Gospel of Matthew Chapter 1 Vs. 2

 The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

Matthew 1:2 “Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;”

Abraham begat Isaac... History of Abraham (Gen. 11:26-25:11).

Isaac begat Jacob... History of Isaac (Gen. 21:1-35:29).

Jacob begat Judas... History of Jacob (Gen. 25:24-50:14).

Judas and his... Gen. 29:16-30:24; 1Ch. 2:1-4.

This genealogy starts with the three Old Testament patriarchs, whom the blessings were passed down through. “Isaac” means laughter. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. “Jacob” meant trickster, and God changed his name to “Israel”, which means having power with God.

This Israel was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. This Judas was the same as “Judah” (God be praised). Jesus is shown as being the Lion of the tribe of Judah. This first gospel (Matthew), shows Jesus as a Lion (the first of the 4 faces of the beast in Revelation).

Matthew gave Jesus’ lineage through His legal father, Joseph (Mat. 1:16). Thus this genealogy traced Jesus’ right to the throne of David, which must come through Solomon and his descendants (Mat. 1:6). Of particular interest is the inclusion of Jeconiah (Mat. 1:11) of whom Jeremiah said, “Record this man as if childless” (Jer. 22:30). Jeremiah’s prophecy related to the actual occupation of the throne and the reception of blessing while on the throne. Though Jeconiah’s sons never occupied the throne, the line of rulership did pass through them. If Jesus had been a physical descendant of Jeconiah, He would not have been able to occupy David’s throne. Luke’s genealogy made it clear that Jesus was a physical descendant of David through another son named Nathan (Luke 3:31). But Joseph, a descendant of Solomon, was Jesus’ legal father, so Jesus’ right to the throne was traced through Joseph.

“Judas” is the Greek form of Judah, the father of the tribe so named. The promise of Jacob was the leadership of the 12 tribes would come through Judah (Gen. 49:3-12).

“Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and wife of Uriah: Four women of “questionable” qualifications appear in this genealogy in addition to Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus. It was not customary to list the names of women in a genealogy; therefore, the inclusion of these names must be deliberate on the part of the author. Tamar was the mother of two illegitimate sons (Pharez and Zerah) by her father-in-law, Judah. Rahab was the converted prostitute of Jericho and the mother of Boaz.

Ruth, the wife of Boaz, was a godly foreigner (Moabitess). The wife of Uriah is none other than Bathsheba, whose adultery with David is infamous. However, she later became the legitimate wife of David and the mother of Solomon.