The Family Tree of Jesus

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah,  and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations (Matthew 1:1-17).

If we are familiar with the gospel of Matthew, then we should also be familiar with the opening verses of scripture- the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1-16). Matthew’s list is both extensive and intriguing. His list does differ greatly from the list that is found in Luke’s gospel (Luke 3:23-38). Let’s look at those differences starting first with Matthew’s version.

The first thing that I find intriguing is that there are four particular women found in Matthew’s list: Bathsheba (the wife of Uriah, v.6), Rahab, Ruth, and Tamar. First is Bathsheba. What makes her so intriguing in this list was that she was an adulteress. As we may remember, she too had relations with David and conceived while Uriah was at battle. She was just as guilty of adultery as David was for taking her (2 Samuel 11). Second is Rahab. She was a prostitute in a pagan land. She also hid spies from Israel who were spying on Jericho from the townspeople who were looking to capture them. The spies were successfully hidden and allowed to return to their people unharmed. Third is Ruth. She was a Moabite woman who had no ties to the chosen Israelites. She came from a nation of idolatry and no knowledge (or relationship) to Yahweh. Then we have Tamar. She, while grieving over the death of her husband(s) (who were the sons of Judah), decided to cover herself with a veil and approach Judah, her father-in-law. Judah had mistaken her to be a prostitute and they had “relations” and she conceived. What an interesting gal, that Tamar! What is interesting is what became of these women. The adulteress Bathsheba married David and eventually gave birth to Solomon and continued the royal line to the Messiah. She was forgiven her sin, and our long-suffering God did not destroy her for her sin. The immoral pagan prostitute Rahab and her family was spared death during the overtaking of Jericho because she helped out the spies. “But Rahab the prostitute and her father's household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.”(Joshua 6:25, ESV). Her offspring were also part of the lineage of the Savior. What became of Ruth other than having a book written about her? She, being a widow without a future, was “redeemed” by her husband Boaz, who married her and produced children into the Davidic line that leads to Christ. She had a choice to return home to her Moabite idols, but Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16). She was not just devoted and loyal to her mother-in-law, but also to Naomi’s God. She sought the God of Israel. Speaking of in-laws, what about Tamar who had a “thing” with her father-in-law? Her twins (particularly Perez) are part of that line of descendants to Jesus. The key word here is “redemption”. Bathsheba, Tamar, and Rahab were all forgiven their sins, and Ruth was forgiven her idolatrous background. They all were “grafted in” to the Israelite family and had a part in what the people were chosen for (see Romans 11:11-24). I believe this was a shadow of the grafting in of the Gentiles as God’s people (through Christ) and that was Matthew’s intent.

Both versions do include David, thus showing that Christ has a right to claim David’s throne. They also include Abraham, thus showing that Christ was also a Jew and not a Gentile and possibly showing the Jews that He is their promised Messiah through lineage.


The key differences are of course the names. “Matthew is following the line of Joseph (Jesus’ legal father), through David’s son Solomon, while Luke is following the line of Mary (Jesus’ blood relative), though David’s son Nathan. Through either line, Jesus is a descendant of David and therefore eligible to be the Messiah” (http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-genealogy.html).