The Genealogies of Jesus

by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.

The Gospel Texts:

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke contain two significantly different genealogies of Jesus:

Matthew 1:1-17 (NRSV)

¹ The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
² Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
³ Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram,
⁴ Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,
⁵ Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse,
⁶ Jesse the father of David the king. David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
⁷ Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph.
⁸ Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah.
⁹ Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
¹⁰ Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah.
¹¹ Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.
¹² After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
¹³ Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor,
¹⁴ Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud,
¹⁵ Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob,
¹⁶ Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah.
¹⁷ Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations;
from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;
from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

Compare Ruth 4:18-22 (containing the same names as in Matthew 1:3b-6a):

¹⁸ Now these are the descendants of Perez: Perez became the father of Hezron,
¹⁹ Hezron of Ram, Ram of Amminadab, ²⁰ Amminadab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Salmon,
²¹ Salmon of Boaz, Boaz of Obed, ²² Obed of Jesse, and Jesse of David.

Luke 3:23-38 (NRSV)

²³ When Jesus began his ministry he was about thirty years of age. He was the son (as was thought) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,
²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,
²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda,
²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,
²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,
²⁹ the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,
³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,
³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,
³² the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon,
³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,
³⁴ the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,
³⁶ the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,
³⁸ the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Comparative Analysis:

Matthew 1:1-17	Luke 3:23-38
The genealogy of Jesus is at the very beginning of Matthew's Gospel, even before the infancy narrative.	The genealogy of Jesus is not part of the infancy narrative, but comes just after his baptism and before his temptation in the wilderness.
A short introduction (v. 1) states the overall purpose of the genealogy: Jesus is called "Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" - titles which stress Jesus' royal Jewish heritage.	A brief introduction mentions Jesus' approximate age (v. 23a); the genealogy's purpose is implied by its placement just after the voice from heaven had declared: "You are my Son, the Beloved" (v. 22b) - which stresses Jesus' divine sonship.
The body of the genealogy (vv. 2-16) goes in chronological order.	The body of the genealogy (vv. 23b-38) goes in reverse chronological order.
It begins with Abraham and goes down to Joseph and Mary, of whom Jesus was born.	It begins with Jesus, and goes up through David and Abraham, all the way to Adam and God!
It traces Jesus' Davidic ancestry through David's son Solomon, who was also a king.	It traces Jesus' Davidic ancestry through the prophet Nathan (cf. 2 Sam 7:2).
In addition to naming the fathers and sons, Matthew also includes some "extra information": three sets of brothers, five mothers, and several political circumstances (David "the king"; and the "Babylonian exile")	Luke only lists the names of the men in the direct line from Jesus up to Adam (and God), without mentioning any mothers or extra information.
The genealogy's conclusion (v. 17) summarizes three sections of fourteen generations each, organized around three phases of the Davidic monarchy. First section: the period from Abraham to King David (the establishment of the Davidic Monarchy). Second section: all the Davidic kings up to the Babylonian Exile (the destruction of the Davidic Monarchy). Third section: leads to Jesus, who is proclaimed as the Messiah (the restoration of the Davidic Monarchy).	Luke's genealogy simply ends, without any summary conclusion. The names are not explicitly subdivided into sections; but... Most of the names from Joseph to David are different from the ones in Matthew's genealogy. Most (but not all!) of the names from David to Abraham are identical to Matthew's version. The names from Abraham to Adam are not contained in Matthew.
The genealogy contains only a total of 41 generations from Abraham to Jesus, inclusive.	The genealogy contains a total of 56 generations from Abraham to Jesus, inclusive; and another 20 generations all the way back to Adam, for a grand total of 76 generations.
In Hebrew gematria (a type of numerology very popular in ancient Judaism) the value of David's name, obtained by summing the value of its three consonants, is fourteen (dalet=4, vav=6; thus D+V+D = 4+6+4).	Luke's genealogy makes no use of Hebrew gematria.
The ten names from Perez down to David (Matt 1:3b-6a) are the same as in Ruth 4:18-22.	The twenty-one names from Abraham up to Adam (Luke 3:34-38) are mostly the same as in Genesis 5:1-32 and 11:10-26.

Genealogies in the Old Testament:

Genesis 4:17-22 (descendants of Cain, down to Tubalcain)
Genesis 5:1-32 (descendants of Adam, down to Noah's three sons)
Genesis 7:6 (Noah’s age at the Flood); 9:28-29 (end of Noah’s life)
Genesis 10:1-32 (descendants of Noah; the “Table of Nations”)
Genesis 11:10-26 (descendants of Shem, down to Abram and his brothers)
Genesis 25:12-16 (twelve sons of Ishmael: the “Ishmaelites”)
Genesis 35:22b-26 (twelve sons of Jacob: the “Israelites”)
Genesis 36:1-43 (descendants of Esau: the “Edomites”)
Genesis 46:8-27 (Jacob’s sons and grandsons in Egypt)
Exodus 6:14-27 (descendants of Reuben, Simeon, and esp. Levi, the priestly tribe, down to Moses, Aaron, and Phineas)
Numbers 3:1-2 (sons of Aaron; first generations of priests)
Numbers 3:17-20 (sons of Levi; main classes of Levites)
Ruth 4:18-22 (descendants of Perez, down to David)
1 Chronicles 1:1—9:4 (from Adam to the descendents of Saul)

Closer Comparison of Matthew and Luke:

Matthew 1:1-17	*Luke 3:23-38 (in REVERSE order)*
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.	When Jesus began his ministry he was about thirty years of age. He was the son (as was thought) of…
.	38 God, Adam, Seth, Enos 37 Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah 36 Lamech, Noah, Shem, Arphaxad, Cainan 35 Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug 34 Nahor, Terah, Abraham
2 Abraham became the father of Isaac,	34b Isaac
Isaac the father of Jacob,	34a Jacob
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.	33f Judah
3 Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar.	33e Perez
Perez became the father of Hezron,	33d Hezron
Hezron the father of Ram,	33c Arni, 33b Admin
4 Ram the father of Amminadab.	33a Amminadab
Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,	32e Nahshon
Nahshon the father of Salmon,	32d Sala
5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab.	32c Boaz
Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth.	32b Obed
Obed became the father of Jesse,	32a Jesse
6 Jesse the father of David the king.	31e David
David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.	31d Nathan
7 Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,	31c Mattatha
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,	31b Menna
Abijah the father of Asaph.	31a Melea
8 Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,	30e Eliakim
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,	30d Jonam
Joram the father of Uzziah.	30c Joseph
9 Uzziah became the father of Jotham,	30b Judah
Jotham the father of Ahaz,	30a Simeon; 29e Levi
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.	29d Matthat; 29c Jorim
10 Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,	29b Eliezer; 29a Joshua
Manasseh the father of Amos,	28e Er; 28d Elmadam
Amos the father of Josiah.	28c Cosam; 28b Addi
11 Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.	28a Melchi; 27e Neri
12 After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,	27d Shealtiel
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,	27c Zerubbabel
13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.	27b Rhesa; 27a Joanan
Abiud became the father of Eliakim,	26e Joda; 26d Josech
Eliakim the father of Azor,	26c Semein; 26b Mattathias
14 Azor the father of Zadok.	26a Maath; 25e Naggai
Zadok became the father of Achim,	25d Esli; 25c Nahum
Achim the father of Eliud,	25b Amos; 25a Mattathias
15 Eliud the father of Eleazar.	24e Joseph; 24d Jannai
Eleazar became the father of Matthan,	24c Melchi; 24b Levi
Matthan the father of Jacob,	24a Matthat; 23c Heli
16 Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.	23b Joseph
Of her was born Jesus* who is called the Messiah*.	23a Jesus

OT Sources for the Genealogy from Adam to Abraham, in Luke's Version:

Luke 3:34-38	Genesis 5:1-32	Genesis 11:10-26	1 Chron 1:1-4, 24-27
38c Adam	1-5 Adam	.	1a Adam
38b Seth	3-8 Seth	.	1b Seth
38a Enos	6-11 Enosh	.	1c Enosh
37e Cainan	9-14 Kenan	.	2a Kenan
37d Mahalaleel	12-17 Mahalalel	.	2b Mahalalel
37c Jared	15-20 Jared	.	2c Jared
37b Enoch	18-24 Enoch	.	3a Enoch
37a Methuselah	21-27 Methuselah	.	3b Methuselah
36e Lamech	25-31 Lamech	.	3c Lamech
36d Noah	28-32 Noah	.	4a Noah
36c Shem	32 Shem, Ham, Japheth	10-11 Shem	4bcd Shem, Ham, Japheth
36b Arphaxad	.	10-13 Arpachshad	24ab Shem, Arpachshad
36a Cainan	.	[missing]	[missing]
35e Shelah	.	12-15 Shelah	24c Shelah
35d Eber	.	14-17 Eber	25a Eber
35c Peleg	.	16-19 Peleg	25b Peleg
35b Reu	.	18-21 Reu	25c Reu
35a Serug	.	20-23 Serug	26a Serug
34e Nahor	.	22-25 Nahor	26b Nahor
34d Terah	.	24-26 Terah	26c Terah
34c Abraham	.	26 Abram, Nahor, Haran	27 Abram / Abraham

Stories about the Four Mothers included in Matthew's Version:

Tamar - a daughter-in-law of Judah; wife of Judah's son Er (Genesis 38:1-30; Ruth 4:12; 1 Chron 2:4)
Rahab - a prostitute in Jericho (Joshua 2:1-21; 6:17-25; cf. Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25)
Ruth - a widow from Moab, whose two sons had married Israelite women (Ruth 1:1–4:22)
Wife of Uriah - Bathsheba, who committed adultery with King David (2 Samuel 11:1–12:25; 1 Kings 15:5)