Gospel of Matthew Chapter 1 Vs. 17

 The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

Matthew 1:17 “So all the generations from Abraham to David [are] fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon [are] fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ [are] fourteen generations.”

There are 42 generations named, but some not listed here (see, Mat. 1:8, 1:11).

Fourteen generations is the literary grouping used by Matthew to emphasize the three major periods of Israel’s national history: theocracy, monarchy, hierarchy.

The significance of the number 14 is not clear, but Matthew’s attention to numbers, a distinctly Hebrew characteristic, is evident throughout the gospel. The systematic ordering may be an aid for memorization. Note that Matthew counts Jeconiah in both the third and fourth groups, representing both the last generation before the Babylonian captivity and the first generation after.

This was the beginning of Jesus the Christ, the specially Anointed One of God. All others, who came, were leading up to the Messiah.

Matthew obviously did not list every individual in the genealogy between Abraham and David (Mat. 1:2-6), between David and the Exile (Mat. 1:6-11), and between the Exile and Jesus (Mat. 1:12-16). Instead he listed only 14 generations in each of these time periods (Mat. 1:17). Jewish reckoning did not require every name in order to satisfy a genealogy. But why did Matthew select 14 names in each period? Perhaps the best solution is that the name “David” in Hebrew numerology added up to 14. It should be noted that in the period from the Exile to the birth of Jesus (Mat. 1:12-16) 13 new names appeared. Many scholars feel that Jeconiah (Mat. 1:12), though repeated from Mat. 1:11, provides the 14th name in this final period.

Matthew’s genealogy answered the important question a Jew would rightfully ask about anyone who claimed to be King of the Jews. Is He a descendant of David through the rightful line of succession? Matthew answered yes!