MATTHEW'S  GENEALOGY TILL CAPTIVITY

Matthew wrote his gospel according to our present day biblical scholarship at around 50 A.D. Matthew as a disciple of Jesus and was with him for at least three years. Matthew is also known as Levi and the occasion of his meeting with Jesus and how he came to be a disciple can be found in the following references.

Mat 9:9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

Mat 9:10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples.

Mat 10:2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;

Mat 10:3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

Mat 10:4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Mark 2:14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

Mark 2:15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.

Mark 3:16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter);

Mark 3:17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder);

Mark 3:18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot

Mark 3:19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Luke 5:27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him,

Luke 5:28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

Luke 5:29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.

Luke 6:13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:

Luke 6:14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,

Luke 6:15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot,

Luke 6:16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

So we can see that all the three gospels identify Matthew as one of the disciples. Matthew identifies himself as the tax collector. (Tax collectors were outcasts of the Jewish community and were scorned at. So the other gospel writers omitted this reference)

Matthew who was deeply rooted in the Jewish traditions, addressed his gospel to the Jews in dispersion around the world who were looking forward to a Messiah. He wanted to show that Jesus was indeed the Messiah as foretold in the scriptures and that he fulfilled all the rigid criteria that were laid down by the scriptures for the three fold anointing of Prophet, Priest and King. Jews were highly conscious of their origin from Abraham. "We are the children of Abraham" was the hallmark of the Jewish nation. Hence Matthew starts off with Abraham and traces the line to David. Here is the line of fourteen generations from Abraham to David.

Now Matthew gives a block of 14 generations from David to Captivity. We have these generations enumerated to us in 1 Chronicles 3:4-5 and 10-18

Here certainly there are discrepancies. So we need to do a little bit more research into other parts of the Bible. From David onwards we have the lineage of Kings of Judah. So there are secular sources and archealogical evidences available to us. We also can delve into secular history and give the period of their reign according to modern historical assessments. A brief summary of their reign is given below. The period of reign is only approximate within 10 years either way. The present calculation quoted below is based on the date of Babylonian captivity from secular sources. The calculations are made difficult because of the method of reckoning used by various countries. But that is not our issue here.

 

Now compare this with Matthews geneology.

 

Any one  can see that six names are missing from the official list.

Why did Matthew do that. Was it because he wanted to keep the list of dynasty into fourteen generations from Abraham to David and another fourteen generations from David to Captivity and another fourteen from Captivity to Jesus? This ruse would not have been acceptable to any Jew versed in scriptures. Surely Matthew would not try to do that trick and loose his credibility. Hence we should look for the reasons elsewhere which are deep rooted in the Jewish scriptures and traditions.

 

Let us look into the first three names.

 

I.1 Who was Amaziah?

 

2 Ki 8:25 In the twelfth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.

2 Ki 8:26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother's name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel.

 

Athalia was a grand daughter of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel who needs no special introduction to the Bible readers. These two names will cause a shudder through the spine of every Jew, because of their evil acts. According to Deut 5:9 and Ex. 34:7 and Num 14:18 God will punish the sins of the fathers upto the fourth generation.

Deu 5:9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

 

Thus the sins of Ahab and Jezebel was visited upto the fourth generation.

Ahab - Ahaziah - Joash - Amaziah - Uzziah

 

Deu 5:1 Moses summoned all Israel and said: Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them.

Deu 5:2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.

Deu 5:6 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Deu 5:7 "You shall have no other gods before me.

Deu 5:8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

Deu 5:9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

Deu 5:10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Deu 5:11 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

 

In Ex 34 we read

 

Exo 34:6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,

Exo 34:7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

 

Again in Numbers 14 we read this proclamation of the passing Lord before Moses:

 

Num 14:18 'The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.'

 

 

Thus because of the great iniquities of Ahab and Jezebel, the punishment was carried over through Athalia in unabated form. In the eyes of God these four generations were counted unworthy of the throne of David.

 

I.2 Coniah’s Curse

 

Now we turn to the last of the Kings of Judah who were deleted from the dynasty.

 

2 Chr 36:9 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD.

2 Chr 36:10 In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon, together with articles of value from the temple of the LORD, and he made Jehoiachin's uncle, Zedekiah, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

 

There is a slight problem here with regard to the age at which Jehoiachin started to reign. While 2 Chr. 36:9 quotes it as eight, 2 Ki. 24:8 puts it as eighteen.

 

2 Ki 24:8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother's name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem.

 

This is probably because of the inability to distinguish the slight variation of numbers 8 and 18 in the original. eighteen could have been more probable because he must have been married by then since 2 Ki. 24:15 mentions the king’s wives specifically. But he did not have any children at that time as they are not mentioned in the list of captives. He was probably impotent. Or was he 8 and had early marriage? This is unlikely as child marriage was unknown among the Jews.

So modern scholarship translates it as eighteen.

 

The prophecy against Jeconiah (Coniah) can be found in Jeremiah 22:24-30

 

Jer 22:24 "As surely as I live," declares the LORD, "even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off.

Jer 22:25 I will hand you over to those who seek your life, those you fear--to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Babylonians.

Jer 22:26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die.

Jer 22:27 You will never come back to the land you long to return to."

Jer 22:28 Is this man Jehoiachin a despised, broken pot, an object no one wants? Why will he and his children be hurled out, cast into a land they do not know?

Jer 22:29 O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD!

Jer 22:30 This is what the LORD says: "Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah."

Evidently Jesus could not be born in the lineage which was cut off by the Lord and be the King in the line of David. The lineage and Royal line ended with Jeconiah. The eighteen ( or is it eight? The documents are unclear here) year old Jeconiah was carried away to Babylon by Nebucdnezzar and put in the dungeon of Babylon.

 

2 Ki 24:15 Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. He also took from Jerusalem to Babylon the king's mother, his wives, his officials and the leading men of the land.

 

See also 2 Chr. 36:10; Est. 2:6; Jer. 21:20

 

He was in the prison for 37 years

 

2 Ki 25:27 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Evil-Merodach became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin from prison on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month.

2 Ki 25:28 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon.

2 Ki 25:29 So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king's table.

2 Ki 25:30 Day by day the king gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived.

 

At the end of this 37 years i.e. at the age probably of 55 years (or 45) he was released from the prison by Evil Merodach. We notice that Jehoiachin was in the dungeon all the days of his youth and came out at a very old age. He could not have had any children at least until 45, till he came out of the dungeons of Babylon. Yet we have a number of sons mentioned in Chronicles

 

1 Chr 3:16 The successors of Jehoiakim: Jehoiachin his son, and Zedekiah.

1 Chr 3:17 The descendants of Jehoiachin the captive: Shealtiel his son,

1 Chr 3:18 Malkiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama and Nedabiah.

 

How come this?

 

In order to understand this we need to look into the Jewish arrangement of maintaining the name of a family through levirate custom.

 

I.3 The Levirate Marriage System

 

The levirate system was a normal practice in most tribes and cultures from ancient times. The specific commandment for this is found in Deuteronomy.

 

Deu 25:5 If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband's brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her.

Deu 25:6 The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.

 

This was not a new law. Lord confirmed and accepted the local practice in this regard and validated it. The fact that this custom was prevalent can be found in the case of Judah’s son in Gen 38:8,11.

 

Gen 38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, "Lie with your brother's wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother."

Gen 38:9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother's wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother.

Gen 38:10 What he did was wicked in the Lord's sight; so he put him to death also.

Gen 38:11 Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Live as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up." For he thought, "He may die too, just like his brothers." So Tamar went to live in her father's house.

 

The concept of brother in this context does not necessarily be interpreted only as direct brother. From this comes the concept of Kinsman redeemer. This is shown in the story of Ruth (4:3-10) where Boaz is not the direct brother of Mahlon and Chillion, but a close relative.

 

This practice is still found in the Southern Sudan and other Jewish like cultures. In fact the deadman’s wife may take the nearest relative or if he refuses she may take anyone from the family or even from the tribe. The children born from such relations belong to her husband in name and in inheritance. These laws were made in order to protect the rights of the women. There has to be someone to take care of the widows and her rights to sexual satisfaction. In Sudan where polygamy is prevalent, the master of the house may have several wives, and some of them may be very young. These young women have their right of life and this is guaranteed through levirate system. In some cases the elder son is asked to take his father’s young widows as wives if the father’s brothers are old and unfit for sexual relations. This arrangement also makes sure that the property remain within the family and will not go out to others. The system of levirate was a very powerful method of maintaining the family heritage and property.

 

Under the circumstances connected with Jeconiah it is therefore legitimate and reasonable to assume that the children who are reckoned to be his are children out of the levirate system. This is to be assumed also on the basis of Jeremiah’s prophecy . We shall take up this again when we come to this in Luke’s genealogy.