From: Matthew 1:1-17
The Ancestry of Jesus Christ
[2] Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob
the father of Judah and his brothers, [3] and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah
by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, [4]
and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahson, and
Nahson the father of Salmon, [5] and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and
Boaz due father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, [6] and Jesse
the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, [7] and Solomon the
father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father
of Asa, [8] and Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of
Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, [9] and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and
Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, [10] and Hezekiah
the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father
of Josiah, [11] and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time
of the deportation to Babylon.
[12] And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,
and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, [13] and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, [14] and Azor
the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Aching and Achim the father of Eliud,
[15] and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Mat-
than the father of Jacob, [16] and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of
Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
[17] So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations,
and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the
deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.
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Commentary:
1. This verse is a kind of title to St Matthew’s entire Gospel. The promises God
made to Abraham for the salvation of mankind (Gen 12:3) are fulfilled in Jesus
Christ, as is Nathan’s prophecy to King David of an everlasting kingdom (2 Sam
7:12-16).
The genealogy presented here by St Matthew shows Jesus’ human ancestry
and also indicates that salvation history has reached its climax with the birth
of the Son of God through the working of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, true God
and true man, is the expected Messiah.
The genealogy is presented in a framework of three series, each consisting of
fourteen links which show the progressive development of salvation history.
For the Jews (and for other Eastern peoples of nomadic origin) genealogical
trees were of great importance because a person’s identity was especially linked
to family and tribe, with place of birth taking secondary importance. In the case
of the Jewish people there was the added religious significance of belonging by
blood to the chosen people.
In Christ’s time each family still kept a careful record of its genealogical tree,
since because of it people acquired rights and duties.
6. Four women are named in these genealogies—Tamar (cf. Gen 38; 1 Chron 2:
4), Rahab (cf. Josh 2:6,17), Bathsheba (cf. 2 Sam 11:12, 24) and Ruth (cf. Book
of Ruth). These four foreign women, who in one way or another are brought into
the history of Israel, are one sign among many others of God’s design to save
all men.
By mentioning sinful people, God’s ways are shown to be different from man’s.
God will sometimes carry out his plan of salvation by means of people whose
conduct has not been just. God saves us, sanctifies us and chooses us to do
good despite our sins and infidelities—and he chose to leave evidence of this at
various stages in the history of our salvation.
11. The deportation to Babylon, described in 2 Kings 24-25, fulfilled the prophets’
warning to the people of Israel and their kings that they would be punished for
their infidelity to the commandments of the Law of God, especially the first com-
mandment.
16. Jewish genealogies followed the male line. Joseph, being Mary’s husband,
was the legal father of Jesus. The legal father is on a par with the real father as
regards rights and duties. This fact provides a sound basis for recognizing St
Joseph as Patron of the whole Church, since he was chosen to play a very spe-
cial role in God’s plan for our salvation; with St Joseph as his legal father, Jesus
the Messiah has David as his ancestor.
Since it was quite usual for people to marry within their clan, it can be concluded
that Mary belonged to the house of David. Several early Fathers of the Church
testify to this—for example, St Ignatius of Antioch, St Irenaeus, St Justin and
Tertullian, who base their testimony on an unbroken oral tradition.
It should also be pointed out that when St Matthew comes to speak of the birth
of Jesus, he uses an expression which is completely different from that used for
the other people in the genealogy. With these words the text positively teaches
that Mary conceived Jesus while still a virgin, without the intervention of man.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
| First reading | Genesis 49:2,8-10 © |
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| Psalm | Psalm 71:1-4,7-8,17 |
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| Gospel | Matthew 1:1-17 © |
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