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Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
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Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,
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and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
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and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
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After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
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Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor,
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Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud,
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Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob,
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and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.
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Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.
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Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
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Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
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But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
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She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
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“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
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When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
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But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
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The Magi Visit the Messiah
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
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and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
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When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.
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“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
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“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
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Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
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He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
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After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
