Bible Question:
My LifeChange gospel of Matthew study guide indicates that in Matthew chapter one, where Jesus genealogy is given, that not all of the ancestors between Abraham and Jesus are listed, but some are deliberatly left out. Why is this? And the ones listed are listed in 3sets of 14. What is the significance of that? Chusarcik Chusarcik |
Bible Answer: The third list consists of only 13: (1) Abraham; (2) Isaac; (3) Jacob; (4) Judah; (5) Perez; (6) Hezron; (7) Ram; (8) Amminadab; (9) Nahshon; (10) Salmon; (11) Boaz; (12) Obed; (13) Jesse; (14) King David (1) Solomon; (2) Rehoboam; (3) Abijah; (4) Asa; (5) Jehoshaphat; (6) Jehoram; (7) Uzziah; (8) Jotham; (9) Ahaz; (10) Hezekiah; (11) Manasseh; (12) Amon; (13) Josiah; (14) Jeconiah (1) Shealtiel; (2) Zerubbabel; (3) Abiud; (4) Eliakim; (5) Azor; (6) Zadok; (7) Akim; (8) Eliud; (9) Eleazar; (10) Matthan; (11) Jacob; (12) Joseph; (13) Jesus It doesn't help to consider a "generation" to be a father-son pair either: (1) Abraham-Isaac ... (14) King David-Solomon (1) Solomon-Rehoboam ... (14) Jeconiah-Shealtiel (1) Shealtiel-Zerubbabel ... (12) Joseph-Jesus; (13) Jesus- I'm not certain why Matthew "exagerated" the third set, but it did produce a nice, symmetrical grouping of numbers significant to Jews. We can't say that he tried to fool anyone, since the names are right there to count. My assumption is that he was making a point that is somewhat lost on us modern Westerners rather than that he missed a generation in the third list or that he was trying to mislead. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |