Results 1 - 3 of 3
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | How many generations betw Exodus-Solomon | Matt 1:17 | Jim Estes | 207177 | ||
Hi BradK, I realize I am going against all the experts and commentaries. Why do so many come to the conclusion that the Rahab of Matthew 1 is the same as Rahab the harlot? The only proof I see is the name and that evidence is pretty thin! The quote of CH Spurgeon, I think, gives the answer. People want it to be so! They want it to show that Jesus Christ had Gentile blood and this shows his humanity and it is something the Gentiles can “rejoice in.” How wonderful it is that one of his ancestors was a harlot! Today, we would call that “Political Correctness.” Just my personal opinion. To answer your question: 1. As stated In my previous post, it was physically impossible to the same woman. Rahab, the harlot, would have been well beyond her child bearing years. 2. In Leviticus 21 the Lord instructed Moses to speak to the sons of Aaron. Verse 7: “They shall not take a woman who is profaned by harlotry, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God.” Verse 9: “Also the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by harlotry, she profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.” Verses 14-15: “A widow, or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by harlotry, these he may not take; but rather he is to marry a virgin of his own people, so that he will not profane his offspring among his people; for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.” In view of these strict scriptures, it would not seem possible then that Jesus, our High Priest after the Order of Melchisedek, could be the descendant of either a harlot or a Canaanite. 3. The names of Rahab, the harlot, and the Rahab of Matthew 1 are actually two different names of two different women. In the Greek text of Matthew 1:5, the name is “Raxab,” but in Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25 it is “Ra'ab.” Nor in Matthew 1:5 is she identified as either a harlot or Canaanite. This is further illustrated in the King James Version. In Joshua 6, Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25 it is “Rahab” and in Matthew 1:5 it is “Rachab.” 4. The Israelites were under the commandments of God and when they disobeyed, they suffered swift and fatal consequences. Before crossing the Jordan, they were encamped in the Land of Moab across from Jericho. There they committed idolatry and fornication with the women of Midian and Moab. For this, 24,000 Israelites were killed in a plague (Numbers 25:9). After the fall of Jericho, Israel was again punished by God because one soldier (Achan) took gold and silver and hide it in his tent. Because of this God allowed the death of 36 Israelites in the next battle at Ai. When Joshua found out the cause, Ai and his family were stoned to death. After these events, it is highly unlikely that any Israelite would have married, or been allowed to marry a Canaanite harlot in direct violation of God’s commandments. Rahab and her family were not even allowed into the Israelite camp. (Joshua 6:24) Joshua spared Rahab and her family and they lived in the midst of Israel (Joshua 6:25). Why no mention of a marriage to Salmon? 5. As much as we would like Jesus ancestry to include Gentiles, it does not make it so. The Israelites were the chosen people, not the Gentiles. Deuteronomy 7:6 "For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. Deuteronomy 14:2 "For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 1 Peter 2:9-10 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10(I)for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. Jim |
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2 | How many generations betw Exodus-Solomon | Matt 1:17 | BradK | 207183 | ||
Hi Jim, Thanks for your honesty. I can appreciate the case you're making, while still not seeing it as anywhere near conclusive. I simply don't believe, that many just "want it to be so". While that's a possiblity- albeit remote- considering the list of scholars over the past 2000 years, I don't see it as probable! Do you really think they just glossed over this fact? What I see is that Rahab was not only commended for her faith in Heb. 11:31, but she is testament to the immense grace of God. No one is beyond the reaches of this (Rom. 5:20). How unlike human conception to think that God-incarnate would come from a lineage of a prostitute! Reg Grant, in his work "Literary Structure of the Book of Ruth" makes this comment: "Who would have expected the Lord to include the illegitimate product of a sinful union of a Jew and an ostensibly Canaanite prostitute in the messianic line? The historical parallels actually serve to heighten the contrasts. Matthew 1:5 states that Salmon (Ruth 4:21) was the husband of Rahab (presumably the Canaanite prostitute of Josh. 2:1). Rahab was probably the “mother” of Boaz in the sense of being his ancestress, since she lived in Joshua’s day, 200 or 300 years before Ruth and Boaz. This connection with Rahab is especially interesting in light of the Judah/Tamar story. While Rahab was indeed a prostitute, the Joshua narrative emphasized her courageous service to the spies and her inclusion within the covenant community (Josh. 6:25; cf. Heb. 11:31). Her character was more nobly presented than that of the scheming Tamar. Again the reader is forced to admit that he would probably not have picked either Rahab or her descendant Boaz as participants in the covenant promises, much less as contributors to the messianic line." [Bibliotheca Sacra : A Quarterly Published by Dallas Theological Seminary] Speaking the Truth in love, BradK |
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3 | How many generations betw Exodus-Solomon | Matt 1:17 | stjohn | 207186 | ||
Dear BradK: I should have read your post before I posted mine! You said it well; though redundancy is not such a bad thing, the Scriptures do it quite a bit! :-) John |
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