| Verse |
Commentary |
Lexicon |
| Matt 1:1 |
This connection to David and to Abraham is showing that Jesus is of royal blood and fully Jewish. |
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| Matt 1:2 |
The genealogical line follows through Judah from which comes the line of the Jews. |
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| Matt 1:3 |
Judah had other sons; Er and Onan but these died in Canaan (see Genesis 46:12) |
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| Matt 1:4 |
This lineage is being recounted so as to establish Jesus as a relative of Jesse from which the Messiah is said to come. (see Is 11:1, Is 11:10, Romans 15:12) |
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| Matt 1:5 |
This is the direct line to Jesse, important for Jesus' claim to be the Messiah. |
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| Matt 1:6 |
Jesus' parentage is being connected to King of the Jews, David; a title which Jesus will also assume. (see Matt 2:2, John 19:19-21) |
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| Matt 1:7-16 |
Verses 7 through 16 are more to establish that Joseph, the husband to Mary descends through the line of Abraham and David. However, this is a curious following since technically Jesus is in no way biologically related to Joseph. Luke 3 apparently gives Mary's genealogy since the line in Luke 3 differs from the line here in Matt 1. Note specifically that Luke 3 says Joseph is the son of Heli/Eli whereas Matt 1 says Joseph is the son of a Jacob.
It is supposed that Joseph is the son-in-law of Heli, where Heli is the father of Mary.
It also appears that the Matthew genealogy skips some generations whereas the Luke genealogy is fairly complete. It should also be noted that the Luke generations number 77, which is symbolically fascinating, whereas the Matthew account is 3 sets of 14 generations, which also has the symbolism of 3 and 7.
Also the line in Luke 3 goes back all the way to Adam, even calling Adam, the son of God. |
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| Matt 1:16 |
The text is careful here not to call Joseph the father of Jesus or saying Joseph "begot" Jesus but rather that Joseph is the the husband of Mary, thus maintaining the idea that Jesus was born to a virgin. |
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| Matt 1:17 |
Here Matthew points out the 3 sets of 14 generations. |
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| Matt 1:18 |
It is said, Mary was "betrothed" to Joseph, which means in modern vernacular that Mary was engaged but not yet married, at least not in ceremony or consummation. It was found that Mary was pregnant before the official marriage. This verse specifically says the baby is by the Holy Spirit, not by Joseph. |
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| Matt 1:19 |
Since they were not officially married, although this verse calls Joseph, Mary's husband Joseph wanted to quietly cancel the marriage so that Mary and her family would not be open to public ridicule. |
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| Matt 1:20 |
Joseph has a dream encouraging him to go ahead with the marriage and explains the baby is from the Holy Spirit |
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| Matt 1:21 |
This verse recounts the divine naming of the baby Jesus, yet it should be noted that this verse seems to be a cross reference to Is 7:14 wherein we see the name of the Messiah is to be Immanuel. Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which does mean God saves. Therefore, it isn't so much about the exact name as it is about the meaning of the name. Immanuel means God with us. (see Matt 1:23) |
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| Matt 1:22-23 |
These verses specifically connect Jesus with the prophecy in Is 7:14. It seems if the doubters in Jesus' day wanted to discount His claim of being the Messiah, they simply could have noted that His name isn't Immanuel. However, as stated in the comment for Matt 1:21, it seems even Jesus' detractors knew it isn't so much about the exact name as it is with the actions of the Messiah to save His people. |
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| Matt 1:24 |
It is amazing that Joseph doesn't appear to have a moment of doubt but takes Mary to be his wife even with the public ridicule that would obviously come with marrying a woman who appears to everyone else to either have had relations with another man or relations with Joseph before official marriage. |
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| Matt 1:25 |
This verse specifically indicates that Joseph did not have relations with Mary while she was pregnant with Jesus, however we are told that Jesus had "brothers" and the Bible actually gives their names. (see Matt 12:46-47, Matt 13:55, Mark 6:2-3, John 2:12, Acts 1:14, Galatians 1:19) It would seem that Matt 1:25 stating Joseph didn't have relations with Mary while she was pregnant with Jesus also implies that he did after she gave birth to Jesus, especially since it uses the word until. However, the Roman Catholic tradition is that Mary remained a virgin all her life and that the mention of brothers of Jesus are merely cousins. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 510) The Roman Catholic tradition is not only counter to the biblical account but historical accounts within the Catholic tradition refer to Jesus' brothers (see: http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/hegesippus.html) |
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