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Bible Question: Someone
pointed out to me that Matthew records Jesus' genealogy through Joseph,
and not through Mary. Since the prophecy was that his mother would
have to come through the line of David, many people would consider
this fact to disprove Jesus as the prophesied Messiah.
Then I checked out the genealogy Luke tells
of Jesus. It differs greatly from the genealogy that Matthew gives
us. First of all, it says, "He was the son, or so it was thought,
of Joseph..." It even lists a different father for Joseph! I
read somewhere that the genealogy in Luke is actually Mary's line.
Matthew lists Joseph's father as Jacob. Jacob was Joseph's biological
father. Luke lists Joseph as the son of Heli. Well, I heard the original
Greek basically means son-in-law (when referring to Heli). That would
make Heli Mary's father, and the rest of it is still traced back to
King David, therefore still fulfilling the prophecy of coming from
the line of David. I'm guessing it was done like this since tracing
someone's genealogy through the mother was considered unusual in those
times.
So can you simply tell me if the original
Greek does indeed mean son-in-law? I don't know Greek, and I don't
know anyone that does. Thanks for your time.
Bible Answer: You
did a great job in explaining the genealogy of Jesus. First, for those
who may not be aware of the situation, the gospels of Matthew (Matt.
1:1-17) and Luke (Luke 3:23-38) record the genealogy of Jesus as presented
in the table (Luke 3:35-38 has been left out of the table):
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Matthew’s
Genealogy |
Luke’s
Genealogy |
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Abraham
Issac
Jacob
Judah
Perez,
by Tamar
Hezron
Ram
Amminadab
Nahshon
Salmon
Boaz,
by Rahab
Obed,
by Ruth
Jesse
David
Solomon,
by Uriah's wife
Rehoboam
Abijah
Asa
Jehoshaphat
Joram
Uzziah
Jotham
Ahaz
Hezekiah
Manasseh
Amon
Josiah
Deportation
Jeconiah
Shealtiel
Zerubbabel
Abiud
Eliakim
Azor
Zadok
Achkim
Eliud
Eleazar
Matthan
Jacob
Joseph
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Abraham
Issac
Jacob
Judah
Perez
Hezron
Ram
Amminadab
Nahshon
Salmon
Boaz
Obed
Jesse
David
Nathan
Mattatha
Joanan
Menna
Melea
Eliakim
Jonam
Joseph
Judah
Simeon
Levi
Matthat
Jorim
Eliezer
Joshua
Er
Elmadam
Cosam
Addi
Melki
Neri
Shealtiel
Zerubbabel
Rhesa
Joanan
Josech
Semein
Mattathias
Maath
Hesli
Nahum
Amos
Mattathias
Joseph
Jannai
Melchi
Levi
Matthat
Eli
Jesus |
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It is clear the two genealogies are different after King David. One
genealogy branches off from Solomon and the other from Nathan, who
were sons of king David (2 Samuel 5:13-14). Now the obvious question
before us is why is there a difference?
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