One of my readers wrote to me regarding the genealogy of Eashoa (Jesus), "I am wondering if you have any insight on the genealogy of Eashoa. As you probably know, Matt 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38 both seem to state a completely different genealogy of the same man Joseph. On the one side, there are only 13 generations and not the 14 that there are supposed to be. This is not peculiar to your book but also true in the KJV etc. Any background ideas on how this could be?"
First, the question regarding the thirteen names in Matthew after the Babylonian Captivity. As Jechoniah was carried off to Babylon, that produced a new generation that also began with Jechoniah (see Jeremiah), so Jechoniah has to be counted again. That makes fourteen generations. So you might say, Jechoniah was the father of two generations, the second one was after the Captivity.
Second, regarding the differences between Matthew and Luke. The genealogies in Matthew are regarding the first nature of Eashoa, the Divine nature. The fourteen generations in Matthew are the genealogy of Eashoa. They start with Abraham, because they are regarding the faith. In other words, they are spiritual. The genealogies in Luke are through Joseph. They start with Adam. In other words, they are regarding the flesh. The genealogies in Luke are regarding the second nature of Eashoa, the human nature. He had two natures. He was both the Father and the Son. To read more about this, click here.
Dec. 24, 2011
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