Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: Genesis 49: 2, 8-10
Jacob's Blessings on His Twelve Sons
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(Then Jacob called his sons, and said), [2] "Assemble and hear, 0 sons of Jacob, and hearken to Israel your father. [8] Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you. [9] Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness; who dares rouse him up? [10] The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples."
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Commentary:
49:1-28. Although this passage is traditionally described as the "Blessings of Jacob" in the light of what it says in v. 28, it is in fact more like a series of prophetic oracles (cf. v. 1) which encapsulate and evaluate the history of each of the tribes by making predictions about the future. If we compare this with other passages which provide historical-prophetical summaries about the tribes (such as the "Blessings of Moses" in Deuteronomy 33 and the "canticle of Deborah" in Judges 5), we can see that what is described here reflects the situation of the tribes of Israel after the conquest of Canaan. The "Blessings of Jacob" show the tribe of Judah's pride of place, refer to its connection with the Messiah and highlight the importance of the tribes descended Joseph.
49:8-12. The disqualification of the first three tribes has opened the way to the advancement of the tribe of Judah. Although Judah was not the first-born, he is going to be given primacy, because his three older brothers have lost it on account of their sins. The oracle about Judah not only acclaims Judah's strength as like that of a lion, but announces that the royal scepter will be held by this tribe until one comes whom the peoples will obey and who will bring peace and prosperity. This may contain an immediate reference to David and his successors, but the text itself points to a descendant of Judah who will be universal king.
The Hebrew term used to describe this descendant ("siloh") has been interpreted by Jewish and Christian tradition in a messianic sense, linking it to other oracles about the dynasty of David (cf. 2 Sam 7:14; Is 9:5ff; Mic 5:1-3; Zech 9:9). In the light of the New Testament we can see what the oracle means: with David royalty in Israel will emerge from the tribe of Judah and will extend until the coming of the "Son of David", Jesus Christ, in whom all the prophecies find fulfillment (cf. Mt 21:9).
In the words of v. 11,"he washes garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes," some Fathers saw allusion to the passion of Christ. Ambrose, for example, interprets wine as being the blood of Christ and the "garments" as his sacred humanity: "garments are the flesh of Christ, who covers up the sins of all, who bears the crimes of all, who takes on the faults of all. The garments clothe everyone in an outfit of joy. He washed these garments in wine when, on being baptized in the Jordan, the Holy Spirit came down on him in shape of a dove and stayed over him [...] For Jesus washed his garments to clean away any filth of his own (for he had none) but to clean away our filth. And in the blood of grapes he washed his tunic, that is, he cleansed men with blood in the passion of his body. [...] And it is right to speak of grapes because he was hung like a bunch of them on the wood (of the cross). He is the vine and he is the grape: the vine because he is fixed to the wood; the grape because when his side was pierced by the lance, blood and water flowed out. Water as purification, blood as the ransom price. Through the water he washed us clean; through the blood he redeemed us" ("De Benedictionem Patriarcharum", 4, 24).
The Ancestry of Jesus Christ
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[1] The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the son of Abraham.
[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 Matthan 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 commandment.
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 special 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.