Matthews gospel begins with a genealogy of Jesus -- a genealogy that differs from Lukes genealogy because it traces a different path through Jesus lineage. One theme of Matthews supported by the genealogys structure is that of the importance of the inclusion of Gentiles in the Kingdom inaugurated by the Messiahs coming. The genealogy includes the names of several gentile women brought into the people of God -- Ruth, Thamar, Rachab, and Bathsheba (the wife of Urias). Matthew explicitly takes a path through Jesus ancestry to connect him with Gentiles and Jews. He connects him ultimately with Father Abraham. Genealogy. [Heb. generally yachas Œ, as a noun, genealogy, and as a verb, to reckon genealogically; Gr. genealogia, genealogy.] An ancestral record giving one’s line of descent. The book of the generations (Gen 5:1) and the book of the generation (Mt 1:1, KJV) were genealogical lists or family registers. The tribal organization of Hebrew society, with its strong emphasis on family relationships, demanded accurate genealogical lists (Num 1:2, 18). Status in the community and before the law depended on one’s personal identity as belonging to a certain family and tribe. The Hebrew economy was essentially pastoral-agricultural, and each tribe and family had its own allotment of land (Jos 13 to 19). The legal right of inheritance was based on kinship, and land was not to pass from one tribe to another (Num 36:7, 9), nor, except in walled cities, was it to be permanently transferred from one family to another (Lev 25:23, 28–31; Num 27:8–11). Headship in the tribe, the tribal family, and the father’s house, was likewise a matter of lineage. The high priesthood, the priesthood, the Levitical service, and the royal succession were all hereditary. At one time inability to prove Aaronic descent automatically excluded certain persons from the priesthood (Ezr 2:62; Neh 7:64). The fact that Messiah was to be of the house of David (Is 9:6, 7;11:1; cf. Rom 1:3) gave members of that family an additional incentive for preserving an accurate record of their family pedigree. A valid genealogy was thus essential to the stability of the throne, to the purity of the priesthood, and to family and tribal status, and for every Hebrew male there were compelling ethnic, social, economic, political, and religious reasons for the preservation of precise and accurate family records. Certain Jewish customs and modes of expression must be kept in mind in any study of the genealogical lists of the Bible. For instance, the term son is also used to mean grandson or an even more remote descendant (1 Ki 19:16;. 2 Ki 9:2, 14, 20; Mt 1:1, 8; cf. 1 Chr 3:11, 12). Thus, there are skeleton genealogical lists in which only the more important ancestors are mentioned, with the gaps bridged by the word son as if each person in the list were the immediate descendant of the one previously named (see Ezr 7:1–5;1 Chr 6:7–9; Mt 1:8, 11; cf. 1 Chr 3:10–12, 15, 16). Furthermore, by the levirate (husband’s brother) marriage law, the next of kin was required to marry the widow of a deceased person and provide him with a successor and heir (Deut 25:5–10; cf. Ruth 2:20; Ruth 4:5, 10, 13, 14; Mt 22:23–28). Thus, a person could be the actual son of one man and yet be referred to as the son of another. Obviously, great care must be taken in the interpretation of the genealogical data of the Bible. For Christians, the most important genealogy of Scripture is that of Jesus Christ. The two versions of this genealogy given by Matthew (ch 1:1–16) and Luke (ch 3:23–38) differ in certain important respects, and each has problems of its own. Internal evidence leads to the conclusion that Matthew composed his account of the life of Jesus primarily for readers of Jewish birth. In his Gospel, Matthew stresses the fact that Jesus of Nazareth was, indeed, the One to whom Moses and the prophets bore witness, and begins his account in typical Jewish style by giving Jesus’ family pedigree. Since Messiah was to be of the seed of Abraham (Gen 22:18; Gal 3:16), the father of the Jewish nation, and of David, the founder of its royal line (Isa 9:6, 7; 11:1), Matthew presents evidence that proves Jesus to be the legal descendant of these two illustrious men. Lacking such proof, the Jews would declare His claim to Messiahship invalid and summarily dismiss other evidence without examination. youtu.be/FUk7N52ZRaE
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 20:00:22 +0000
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