as revealed to them by God. Scripture provides stringent criteria for testing a prophet’s ability to foretell future events (Deut 18:22).
  14. Matthew 1:23 “Virgin” (Gr parthenos) clearly confirms that Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus.

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

The(A) historical record[a](B) of Jesus Christ, the Son of David,(C) the Son of Abraham:(D)

From Abraham to David

Abraham fathered[b] Isaac,
Isaac fathered Jacob,
Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers,(E)
Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar,
Perez fathered Hezron,
Hezron fathered Aram,(F)
Aram fathered Amminadab,
Amminadab fathered Nahshon,
Nahshon fathered Salmon,
Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab,
Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth,
Obed fathered Jesse,(G)
and Jesse fathered King David.

From David to the Babylonian Exile

Then[c] David fathered Solomon by Uriah’s wife,(H)
Solomon fathered Rehoboam,
Rehoboam fathered Abijah,
Abijah fathered Asa,[d]
Asa[e] fathered Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat fathered Joram,[f]
Joram fathered Uzziah,(I)
Uzziah fathered Jotham,
Jotham fathered Ahaz,
Ahaz fathered Hezekiah,
10 Hezekiah fathered Manasseh,
Manasseh fathered Amon,[g]
Amon fathered Josiah,(J)
11 and Josiah fathered Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the exile to Babylon.(K)

From the Exile to the Messiah

12 Then after the exile to Babylon
Jechoniah fathered Shealtiel,
Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel,
13 Zerubbabel fathered Abiud,
Abiud fathered Eliakim,
Eliakim fathered Azor,(L)
14 Azor fathered Zadok,
Zadok fathered Achim,
Achim fathered Eliud,
15 Eliud fathered Eleazar,
Eleazar fathered Matthan,
Matthan fathered Jacob,
16 and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary,
who gave birth to[h] Jesus who is called the Messiah.(M)

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations; and from David until the exile to Babylon, 14 generations; and from the exile to Babylon until the Messiah, 14 generations.(N)

The Nativity of the Messiah

18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.(O) 19 So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man,(P) and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.(Q)

20 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit.(R) 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus,[i](S) because He will save His people from their sins.”(T)

22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

23 See, the virgin will become pregnant
and give birth to a son,
and they will name Him Immanuel,[j]

which is translated “God is with us.”(U)

24 When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her(V) 25 but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son.[k] And he named Him Jesus.(W)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:1 Or The book of the genealogy
  2. Matthew 1:2 In vv. 2-16 either a son, as here, or a later descendant, as in v. 8
  3. Matthew 1:6 Other mss add King
  4. Matthew 1:7 Other mss read Asaph
  5. Matthew 1:8 Other mss read Asaph
  6. Matthew 1:8 = Jehoram
  7. Matthew 1:10 Other mss read Amos
  8. Matthew 1:16 Lit Mary, from whom was born
  9. Matthew 1:21 Jesus is the Gk form of the Hb name “Joshua,” which = “The Lord saves” or “Yahweh saves.”
  10. Matthew 1:23 Is 7:14
  11. Matthew 1:25 Other mss read to her firstborn son

The Ancestors of Jesus the Messiah

This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham[a]:

Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Isaac was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar).
Perez was the father of Hezron.
Hezron was the father of Ram.[b]
Ram was the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab).
Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth).
Obed was the father of Jesse.
Jesse was the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).
Solomon was the father of Rehoboam.
Rehoboam was the father of Abijah.
Abijah was the father of Asa.[c]
Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram.[d]
Jehoram was the father[e] of Uzziah.
Uzziah was the father of Jotham.
Jotham was the father of Ahaz.
Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.
Manasseh was the father of Amon.[f]
Amon was the father of Josiah.
11 Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin[g] and his brothers (born at the time of the exile to Babylon).
12 After the Babylonian exile:
Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.
13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.
Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the father of Azor.
14 Azor was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Akim.
Akim was the father of Eliud.
15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan.
Matthan was the father of Jacob.
16 Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

17 All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement[h] quietly.

20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,[i] for he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
    She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,[j]
    which means ‘God is with us.’”

24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 Greek Jesus the Messiah, Son of David and son of Abraham.
  2. 1:3 Greek Aram, a variant spelling of Ram; also in 1:4. See 1 Chr 2:9-10.
  3. 1:7 Greek Asaph, a variant spelling of Asa; also in 1:8. See 1 Chr 3:10.
  4. 1:8a Greek Joram, a variant spelling of Jehoram; also in 1:8b. See 1 Kgs 22:50 and note at 1 Chr 3:11.
  5. 1:8b Or ancestor; also in 1:11.
  6. 1:10 Greek Amos, a variant spelling of Amon; also in 1:10b. See 1 Chr 3:14.
  7. 1:11 Greek Jeconiah, a variant spelling of Jehoiachin; also in 1:12. See 2 Kgs 24:6 and note at 1 Chr 3:16.
  8. 1:19 Greek to divorce her.
  9. 1:21 Jesus means “The Lord saves.”
  10. 1:23 Isa 7:14; 8:8, 10 (Greek version).