Concept
BibliologyThe Fourteen Generations
Matthew arranges the genealogy of Jesus into three sets of fourteen and says so out loud: a structure, not an accident.
#genealogy#structure
- 4passages
- 25original words
- 1approved connection
- 66cross-references
The words behind it
Hebrew and Greek standing in the 4 passages listed below, not a lexicon of "the fourteen generations" itself. The number on each word is how often it occurs in those passages; the connecting words the languages use everywhere are set aside so the words that carry meaning can be seen.
The passages
Every passage this site attaches to the concept, in canon order. Each row says where it came from.
Old Testament1
- 1 Chronicles 3:11listed key text
Abijah was his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son,(opening verse of the passage)
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 3:111 voice
Ahaziah - Called “Jehoahaz” by a transposition of the elements composing the name, and “Azariah,” probably by a transcriber’s error (see marginal notes and references).
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)Evangelical
New Testament3
- Matthew 1:1listed key text
This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:(opening verse of the passage)
Commentary on Matthew 1:12 voices
The book of the generation - This is the proper title of the chapter. It is the same as to say, “the account of the ancestry or family, or the genealogical table of Jesus Christ.” The phrase is common in Jewish writings. Compare Gen 5:1. “This is the book of the generations of Adam,” i. e., the genealogical table of the family or descendants of Adam. See also Gen 6:9. The Jews, moreover, as we do, kept such tables of their own families. and it is probable that this was copied from the record of the family of Joseph.
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)Evangelical
Its use, then, in the opening words of this Gospel (and in Mt 1:17, 18) is in the style of the late period when our Evangelist wrote, rather than of the events he was going to record. the son of David, the son of Abraham--As Abraham was the first from whose family it was predicted that Messiah should spring (Ge 22:18), so David was the last.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871Reformed
- Matthew 1:17listed key text
In all, then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.(opening verse of the passage)
Commentary on Matthew 1:172 voices
It will be observed that the last of the three divisions of fourteen appears to contain only thirteen distinct names, including Jesus as the last. LANGE thinks that this was meant as a tacit hint that Mary was to be supplied, as the thirteenth link of the last chain, as it is impossible to conceive that the Evangelist could have made any mistake in the matter.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871Reformed
(in Luc. c. 3.) Let us not think this is to be overlooked, that though there were seventeen Kings of Judæa between David and Jeconiah, Matthew only recounts fourteen. We must observe that there might be many more successions to the throne than generations of men; for some may live longer and beget children later; or might be altogether without seed; thence the number of Kings and of generations would not coincide. (ubi sup.) Again, from Jeconiah to Joseph are computed twelve generations; yet he afterwards calls these also fourteen.
Ambrose of Milan· Catena Aurea by Aquinas, 397Patristic
- Luke 3:23listed key text
Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry. He was regarded as the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,(opening verse of the passage)
Commentary on Luke 3:232 voices
Rightly as was supposed, since in reality He was not, but was supposed to be so, because Mary who was espoused to Joseph was His mother. But we might doubt why the descent of Joseph is described rather than that of Mary, (seeing that Mary brought forth Christ of the Holy Spirit, while Joseph seemed to be out of the line of our Lord's descent,) were we not informed of the custom of the Holy Scripture, which always seeks the origin of the husband, and especially in this case, since in Joseph's descent we also find that of Mary.
Ambrose of Milan· Catena Aurea by Aquinas, 397Patristic
And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age,.... Or Jesus, when he was baptized and began his public ministry, was about thirty years of age: an age at which the priests, under the law, who were typical of Christ, entered on their work, Num 4:23 The word, "began", is left out in the Syriac and Persic versions: and is often indeed redundant, as in Luk 3:8 and frequently in Mark's Gospel.
John Gill· Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)Reformed
Approved connections
1 link an editor approved, each with the reason it was kept.
- literary structureMatthew 1:17
Matthew's 3x14 telescopes generations (Ahaziah/Joash/Amaziah dropped Matt 1:8 vs 1 Chr 3:11-12); '14' read as gematria for David.
Matt 1:17; 1 Chr 3:11-12
Voices on these passages
Commentary matched to the verses above, each named with its source: the full pool sits on each verse page.
Ahaziah - Called “Jehoahaz” by a transposition of the elements composing the name, and “Azariah,” probably by a transcriber’s error (see marginal notes and references).
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)Evangelical
1 Chronicles 3:11
The book of the generation - This is the proper title of the chapter. It is the same as to say, “the account of the ancestry or family, or the genealogical table of Jesus Christ.” The phrase is common in Jewish writings. Compare Gen 5:1. “This is the book of the generations of Adam,” i. e., the genealogical table of the family or descendants of Adam. See also Gen 6:9. The Jews, moreover, as we do, kept such tables of their own families. and it is probable that this was copied from the record of the family of Joseph.
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)Evangelical
Matthew 1:1
It will be observed that the last of the three divisions of fourteen appears to contain only thirteen distinct names, including Jesus as the last. LANGE thinks that this was meant as a tacit hint that Mary was to be supplied, as the thirteenth link of the last chain, as it is impossible to conceive that the Evangelist could have made any mistake in the matter.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole BibleReformed
Matthew 1:17
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Read it in both testaments
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Where this comes from
Matthew 1:17 states the pattern: Abraham to David, David to the exile, the exile to Christ, fourteen each. The list is selective: Matthew omits three kings between Joram and Uzziah, and Hebrew genealogy permits it, since "begat" covers descent as well as fathering.
Fourteen is also the value of the letters of DVD, David, in Hebrew, which is why the arrangement reads as a signature: the genealogy of the Son of David is built on his name.