The prophet Nathan told
David, by the word of the Lord, that a son of his house would rule on his
throne forever. The prophecy was long regarded as indicating that the Messiah
would spring from David’s seed.
Of course, the New Testament
writers agree with one voice that Jesus was not the genetic son of Joseph: he
was begotten by the Holy Spirit in Mary the virgin. Nonetheless, we meet the
quandary of Matthew and Luke presenting us with two different lines of descent
from David to Joseph. And such Bible puzzles always conceal mysteries.
Matthew traces the line of
descent through Solomon; Luke traces it through another son, Nathan (2 Sam.
5.14; 1 Chr. 3.5). The two divergent lines converge in Shealtiel and
Zerubbabel. Then they diverge again. And one must ask how two different
fathers—Jeconiah and Neri—can beget the same son, Shealtiel (Matt.
1.12–13; Luke 3.27).
The likely explanation is as
follows. King Jeconiah, in accord with Jeremiah’s curse (Jer. 22.28–30), was
childless. He married the widow of Neri, of the house of Nathan, and adopted
her sons, who were listed as Jeconiah’s sons in the Davidic succession (1 Chr.
3.17–18). Her firstborn, Shealtiel, the genetic son of Neri, became the lawful
heir to David’s throne by his adoptive father Jeconiah.
Next, we must explain why
Zerubbabel is sometimes called the son of Shealtiel (Hag. 1.1, 12, 14; 2.2,
23; Ezra 3.2, 8; 5.2; Neh. 12.1) and sometimes of Shealtiel’s brother,
Pedaiah (1 Chr. 3.17–19). This time the explanation is linked with the
Israelite practice of levirate (brother-in-law) marriage. Because Shealtiel,
like his father, died without issue, his brother Pedaiah married his widow to
beget an heir to the throne, who was duly enscribed in the
royal chronicles as the son of Shealtiel.
Thus Matthew’s genealogy
traces the line of kingship; Luke’s traces the line of genetic descent. And
Jesus, in being adopted by Joseph, inherits both lines of descent from David.
Of course, that is not the
end of the questions about Matthew’s and Luke’s genealogies. Why do they list
two sons of Zerubabel—Abiud and Rhesa—not mentioned in the Bible (1 Chr.
3.19–20)? Do the genealogies converge again in Matthan/Matthat (Matt. 1.15;
Luke 3.24)? And if so how? There are explanations to these questions too. But I
have exceeded my word-limit.
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