Atlanta Bible Students

The Book of Matthew

Chapter 1

[1]The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Verse 1  Expanded Bible Comments

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
QuestionAnswer
What is the focus of this book? The genealogy of Jesus. Another way of putting it would be to say that Jesus is legally the Messiah (the Christ).
Since Jesus is the son of God, did it really matter what his earthly ancestry was? Yes. It was especially important to the Jews for they were under the Law Covenant. - Rom. 10:4,5
This verse says that Jesus was "the son of David, the son of Abraham." How can this be, was he somehow son of both men? Just what does this mean? Clearly the thought here is "the descendent of David, the descendent of Abraham."

[2]Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judah and his brethren; [3]And Judah begat Pharez and Zarah of Tamar; and Pharez begat Hezron; and Hezron begat Ram; [4]And Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshom; and Nahshom begat Salmon; [5]And Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab; and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; [6]And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah; [7]And Solomon begat Rehoboam; and Rehoboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; [8]And Asa begat Jehoshaphat; and Jehoshaphat begat Jehoram; and Jehoram begat Uzziah; [9]And Uzziah begat Jotham; and Jotham begat Ahaz; and Ahaz begat Hezekiah; [10]And Hezekiah begat Manasseh; and Manasseh begat Amon; and Amon begat Josiah; [11]And Josiah begat Jehoiachin and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:

Verse 2  Expanded Bible Comments

Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judah and his brethren;
QuestionAnswer
Where do we find this recorded? Abraham begat Isaac - Gen. 21:2-3
Isaac begat Jacob - Gen. 25:21-26
Jacob begat Judah - Gen. 35:22-23

Verse 3  Expanded Bible Comments

And Judah begat Pharez and Zarah of Tamar; and Pharez begat Hezron; and Hezron begat Ram;
QuestionAnswer
Where do we find this recorded? Judah begat Pharez - Ruth 4:12; Gen. 46:12; 1 Chr. 2:4; 4:1; 9:4
Pharez begat Hezron - Gen. 46:12; Num. 26:21; Ruth 4:18; 1 Chr. 2:5; 4:1
Hezron begat Ram - Ruth 4:19; 1 Chr. 2:9; 2:25

Verse 4  Expanded Bible Comments

And Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshom; and Nahshom begat Salmon;
QuestionAnswer
Where do we find this recorded? Ram begat Amminadab - Ruth 4:19; 1 Chr. 2:10
Amminadab begat Nahshom - Num. 1:7; 2:3; 7:12; 7:17; 10:14; Ruth 4:20; 1 Chr. 2:10
Nahshom begat Salmon - Ruth 4:20; Luke 3:32

Verse 5  Expanded Bible Comments

And Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab; and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
QuestionAnswer
Where do we find this recorded? Salmon begat Boaz - Ruth 4:21; Luke 3:32
Boaz begat Obed - Ruth 4:21; Luke 3:32
Obed begat Jesse - Ruth 4:22; Luke 3:32

Verse 6  Expanded Bible Comments

And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah;
QuestionAnswer
Where do we find this recorded? Jesse begat David - Ruth 4:22; 1 Sam. 16:11,13,19,20
David begat Solomon - 2 Sam. 12:24

Verse 7  Expanded Bible Comments

And Solomon begat Rehoboam; and Rehoboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;
QuestionAnswer
Where do we find this recorded? Solomon begat Rehoboam - 1 Kings 11:43
Rehoboam begat Abia - 1 Chr. 3:10
Abia begat Asa - 1 Chr. 3:10

Verse 8  Expanded Bible Comments

And Asa begat Jehoshaphat; and Jehoshaphat begat Jehoram; and Jehoram begat Uzziah;
QuestionAnswer
Where do we find this recorded? Asa begat Jehoshaphat - 1 Kings 15:24; 1 Kings 22:41; 1 Chr. 3:10
Jehoshaphat begat Jehoram - 1 Kings 22:50; 2 Kings 1:17; 8:16; 2 Chr. 21:1
Jehoram begat Uzziah - Consider the following from "Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible"
In the pedigree of the kings of Judah, between Joram and Ozias (Matt. 1:8), there are three left out, namely, Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah; and therefore when it is said, Joram begat Ozias, it is meant, according to the usage of the Hebrew tongue, that Ozias was lineally descended from him, as it is said to Hezekiah that the sons which he should beget should be carried to Babylon, whereas they were removed several generations from him. It was not through mistake or forgetfulness that these three were omitted, but, probably, they were omitted in the genealogical tables that the evangelist consulted, which yet were admitted as authentic. Some give this reason for it: - It being Matthew's design, for the sake of memory, to reduce the number of Christ's ancestors to three fourteens, it was requisite that in this period three should be left out, and none more fit than they who were the immediate progeny of cursed Athaliah, who introduced the idolatry of Ahab into the house of David, for which this brand is set upon the family and the iniquity thus visited to the third and fourth generation. Two of these three were apostates; and such God commonly sets a mark of his displeasure upon in this world: they all three had their heads brought to the grave with blood.

Verse 9  Expanded Bible Comments

And Uzziah begat Jotham; and Jotham begat Ahaz; and Ahaz begat Hezekiah;
QuestionAnswer
Where do we find this recorded? Uzziah begat Jotham - 2 Kings 15:30; 2 Kings 15:32; 2 Chron. 26:21; 2 Chron. 26:23; Isa 7:1
Jotham begat Ahaz - 2 Kings 15:38; 2 Kings 16:1; 2 Chron. 27:9; Isa 7:1
Ahaz begat Hezekiah - 2 Kings 16:20; 2 Kings 18:1; 1 Chron. 3:13; 2 Chron. 28:27

Verse 10  Expanded Bible Comments

And Hezekiah begat Manasseh; and Manasseh begat Amon; and Amon begat Josiah;
QuestionAnswer
Where do we find this recorded? Hezekiah begat Manasseh - 2 Kings 20:21; 1 Chron. 3:13; 2 Chron. 32:33; Jer. 15:4
Manasseh begat Amon - 2 Kings 21:18; 2 Chron. 33:20; 2 Chron. 33:22; 2 Chron. 33:23
Amon begat Josiah - 2 Kings 21:24; 1 Chron. 3:14; 2 Chron. 33:25; Jer. 1:2; Jer. 25:3; Zeph. 1:1

Verse 11  Expanded Bible Comments

And Josiah begat Jehoiachin and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:
QuestionAnswer
Where do we find this recorded? Josiah begat Jehoiachin - 1 Chr. 3:15
The following is taken from Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible
-Please note: his chronology dates are not correct-
Matthew 1:11 Josias begat Jechonias, etc. - There are three considerable difficulties in this verse.
1. Josias was not the father of Jechonias; he was only the grandfather of that prince: 1 Chron. 3:14-16.
2. Jechonias had no brethren; at least, none are on record.
3. Josias died 20 years before the Babylonish captivity took place, and therefore Jechonias and his brethren could not have been begotten about the time they were carried away to Babylon.
To this may be added a fourth difficulty, viz. there are only thirteen in this 2nd class of generations; or forty-one, instead of forty-two, in the whole. But all these difficulties disappear, by adopting a reading found in many MSS.
Ιωσιας δε εγεννησε τον Ιωακειμ· Ιωακειμ δε εγεννησε τον Ιεχονιαν.
And Josias begat Jehoiakim, or Joakim, and Joakim begat Jechonias. For this reading, see the authorities in Griesbach. Josiah was the immediate father of Jehoiakim (called also Eliakeim and Joakim) and his brethren, who were Johanan, Zedekiah, and Shallum: see 1 Chron. 3:15. Joakim was the father of Joachin or Jechonias, about the time of the first Babylonish captivity: for we may reckon three Babylonish captivities. The first happened in the fourth year of Joakim, son of Josiah, about A. M. 3398. In this year, Nebuchadnezzar, having taken Jerusalem, led a great number of captives to Babylon. The second captivity happened under Jechoniah, son of Joakim; who, having reigned three months, was taken prisoner in 3405, and was carried to Babylon, with a great number of the Jewish nobility. The third captivity took place under Zedekiah, A. M. 3416. And thus, says Calmet, Matt. 1:11 should be read: Josias begat Joakim and his brethren: and Joakim begat Jechonias about the time of the first Babylonish captivity; and Jechonias begat Salathiel, after they were brought to Babylon. Thus, with the necessary addition of Joakim, the three classes, each containing fourteen generations, are complete. And to make this the more evident, I shall set down each of these three generations in a separate column, with the additional Joakim, that the reader may have them all at one view.

1 Abraham 1 Solomon 1 Jechonias
2 Isaac 2 Rehoboam 2 Salathiel
3 Jacob 3 Abia 3 Zorobabel
4 Judah 4 Asa 4 Abiud
5 Pharez 5 Josaphat 5 Eliakim
6 Esrom 6 Joram 6 Azor
7 Aram 7 Ozias 7 Sadoc
8 Aminadab 8 Joatham 8 Achim
9 Naason 9 Achaz 9 Eliud
10 Salmon 10 Ezekias 10 Eleazar
11 Booz 11 Manasses 11 Matthan
12 Obed 12 Amon 12 Jacob
13 Jesse 13 Josias 13 Joseph
14 David 14 Joachim 14 Jesus

In all forty-two generations.

[12]And after they were brought to Babylon, Jehoiachin begat Shealtiel; and Shealtiel begat Zerubbabel; [13]And Zerubbabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; [14]And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; [15]And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; [16]And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

[17] So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

Verse 12  Expanded Bible Comments

And after they were brought to Babylon, Jehoiachin begat Shealtiel; and Shealtiel begat Zerubbabel;
QuestionAnswer
Where do we find this recorded? Jehoiachin begat Shealtiel - We could find no record in the Old Testament, only here.
Shealtiel begat Zerubbabel - Ezra 3:2; Ezra 3:8; Ezra 5:2; Neh. 12:1; Hag. 1:1; Hag. 1:12; Hag. 1:14; Hag. 2:2; Hag. 2:23

Verse 13  Expanded Bible Comments

And Zerubbabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;
QuestionAnswer
Where do we find this recorded? From this point forward there is no record in the Old Testament. The reason is that we have now gone beyond the time of the Old Testament records. The last one we could verify came from the time of Ezra, after the Babylonian captivity. The temple records may still have been available, but these were destroyed in 70 A.D.
This is the only place where we have this portion of our Lord's genealogy.

Verse 14  Expanded Bible Comments

And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;
QuestionAnswer
Where do we find this recorded? This is the only place where we have this portion of our Lord's genealogy.

Verse 15  Expanded Bible Comments

And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;
QuestionAnswer
Where do we find this recorded? This is the only place where we have this portion of our Lord's genealogy

Verse 16  Expanded Bible Comments

And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
QuestionAnswer
Where do we find this recorded? This is the only place where we have this portion of our Lord's genealogy

Verse 17  Expanded Bible Comments

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
QuestionAnswer
How many generations from Abraham to David? 14
How many generations from David to the carrying away into Babylon? 14
How many generations from the carrying away into Babylon to Christ? 14
What are the mathematical odds of this taking place? 1 in 343. If, as we have seen might be the case, the number of generations was manipulated, then there are no odds on that.
Why is this recorded? To show to, the Jews especially, that Jesus was indeed in the genealogical line from which the promised Messiah would come.
Of what possible interest is this to us? See numerical claims listed below.

Numerical claims
Found on the web

Please note that in the following claims, everything is a multiple of SEVEN (7).
Look at the first 17 verses of the New Testament (The Gospel of Matthew) which deals with a single principal subject: the genealogy of Jesus Christ. It contains 72 Greek vocabulary words in these initial 17 verses. (*note; The verse divisions are man's allocation for convenience, added in the thirteenth-century A.D.). We find the following Heptadic (7) structure throughout these original Greek verses.

1. The number of words which are nouns is exactly 56, or 7 x 8.

2. The Greek word 'the' occurs most frequently in the passage: exactly 56 times,or 7 x 8.

3. Also, the number of different forms in which the article 'the' occurs is exactly 7.

4. There are two main sections in the passage: verse 1-11 and 12-17. In the first main section, the number of Greek vocabulary words used is 49, or 7 x 7.

5. Of these 49 words, The number of those beginning with a vowel is 28, or 7 x 4.

6. The number of words beginning with a consonant is 21, or 7 x 3.

7. The total number of letters in these 49 words is exactly 266, or 7 x 38-exactly.

8. The numbers of vowels among these 266 letters is 140, or 7 x 20.

9. The number of consonants is 126, or 7 x 18-exactly.

10. Of these 49 words, the number of words which occur more than once is 35, or 7 x 5.

11. The number of words occurring only once is 14, or 7 x 2.

12. The number of words which occur in only one form is exactly 42, or 7 x 6.

13. The number of words appearing in more than one form is also 7.

14. The number of 49 Greek vocabulary words which are nouns is 42, or 7 x 6.

15. The number of words which are not nouns is 7.

16. Of the nouns, 35 are proper names, or 7 x 5.

17. These 35 nouns are used 63 times, or 7 x 9.

18. The number of male names is 28, or 7 x 4.

19. These male names occur 56 times or 7 x 8.

20. The number which are not male names is 7.

21. Three women are mentioned-Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth. The number of Greek letters in these three names is 14, or 7 x 2.

22. The number of compound nouns is 7.

23. The number of Greek letters in these 7 nouns is 49, or 7 x 7.

24. Only one city is named in this passage, Babylon, which in Greek contains exactly 7 letters.

If the numerical claims above are true, then we can calculate the mathematical odds on this occurring by chance in the following manner:

Since each claim is concerned with a multiple of seven, the odds of any one claim being true is 1 out of 7.

Of the 24 claims listed, 5 cancel each other out. That is, if the one is true then the other must also be true. Consider the following example:
Items 4 states that in the first section of this passage (verses 1-11) there are 49 unique Greek vocabulary words.

Item 5 then says "Of these 49 words, The number of those beginning with a vowel is 28, or 7 x 4."

Item 6 then says: "The number of words beginning with a consonant is 21, or 7 x 3."

Since a word must begin with either a vowel or a consonant, if one of these claims is true then the next claim must also be true. That is to say it is mathematically required to be true.

This is an example of two claims that really amount to a single claim.
Now it becomes a simple mathematical calculation to figure the probability of this combination being by chance.

Since we are dealing with multiples of seven, the odds of any one item being by chance is 1 out of 7.

For two to be true it is one out of 49 (7 to the power of 2).

Since there are 19 unique sevens in the passage under consideration (24 - 5 = 19) the result is 7 to the 19th power.

To state this number verbal terms, the odds of this being by chance is: one in 11 quadrillion, 398 trillion, 895 billion, 185 million, 373 thousand, 143.

To put this in perspective, imagine a lottery where every individual of the 7 billion plus people on earth had one random number ticket. The odds of ANY person on earth winning that lottery is greater than 1,628,000 to 1.

What we note about the above is that this does not teach us anything about the doctrine of Christ. The only thing this does is to help authenticate that this is indeed the Word of God and not something invented by man.

Verse 18  Expanded Bible Comments

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
The following is a composite translation combining language from Weymouth New Testament and The Modern King James Version.
The circumstances of the birth of Jesus Christ were these. After his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
QuestionAnswer
"Mary was espoused to Joseph." What does that mean? In the Jewish arrangement it meant they were married but not yet living together as man and wife.
How does this differ from today? In more modern terms it means they were engaged to be married and living apart.
Who was the father of Mary's child? As far as the legal records were concerned, to the Jews it would appear that Joseph was the father. The truth is that God was the father.

Verse 19  Expanded Bible Comments

Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
QuestionAnswer
If they were merely 'betrothed,' why is Joseph described as being her husband? What we would call the engagement was, according to the Jewish arrangement, the marriage.
Under what circumstances would a man make 'a public example' out of his wife? If she had committed adultery.
What does it mean that Joseph "was minded to put her away privily?" It means that Joseph considered divorcing her but doing it privately, in a manner that did not bring upon her public humiliation.

Verse 20  Expanded Bible Comments

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
QuestionAnswer
What did the angel tell Joseph in his dream? That Mary had not been unfaithful to him but this pregnancy was by the special power of God.
Why would Joseph fear to take Mary his wife? Public humiliation, scorning.
It might also have been the thought that if she had been unfaithful at this point, she might be again in the future and that would bring a lot of trouble into the family.
By what manner did the angel indicate it was that Mary had been found to be with child? In a dream.
Why did the angel address Joseph as "thou son of David?" Likely this was to remind him that the promised Messiah was to come from the line of David and that he himself was of that line. It would also imply that Joseph had faith in that promise.

Verse 21  Expanded Bible Comments

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
QuestionAnswer
Why did the angel say to call the son's name Jesus? See the answer to the next question.
What is the meaning of that name?

[22] Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

[23] Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. [24] Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: [25] And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Verses 22, 23  Expanded Bible Comments

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
QuestionAnswer
Why was this done? To fulfill the prophecy of Isa. 7:14. To insure that there was no impurity from the fallen Adamic stock.
What prophet is here being spoken of? Isa. 7:14
What is the meaning of Emmanuel? God is with us.
Strong's G1694
ἐμβλέπω
Emmanouēl
em-man-oo-ale'
Of Hebrew origin [H6005]; God with us; Emmanuel, a name of Christ: - Emmanuel.

Strong's H6005
עמּנוּאל
im-maw-noo-ale'
From H5973 and H410 with suffix pronoun inserted; with us (is) God; Immanuel, a name of Isaiah's son: - Immanuel.

Verse 24  Expanded Bible Comments

Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
QuestionAnswer
What did Joseph do? Exactly what the angel told him to do.

Verse 25  Expanded Bible Comments

And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
QuestionAnswer
What name did they give their son? Jesus.

Index     Chapter 2