The Genealogy of Yeshua

Matthew Chapter 1 and Luke Chapter 3 – johns journal notes

In the New Testament, the Genealogy of Yeshua is shown in two places; Matthew Chapter 1 and in Luke Chapter 3. Some teach that both Matthew and Luke’ accounts are showing that Yeshua came through Joseph. Others teach that Yeshua in Matthew’s account is through Joseph and in Luke’s account is through Mary, when in fact Luke’s account doesn’t even mention Mary.

If these teachings are true, then what about the following questions:

  • Why are there only 13, really 12 generations listed from the Captivity of Babylon to Yeshua, the 3rd series in Matthew’s account? That’s how many generations it would be if it is speaking of Joseph. But doesn’t Matthew clearly say there should be 14 generations?
  • Why does Luke list 20 generations in the first series, 14 in the second series, 20 in the third series and 22 in the fourth series? If this is the same Joseph as in Matthew’s account, shouldn’t there be 14 generations for each series in Luke account as well?
  • If both accounts are showing the line through Joseph, why do the lineages of Joseph, “the husband of Mary”, almost completely differ in the two accounts?
  • Who is the father of Joseph? Is it Jacob in (Matthew’s account) or Heli from (Luke’s account) or did Joseph have two fathers?
  • If both Matthew and Luke give the genealogy by way of Joseph, one through the line of Solomon, the other through the line of Nathan – how can the lines converge on Joseph? How can Joseph claim descent from King David, through both Nathan and Solomon?
  • If Joseph is both accounts, how can Yeshua be the Son of David, if Mary is not a daughter of David?
  • Who is the biological parent? Is it Joseph or Mary?
  • Why is there a need to show the “step” parent of Yeshua?
  • Why does Matthew’s account list 5 Women, including Mary and Luke’s account lists zero?

Things to Pray over:

  • Why are there only 13, really 12 generations listed from the Captivity of Babylon to Yeshua in Matthew’s account? That’s how many it is if its speaking of Joseph. Doesn’t Matthew say there should be 14 generations in each series?

First Gen  

Second Gen 

Third Gen

1. Abraham   

1. Solomon 

1. Salathiel

2. Isaac    

2. Roboam  

2. Zerubabel

3. Jacob       

3. Abia  

3. Abiud

4. Judas  

4. Asa   

4. Eliachim

5. Phares 

5. Josaphat 

5. Azor

6. Esron  

6. Joram  

6. Sadoe

7. Aram  

7. Ozias  

7. Achim

8. Aminadab  

8. Joatham

8. Eliud

9. Naasson   

9. Achaz

9. Eleazar

10. Salmon 

10. Ezechias

10. Mathan

11. Booz     

11. Manasses

11. Jacob (the father of Joseph, husband of Mary???)

12. Obed       

12. Amon

12. Joseph (if the verse is “husband” of Mary)

13. Jesse    

13. Josias

13. Yeshua

14. David    

14. Jechonias

 

If Matthew’s account is the line through Joseph, then the line ends with Joseph. Yeshua was not by “the seed” of man (Joseph). There is no need to mention the husband of Mary, “Joseph” in this context. Why you ask? Because Matthew’s account is showing the line through Mary, the biological mother of Yeshua.

The fact is, Luke’s account that is showing the lineage of Joseph back to King David, and further. Jewish leaders link the genealogy to the Father or closest male guardian, not to the Mother. Which makes it more interesting that Matthew did so.

Something seems to be out of place. Let’s dig deeper.

Matthews account reads:
Matthew 1:16 – Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Yeshua was born, who is called the Messiah.

If this is case, then the line ends with Joseph, the step-father of Yeshua. It doesn’t matter who else you put as 13 and 14, it stops at Joseph. So question? As meticulous as Matthew is with his entire geological breakdown of Yeshua, how can we be sure that Matthew is pointing to step-father Joseph and not someone else within the lineage also named Joseph? Let’s look further…

What if Matthews account was as follows:
Matthew 1:16 – Jacob was the father of Joseph, the father of Mary, by whom Yeshua was born, who is called the Messiah.

Now that makes more sense.

Further I feel its worth mentioning that term “husband”, is not mentioned by Matthew in verses 1-15. It only shows up in verse 16, stating Joseph the husband, but only three verses later, verse 19 reads: “And Joseph her husband, again, Why? Why would it be necessary to say, “her husband” in verse 19 if verse 16 just clarified that as – “Joseph the husband.”

It makes no sense. If verse 16 “husband” were in fact correct, then verse 19 “husband” would not be needed at all. It’s redundant. Matthew was clearly distinguishing between “two” different Josephs, not one single — Joseph Mary’s father and then Joseph Mary’s husband.

Let’s look again within the full context of text from verses 16-25:
16 Jacob was the father of Joseph the father of Mary, by whom Yeshua was born, who is called the Messiah. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations. 18 Now the birth of Yeshua the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Yeshua, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.” 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took {Mary} as his wife, 25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Yeshua.

Verse 16: Context showing “Genealogy” should show the father. [1st Joseph]
Verse 18: Context showing “engaged to”, show’s betrothed to Joseph [2nd Joseph]
Verse 19: Context showing “Marriage”, show’s Joseph her husband [2nd Joseph]
If verse 19 did not read, Joseph her husband, being a righteous man – you would not know which Joseph was the righteous man not wanting to disgrace her.

So you ask, then how is it father and not husband?
The Hebrew Dialect of Aramaic, was the language spoken in the region, during the time of Yeshua. In scripture, the transliterated Greek word used for Husband is “Aner” (man, husband). However in the Aramaic, the word would be “Gabra” and also has multiple meanings. Depending on the context, it can mean “man”, “husband”, “guardian” or “father”. The Greek perfectly picks up the context in verse 19, but the transliteration from Hebrew to Greek is missed in verse 16.

Some Bible verses showing the Hebrew Dialect or Aramaic language spoken by Jews, Yeshua, Paul and a multitude in the New Testament are:

Hebrew:
KJV, NKJV, ASV: Luk 23:38, Jhn 5:2, Act 21:40, 22:2, 26:14, Rev 9:11, 16:16

Aramaic:
NLT: Jhn 5:2, 19:13 19:17, 19:20, 20:16, Act 21:40, 22:2 26:14

Hebrew Dialect:
NASB: Act 21:40, 22:2, 26:14

Sample: Acts 26:12-15 NLT:
12 “One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests. 13 About noon, Your Majesty, as I was on the road, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions. 14 We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will.’ 15 “‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked. “And the Lord replied, ‘I am Yeshua, the one you are persecuting.

More to Pray over:

Also, by mentioning the five women, Tamar, Ruth, Rahab, Bathsheba (2Sam 11:3) and Mary, the mother of Yeshua — Matthew’s genealogy account is unusual compared to those of the time, where women were not generally included at all; for example, the genealogy of Luke does not mention any women (not even Mary). Again Matthew is showing the line of Yeshua through Mary, his biological Mother, and not Joseph, His stepfather. Also, by listing the previous four women, it sets the stage to show Mary.

(Yeshua), before even taking His first breath in the flesh, clearly takes His first shot, against the tide of pharisaical teaching, by showing the importance of women.

Yahweh elevates women to a higher level then man does or did.

The Genealogy of Yeshua listed by Matthew is 14 Gen from Abraham to David, 14 Gen from Solomon to Jechonias and 14 Gen from Salathiel to Yeshua. Remember, Yeshua came by way of Mary and the Holy Spirit, not man (Joseph); the bloodline is through Mary.

Here’s the only way to get 14 gen in the Third:

First Gen  

Second Gen 

Third Gen

1. Abraham   

1. Solomon 

1. Salathiel

2. Isaac    

2. Roboam  

2. Zerubabel

3. Jacob       

3. Abia  

3. Abiud

4. Judas  

4. Asa   

4. Eliachim

5. Phares 

5. Josaphat  

5. Azor

6. Esron  

6. Joram  

6. Sadoe

7. Aram  

7. Ozias  

7. Achim

8. Aminadab  

8. Joatham

8. Eliud

9. Naasson   

9. Achaz

9. Eleazar

10. Salmon 

10. Ezechias

10. Mathan

11. Booz     

11. Manasses

11. Jacob (the father of Joseph, father of Mary)

12. Obed       

12. Amon

12. Joseph (the father of Mary)

13. Jesse    

13. Josias

13. Mary (virgin mother of Yeshua)

14. David    

14. Jechonias

14. Yeshua

 

Now let’s take a look at Luke’s genealogical account.

Luke is showing the line of Yeshua by Joseph as the “assumed father” by man: Joseph’s lineage did not break out cleanly in 14-generation groupings, except for the second gen. Since Matthew is giving the line of Mary, only her lineage would be required to break out evenly in 14-generation groupings. That would also explain why the names are completely different in both the last two gens between the accounts in Matthew and in Luke. It also demonstrates that both Mary and Joseph were descendents of David and Abraham – each through a separate line! BUT, it also shows that Joseph did not begot Yeshua, he was his step dad. This is why Luke has 20 generations in the third gen and 22 generations in the fourth gen – i.e., Joseph’s lineage did not break out cleanly in 14-generation groupings, except for the second gen.

The Genealogy of Yeshua listed in Luke 3 shows where Joseph descends from David and Abraham. But, remember, Joseph is not the biological father.

First Gen

Second Gen

Third Gen

Fourth Gen

1. Adam

1. Abraham      

1. Nathan              

1. Salathiel

2. Seth

2. Isaac             

2. Methatha           

2. Zerubabel

3. Enos

3. Jacob           

3. Menna                

3. Reza

4. Cainan

4. Judas           

4. Melea                 

4. Joanna

5. Maleleel

5. Phares          

5. Eliakim               

5. Juda

6. Jared

6. Esron           

6. Jona                    

6. Joseph

7. Enoch

7. Aram            

7. Joseph               

7. Semei

8. Mathusala

8. Aminadab    

8. Judas                  

8. Mathathias

9. Lamech

9. Naasson      

9. Simeon               

9. Mathath

10. Noe

10. Salmon     

10. Levi                  

10. Nagge

11. Sem

11. Booz         

11. Mathat              

11. Hesli

12. Arphaxad

12. Obed        

12. Jorim                

12. Nahum

13. Cainan

13. Jesse       

13. Eleazar             

13. Amos

14. Sala

14. David       

14. Joshua              

14. Mathathias

15. Heber

 

15. Her

15. Joseph

16. Phalec

 

16. Helmadan

16. Janne

17. Ragau

 

17. Cosan

17. Melchi

18. Saruch

 

18. Addi

18. Levi

19. Nachor

 

19. Melchi

19. Mathat

20. Thara

 

20. Neri

20. Heli (father of Joseph husband of Mary)

 

 

 

21. Joseph (husband of Mary)

 

 

 

22. Yeshua

Luke’s account shows Heli as the father of Joseph in the line of Genealogy to Yeshua – Joseph was known to “others” as the father of Yeshua. Luke 3:23

KJV And Yeshua himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was [the son] of Heli,

NKJV Now Yeshua Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,

NLT Yeshua was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry. Yeshua was known as the son of Joseph. Joseph was the son of Heli.

ESV Yeshua, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,

RSV Yeshua, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,

NASB When He began His ministry, Yeshua Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph

ASV And Yeshua himself, when he began [to teach], was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the [son] of Heli,

Young And Yeshua himself was beginning to be about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, son of Joseph

Webster And Yeshua himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, who was [the son] of Heli,

HNV Yeshua himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Yosef,

A couple closing questions:

  • Who is the biological parent of Yeshua? Is it Joseph or Mary? MARY
  • Why is there a need to show the genealogy of the “step” parent of Yeshua?
    From a pharisee point of view, they could not discredit Yeshua as being an illegitimate child. They also see (as believing Joseph is the real father of Yeshua), they see that Yeshua is linked back to King David.
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