ISB ~ Matthew 1 v2 - 17

The Abrahamic and Davidic ancestry of Jesus establishes his credentials to be the royal Messiah of Israel (1:1, 16). God long ago promised that “kings” would stem from Abraham’s line (Gen 17:6) and later swore a covenant oath that David would always have a dynastic heir (2 Sam 7:16; Ps 89:34). Note that Matthew’s genealogy reaches back to Abraham, the forefather of Israel, whereas Luke’s genealogy of Jesus stretches back to Adam, the father of all nations (Lk 3:23-38). This difference is heightened by numerous discrepancies between the two genealogies, especially in the generations spanning from David to Jesus. More than a dozen solutions have been proposed to harmonize them. At the very least, it should be recognized that gaps are a common feature in genealogical registries from antiquity. There are also many examples in Scripture of one person having more than one name—a fact that must be considered when attempting to identify the ancestors of Jesus (e.g., Solomon/Jedidiah, 2 Sam 12:24-25). For the possibility that Matthew gives Jesus’ paternal genealogy (Joseph’s ancestry) and Luke his maternal genealogy (Mary’s ancestry), see note on Lk 3:23-38.