Matthew 1:12
Encyclopedia
Matthew 1:12 is the twelfth 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 father of Jesus
, is listed.
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 1:12
Jeconiah
was a king of Judah
, the last of these kings to be included among Joseph's ancestors. He was captured and brought to Babylon
along with many of his subjects beginning the Babylonian Captivity
. His son Shealtiel
was born in Babylon, as was Shealtiel's son Zerubbabel
. It was Zerubbabel who led the Jews out of exile in Assyria and he plays a prominent role in the Book of Ezra
.
Zerubbabel and Shealtiel are also listed in the genealogy of Luke 3:27. However, in Luke, Shealtiel is not listed as the son of Jechoniah but rather of Neri. A number of explanations have been advanced to explain this. Gundry
believes that Luke gives the actual physical genealogy while Matthew is presenting the ceremonial one. Thus Neri was Shealtiel's natural father, but it was from Jeconiah which came the leadership of the Jewish people. This may link in with the prophecy of Jeremiah 36:30, which states that Jehoiakim's children would never against on the throne of David because of his sins. By having Shealtiel be the biological son of Neri, and only the adopted son of Jechoniah, this prohibition is avoided.
This is further complicated as 1 Chronicles 3:19 states that the father of Zerubbabel was Pedaiah, a brother of Shealtiel. Zerubbabel, which means "born in Babylon" was a common name and it is entirely possible that Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel had a cousin also named Zerubbabel.
Gundry notes that the opening line "after the exile to Babylon" clearly does not refer to this verse alone. Jeconiah and Shealtiel were in no way after the exile. Rather, the first line is an introduction to this last third of the biography that covers the period from the captivity to the birth of Jesus.
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 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.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
- And after they were brought to Babylon,
- Jechonias begat Salathiel;
- and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;
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:
- After the exile to Babylon,
- Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel.
- Shealtiel became the father of Zerubbabel.
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 1:12
Jeconiah
Jeconiah
Jeconiah "; ; ), also known as Coniah and as Jehoiachin , was a king of Judah who was dethroned by the King of Babylon in the 6th Century BCE and was taken into captivity. Most of what is known about Jeconiah is found in the Hebrew Bible. After many excavations in Iraq, records of Jeconiah's...
was a king of Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
, the last of these kings to be included among Joseph's ancestors. He was captured and brought to Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
along with many of his subjects beginning the Babylonian Captivity
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
. His son Shealtiel
Shealtiel
Shealtiel or Greek-derived variant Salathiel was the son of Jeconiah, king of Judah. The Gospels also list Shealtiel as the son of Jeconiah, while lists him as the son of an otherwise unknown man named Neri...
was born in Babylon, as was Shealtiel's son Zerubbabel
Zerubbabel
Zerubbabel was a governor of the Persian Province of Judah and the grandson of Jehoiachin, penultimate king of Judah. Zerubbabel led the first group of Jews, numbering 42,360, who returned from the Babylonian Captivity in the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia . The date is generally thought to...
. It was Zerubbabel who led the Jews out of exile in Assyria and he plays a prominent role in the Book of Ezra
Book of Ezra
The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Originally combined with the Book of Nehemiah in a single book of Ezra-Nehemiah, the two became separated in the early centuries of the Christian era...
.
Zerubbabel and Shealtiel are also listed in the genealogy of Luke 3:27. However, in Luke, Shealtiel is not listed as the son of Jechoniah but rather of Neri. A number of explanations have been advanced to explain this. 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...
believes that Luke gives the actual physical genealogy while Matthew is presenting the ceremonial one. Thus Neri was Shealtiel's natural father, but it was from Jeconiah which came the leadership of the Jewish people. This may link in with the prophecy of Jeremiah 36:30, which states that Jehoiakim's children would never against on the throne of David because of his sins. By having Shealtiel be the biological son of Neri, and only the adopted son of Jechoniah, this prohibition is avoided.
This is further complicated as 1 Chronicles 3:19 states that the father of Zerubbabel was Pedaiah, a brother of Shealtiel. Zerubbabel, which means "born in Babylon" was a common name and it is entirely possible that Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel had a cousin also named Zerubbabel.
Gundry notes that the opening line "after the exile to Babylon" clearly does not refer to this verse alone. Jeconiah and Shealtiel were in no way after the exile. Rather, the first line is an introduction to this last third of the biography that covers the period from the captivity to the birth of Jesus.