Matthew 1:3
Encyclopedia
Matthew 1:3 is the third verse of the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew
in the New Testament
. The verse is part of the section where the genealogy
of Joseph
, the legal father of Jesus
, is listed.
The original Koine Greek
, according to Westcott and Hort
, reads:
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
The World English Bible
translates the passage as:
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 1:3
This is the second verse of the genealogy and these are the ancestors of many Old Testament
figures. This genealogy matches that given in several other places in the Bible
. Fowler notes that the portion from this verse to Matthew 1:6
seems to be based on Ruth
4:18-22. It covers a period before and during the Egyptian captivity. The genealogy runs through Judah, Perez, Hezron, and Aram. Nothing is known of Hezron or Aram, other than their appearances in the various genealogies. Perez, his brother and mother, are important figures in the Old Testament.
The most notable part of the genealogy, and where it diverts from others recounting this lineage, is the mention of Zerah, brother of Perez, and their mother Tamar. These two figures are not directly on the genealogy, but are mentioned nonetheless. Tamar, the wife of Judah, is the first of four women that are added to Matthew's genealogy. 1:5
mentions Ruth
and Rahab
while in 1:6
Bathsheba
, wife of Uriah the Hittite
, is mentioned indirectly. This is unusual because in this period women were not generally included in genealogies. The women do not appear in the genealogy in Luke 3
. Fowler states that the addition of the female names to the genealogy was not only unprecedented, but that the very idea would have been "abhorrent" to the traditional authorities. Scholars have proposed several explanations for their inclusion.
There is a fifth prominent woman in Matthew 1
, the Virgin Mary. Albright and Mann support the popular theory that the four other women are mentioned to highlight the important roles women have played in the past and also to portray Mary, the Mother of Jesus, as the equal of these well-known figures. Brown
feels these women are added to show that God
often works through women and also that his actions are not always in keeping with standard mores. Feminist scholars such as Levine support the idea that the addition of women to the male dominated genealogy demonstrates that women have an important role and serves to undermine the patriarchal message of the long list of male begat male.
St. Jerome is the first to have noted the sinful nature of the women. Bathsheba was an adulteress and Rahab was a harlot. There were many greater, more notable, and more virtuous women in Jewish history
that are not mentioned. Jerome felt Matthew includes these women to illustrate how pressing the need for Jesus is at the time. Gundry
agrees that all four have a dubious reputation and sees their addition to the genealogy as an attempt to show that the great leaders of Jewish history have origins as undignified as those of Jesus. Fowler disagrees, arguing that under any circumstances the author of Matthew would have been unlikely to link the Virgin Mary to harlots and adulterers.
Another important link between the four, first noted by St. John Chrysostom
, is their foreignness. All four women were traditionally regarded as non-Jewish. Rahab was a Canaanite as most likely was Tamar. Ruth was a Moab
ite and Bathsheba is perhaps a Hittite
and was certainly married to one. Bathsheba's foreignness is emphasized in Matthew 1:6 as she is referred to not by her name, but as "the wife of Uriah". Uriah being Uriah the Hittite
, a well-known foreigner. The inclusion of the four foreign women is often interpreted as showing that Jesus' is not only meant as the saviour of the Jews, but of the Gentile
s as well.
Both Zerah and Tamar are mentioned prominently in the Septuagint. The author of Matthew also uses the Septuagint spellings of their names. This is important evidence that Matthew uses the Septuagint as the main source for his genealogy.
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. The verse is part of the section where the genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
of Joseph
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
, the legal father of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, is listed.
The original Koine Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
, according to Westcott and Hort
The New Testament in the Original Greek
The New Testament in the Original Greek is the name of a Greek language version of the New Testament published in 1881. It is also known as the Westcott and Hort text, after its editors Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort...
, reads:
- ιουδας δε εγεννησεν τον φαρες
- και τον ζαρα εκ της θαμαρ φαρες
- δε εγεννησεν τον εσρωμ εσρωμ
- δε εγεννησεν τον αραμ
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
- And JudasJudah (Biblical figure)Judah was, according to the Book of Genesis, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Judah. Biblical scholars, such as J. A...
begat PharesPharezAccording to the Book of Genesis, Pharez/Pיrez was the son of Tamar and of Judah, and was the twin of Zerah. The text argues that he was called Perez because he was the first twin to be born, and thus had breached the womb... - and ZaraZerahZerah or Zérach refers to five different people in the Hebrew Bible.-The Cushite:...
of Thamar; - and Phares begat EsromHezronHezron is a name which occurs several times in the Hebrew Bible.* A plain in the south of Judah, west of Kadesh-barnea .* One of the sons of Reuben ....
; - and Esrom begat Aram;
The World English Bible
World English Bible
The World English Bible is a public domain translation of the Bible that is currently in draft form. Work on the World English Bible began in 1997 and was known as the American Standard Version 1997...
translates the passage as:
- Judah became the father of Perez
- and Zerah by Tamar.
- Perez became the father of Hezron.
- Hezron became the father of Ram.
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 1:3
This is the second verse of the genealogy and these are the ancestors of many Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
figures. This genealogy matches that given in several other places in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. Fowler notes that the portion from this verse to Matthew 1:6
Matthew 1:6
Matthew 1:6 is the sixth verse of the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. The verse is part of the section where the genealogy of Joseph, the legal father of Jesus, is listed....
seems to be based on Ruth
Book of Ruth
The Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or Old Testament. In the Jewish canon the Book of Ruth is included in the third division, or the Writings . In the Christian canon the Book of Ruth is placed between Judges and 1 Samuel...
4:18-22. It covers a period before and during the Egyptian captivity. The genealogy runs through Judah, Perez, Hezron, and Aram. Nothing is known of Hezron or Aram, other than their appearances in the various genealogies. Perez, his brother and mother, are important figures in the Old Testament.
The most notable part of the genealogy, and where it diverts from others recounting this lineage, is the mention of Zerah, brother of Perez, and their mother Tamar. These two figures are not directly on the genealogy, but are mentioned nonetheless. Tamar, the wife of Judah, is the first of four women that are added to Matthew's genealogy. 1:5
Matthew 1:5
Matthew 1:5 is the fifth verse of the Matthew 1 of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. The verse is part of the section where the genealogy of Joseph, the legal father of Jesus, is listed....
mentions Ruth
Ruth (biblical figure)
Ruth , is the main character in the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible.-Biblical narrative:Ruth was a Moabitess, who married Mahlon, the son of Elimelech and Naomi, but Elimelech and his two sons died...
and Rahab
Rahab
Rahab, was, according to the Book of Joshua, a woman who lived in Jericho in the Promised Land and assisted the Israelites in capturing the city...
while in 1:6
Matthew 1:6
Matthew 1:6 is the sixth verse of the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. The verse is part of the section where the genealogy of Joseph, the legal father of Jesus, is listed....
Bathsheba
Bathsheba
According to the Hebrew Bible, Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah. She is most known for the Bible story in which King David seduced her....
, wife of Uriah the Hittite
Uriah the Hittite
Uriah the Hittite was a soldier in King David’s army mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. He was the husband of Bathsheba, and was murdered by order of David by having the soldiers retreat from him in battle. Uriah's wife was pregnant by King David through an adulterous affair...
, is mentioned indirectly. This is unusual because in this period women were not generally included in genealogies. The women do not appear in the genealogy in Luke 3
Luke 3
Luke 3 is the third chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains an account of John the Baptist as well as a Genealogy of Jesus.- John the Baptist :...
. Fowler states that the addition of the female names to the genealogy was not only unprecedented, but that the very idea would have been "abhorrent" to the traditional authorities. Scholars have proposed several explanations for their inclusion.
Matthew 1
Matthew 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It contains two distinct sections. The first lists the genealogy of Jesus's legal father Joseph from Abraham...
, the Virgin Mary. Albright and Mann support the popular theory that the four other women are mentioned to highlight the important roles women have played in the past and also to portray Mary, the Mother of Jesus, as the equal of these well-known figures. Brown
Raymond E. Brown
The Reverend Raymond Edward Brown, S.S. , was an American Roman Catholic priest, a member of the Sulpician Fathers and a major Biblical scholar of his era...
feels these women are added to show that God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
often works through women and also that his actions are not always in keeping with standard mores. Feminist scholars such as Levine support the idea that the addition of women to the male dominated genealogy demonstrates that women have an important role and serves to undermine the patriarchal message of the long list of male begat male.
St. Jerome is the first to have noted the sinful nature of the women. Bathsheba was an adulteress and Rahab was a harlot. There were many greater, more notable, and more virtuous women in Jewish history
Jewish history
Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their religion and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Since Jewish history is over 4000 years long and includes hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes...
that are not mentioned. Jerome felt Matthew includes these women to illustrate how pressing the need for Jesus is at the time. Gundry
Robert H. Gundry
Robert Horton Gundry is a Biblical scholar. He received a B.A. and a B.D. degree from the Los Angeles Baptist College and Seminary, and his Ph.D. from Manchester University in Manchester, England in 1961 and has taught for several decades at Westmont College in California...
agrees that all four have a dubious reputation and sees their addition to the genealogy as an attempt to show that the great leaders of Jewish history have origins as undignified as those of Jesus. Fowler disagrees, arguing that under any circumstances the author of Matthew would have been unlikely to link the Virgin Mary to harlots and adulterers.
Another important link between the four, first noted by St. John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
, is their foreignness. All four women were traditionally regarded as non-Jewish. Rahab was a Canaanite as most likely was Tamar. Ruth was a Moab
Moab
Moab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in Jordan. The land lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archeological findings, most notably the Mesha Stele, which describes the Moabite victory over...
ite and Bathsheba is perhaps a Hittite
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
and was certainly married to one. Bathsheba's foreignness is emphasized in Matthew 1:6 as she is referred to not by her name, but as "the wife of Uriah". Uriah being Uriah the Hittite
Uriah the Hittite
Uriah the Hittite was a soldier in King David’s army mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. He was the husband of Bathsheba, and was murdered by order of David by having the soldiers retreat from him in battle. Uriah's wife was pregnant by King David through an adulterous affair...
, a well-known foreigner. The inclusion of the four foreign women is often interpreted as showing that Jesus' is not only meant as the saviour of the Jews, but of the Gentile
Gentile
The term Gentile refers to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible....
s as well.
Both Zerah and Tamar are mentioned prominently in the Septuagint. The author of Matthew also uses the Septuagint spellings of their names. This is important evidence that Matthew uses the Septuagint as the main source for his genealogy.