Matthewchapter 1
25 verses · Matthew, by tradition · AD 50 to 65 · The Gospels
This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Introduction
Matthew, by tradition, The Gospels, Matthew Overview.
This chapter opens the New Testament and the first of the four Gospels. Early church tradition gives the book to Matthew, a tax collector who became one of the Twelve, and he writes for readers raised on the Hebrew Scriptures. For them a claim to David's throne had to begin with a family record. Listen for the three names that carry the promises of the old covenant and for the four women who break the pattern of the list. Then listen to how much weight falls on one quiet, righteous man who is told what to do.
Context
- Who
- Jewish readers who cared, above all, about a man's line of descent
- What
- A genealogy of Jesus from Abraham in three sets of fourteen generations, followed by the account of His conception and of Joseph's obedience.
- Where
- The family line runs through Canaan, Jerusalem and Babylon, and the birth narrative is set in the household of Joseph before the move to Bethlehem.
- When
- The birth took place in the last years of Herod the Great, about 6 to 4 BC; the Gospel was written later in the first century, with dates from the 50s to the 80s AD proposed.
- Why
- To show Jewish readers that Jesus is the legal heir of David and the promised son of Abraham, and that His birth fulfils what the prophets foretold.
Historical context
Jewish families kept their descent on record. Land rights, priestly service, and any claim to royal blood all ran through documented ancestry, and family lists were preserved and recited. Opening a book with a genealogy was not dull bookkeeping to a Jewish reader; it was the legal case being filed.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
Betrothal in that world was not engagement as we know it. It was a binding contract, usually made about a year before the couple lived together, with a bride-price paid and witnesses present. The pair were already called husband and wife, and the only way out was a formal certificate of divorce. Unfaithfulness during that year was treated as adultery.
That is why Joseph's plan matters. He could have brought the matter to a public hearing and shamed Mary, or he could hand her the certificate quietly before two witnesses. He chose the quiet route, the merciful option a righteous man had available.
The four women named in the list would have raised eyebrows: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and the wife of Uriah. Three were foreigners or married into scandal, and all four entered Israel's royal line by irregular paths.
Significance
For a Jewish reader the first question about any claimant was simple: show me the papers. Matthew answers before he tells a single story, this man descends from Abraham, through David, through the kings, through the exile.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
And the exile is the hinge. The list breaks at Babylon, where the throne stopped. Matthew's readers lived in the long aftermath of that break, under Rome. He is saying the line did not die there; it ran underground and surfaced in a carpenter's household in Nazareth.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
The Line of the King: Abraham to Christ
Matthew 1:1-2
the genealogy of Jesus Christ: The opening words, biblos geneseos, are the heading of Genesis 5:1 in the Greek Old Testament, the formula that opened the record of Adam's line. Two titles stand before any name: "the son of David" for the throne, and "the son of Abraham" for the promise of Genesis 22:18.
Matthew 1:1
“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 (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Matthew 1:1
“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.”
Connections1 Chronicles 1:1, Luke 3:38
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers: Adam Clarke notes that Ishmael and Esau are passed over. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown explain that Judah alone is named, as the tribe from which the Messiah was to come, citing Genesis 49:10. Chrysostom observes that the brothers are still counted, since all stood equally as heads of tribes.
Matthew 1:2
“Abraham begat Isaac - In this genealogy, those persons only, among the ancestors of Christ, which formed the direct line, as specified: hence no mention is made of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, nor of Esau, the son of Isaac; and of all the twelve patriarchs, or sons of Jacob, Judah alone is mentioned.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 1:2
“Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren--Only the fourth son of Jacob is here named, as it was from his loins that Messiah was to spring (Ge 49:10).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Matthew 1:3-5
Judah was the father of Perez: Three of the four women Matthew names besides Mary stand in these verses. Tamar posed as a prostitute in Genesis 38, Rahab hid the spies in Joshua 2, and Ruth the Moabite sought Boaz's protection. The king's line runs through Gentile women and a scandal the Old Testament records.
Matthew 1:3
And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar,.... The genealogical account of Christ goes on from Judah in the line of Phares, with whom Zara is mentioned; not because they were twins, for so were Jacob and Esau, and yet the latter is taken no notice of; but it may be because of what happened at their birth, see Gen 38:28. But the line of the Messiah was in Phares, and very rightly is he put in the genealogy of Christ, the Jews themselves being witnesses; who expressly say, that "the Messiah comes from him."
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 1:3
“Phares and Zara - The remarkable history of these twins may be seen, Genesis 38: Some of the ancients were of opinion, that the evangelist refers to the mystery of the youngest being preferred to the eldest, as prefiguring the exaltation of the Christian Church over the synagogue. Concerning the women whose names are recorded in this genealogy, see the note at the end of the chapter, (Mat 1:25 (note)).”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
ConnectionsGenesis 38:29
Amminadab the father of Nahshon: These names agree exactly with the family record in Ruth 4:19, as John Gill observes, so Matthew follows a list already in Scripture. Jerome identifies Nahshon as the prince of the tribe of Judah named in the book of Numbers. So the line ran through a wilderness prince of Judah.
Matthew 1:4
“But as we believe that the names of these Fathers were given for some special reason under the providence of God, it follows, but Naasson begat Salmon. This Salmon after his father's death entered the promised land with Joshua as prince of the tribe of Judah. He took a wife of the name of Rahab. This Rahab is said to have been that Rahab the harlot of Jericho who entertained the spies of the children of Israel, and hid them safely.”
Pseudo-Chrysostom · written before 500 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 1:4
“Or following another interpretation, according to the abundance of grace, and the width of love. He isn Aram the chosen, according to that, Behold my Servant whom I have chosen. (Is. 42:1.) He is Aminadab, that is 'willingo,' in that He says, I will freely sacrifice to Thee. (Is. 54:6.) Also He is Naassonp, i. e. 'augury,' as He knows the past, the present, and the future; or, 'like a serpent,' according to that, Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. (John 3:14.) He isq Salmon, i. e.”
Rabanus Maurus · written before 856 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Matthew 1:4
“And Aram begat Aminadab,.... Which, with what follows in this verse, exactly agrees with the genealogical account in Rth 4:19.”
Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab: Only Boaz, Obed and Jesse stand between Rahab and David. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, noting about four centuries between them, judge that one or two links are left out. John Wesley holds that Salmon, Boaz and Obed were each near a hundred when his son was born.
Matthew 1:5
“And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab,.... That Salmon begat Boaz, is affirmed in Rth 4:21 but it is not there said, nor any where else in the Old Testament, as here, that he begat him of Rahab, that is, of Rahab the harlot. This the Evangelist had from tradition, or from the Jewish records.”
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 1:5
“It will be observed that Rachab is here represented as the great-grandmother of David (see Ru 4:20-22; 1Ch 2:11-15) --a thing not beyond possibility indeed, but extremely improbable, there being about four centuries between them. There can hardly be a doubt that one or two intermediate links are omitted.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
ConnectionsRuth 4:21
David was the father of Solomon: The fourth woman is named through her husband, "Uriah’s wife," so the reader recalls Uriah the Hittite and David's sin against him. Matthew keeps David's worst chapter inside the king's own genealogy. The same book goes on to bring Gentile magi in chapter 2 and a Canaanite woman in 15:22.
Matthew 1:6
“The Evangelist has now finished the first fourteen generations, and is come to the second, which consists of royal personages, and therefore beginning with David, who was the first king in the tribe of Judah, he calls him David the king. Besides, he does not name Bathsheba, that, by naming Urias, he may recal to memory that great wickedness which she was guilty of towards him.”
Glossa Ordinaria · written before 1274 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 1:6
“Let us enquire why Matthew does not mention Bathsheba by name as he does the other women. Because the others, though deserving of much blame, were yet commendable for many virtues. But Bathsheba was not only consenting in the adultery, but in the murder of her husband, hence her name is not introduced in the Lord's genealogy.”
Remigius of Rheims · written before 533 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
ConnectionsLuke 3:31
Matthew 1:7-11
Solomon the father of Rehoboam: From Solomon the line runs through Judah's kings, and verse 8 compresses it. Between Joram and Uzziah, 2 Kings records Ahaziah, Joash and Amaziah, and Matthew passes over them, likely to hold the count at fourteen. The verb behind "the father of" can mark a more distant ancestor.
Matthew 1:7
“And Solomon begat Roboam,.... Called Rehoboam, 1Ki 11:43 of Naamah an Ammonitess, 1Ki 14:21. And Roboam begat Abia, sometimes called Abijam, as in 1Ki 14:31, sometimes Abijah, 2Ch 12:16 and sometimes, as here, Abia, 1Ch 3:10. Him Rehoboam begat of Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom, 1Ki 15:2 called Michaiah, the daughter of Uriel, 2Ch 13:2. Maachah and Michaiah being the same name; or else she went by two names, as her father did.”
Joram the father of Uzziah: Adam Clarke finds a like gap in Ezra 7:3, where Azariah is called the son of Meraioth though six generations lie between them. John Wesley points to Isaiah 39:7, where descendants born long after Hezekiah are called the sons he would father. Joram fathered Uzziah in that sense.
Matthew 1:8
“Joram begat Ozias - This is the Uzziah, king of Judah, who was struck with the leprosy for his presumption in entering the temple to offer incense before the Lord. See 2Ch 26:16, etc. Ozias was not the immediate son of Joram: there were three kings between them, Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah, which swell the fourteen generations to seventeen: but it is observed that omissions of this kind are not uncommon in the Jewish genealogies. In Ezr 7:3, Azariah is called the son of Meraioth, although it is evident, from 1Ch 6:7-9, that there were six descendants between them.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 1:8
“In the fourth book of Kings we read, that Ochozias was the son of Joram. On his death, Josabeth, sister of Ochozias and daughter of Joram, took Joash, her brother's son, and preserved him from the slaughter of the royal seed by Athalias. To Joash succeeded his son Amasias; after him his son Azarias, who is called Ozias; after him his son Joatham. Thus you see according to historical truth there were three intervening kings, who are omitted by the Evangelist. Joram, moreover, begot not Ozias, but Ochozias, and the rest as we have related.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Matthew 1:8
“Jehoram begat Uzziah - Jehoahaz, Joash, and Amaziah coming between. So that he begat him mediately, as Christ is mediately the son of David and of Abraham. So the progeny of Hezekiah, after many generations, are called the sons that should issue from him, which he should beget, Isaiah xxxix, 7.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Connections1 Chronicles 3:11
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah: Ahaz is the king to whom the sign of Isaiah 7:14 was given, as John Gill notes, and Matthew cites that prophecy at verse 23. So the king who received the sign stands in the line of the child it foretold. Gill adds that Hezekiah was granted fifteen more years.
Matthew 1:9
“And Ozias begat Joatham,.... Called Jotham, 2Ki 15:7 him Ozias begat of Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok, 2Ki 15:33. And Joatham begat Achaz, or Ahaz, 2Ki 15:38 to him the sign was given, and the famous prophecy of the Messiah, Isa 7:14. And Achaz begat Ezekias, or Hezekiah, 2Ki 16:20 him Ahaz begat of Abi, the daughter of Zachariah, 2Ki 18:2. He was a very religious king, and had that singular favour from God to have fifteen years added to his days, Isa 38:5.”
Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh: The verse joins kings of opposite character. John Gill calls Manasseh remarkable both for his sins and for his humbling afterward, and he calls Amon a very wicked prince. Josiah, whom Gill calls a very pious king, had been named in prophecy long before his birth in 1 Kings 13:2.
Matthew 1:10
“And Ezekias begat Manasses,.... Or Manasseh, 2Ki 20:21. Him Hezekiah begat of Hephzibah, 2Ki 21:1. He was very remarkable both for his sins, and for his humiliation on account of them. And Manasses begat Amon, of Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah, 2Ki 21:19. He was a very wicked prince. And Amon begat Josias, or Josiah of Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath, 2Ki 22:1. He was a very pious king, and was prophesied of by name some hundreds of years before he was born, 1Ki 13:2.”
Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers: Jeconiah was Josiah's grandson through Jehoiakim. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown think Jehoiakim is passed over as a mere puppet in the hands of the king of Egypt. Jerome and John Gill take this Jeconiah to be Jehoiakim himself, so his brothers are Josiah's other sons, Johanan, Zedekiah and Shallum.
Matthew 1:11
“Josias begat Jechonias, etc. - There are three considerable difficulties in this verse. 1. Josias was not the father of Jechonias; he was only the grandfather of that prince: 1Ch 3:14-16. 2. Jechonias had no brethren; at least, none are on record. 3. Josias died 20 years before the Babylonish captivity took place, and therefore Jechonias and his brethren could not have been begotten about the time they were carried away to Babylon. To this may be added a fourth difficulty, viz. there are only thirteen in this 2nd class of generations; or forty-one, instead of forty-two, in the whole.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 1:11
“And Josias begat Jechonias,.... This Jechonias is the same with Jehoiakim, the son of Josias, called so by Pharaohnecho, when he made him king, whose name before was Eliakim, 2Ki 23:34 begat of Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah, 2Ki 23:36. and his brethren. These were Johanan, Zedekiah, and Shallum.”
Matthew 1:11
“And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren--Jeconiah was Josiah's grandson, being the son of Jehoiakim, Josiah's second son (1Ch 3:15); but Jehoiakim might well be sunk in such a catalogue, being a mere puppet in the hands of the king of Egypt (2Ch 36:4).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Matthew 1:12-16
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel: The third fourteen runs from the exile to Christ through names mostly unknown elsewhere. Verse 16 breaks the chapter's pattern: of Joseph it says "the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus," never that Joseph fathered him. The line gives Jesus his legal right to the throne through Joseph.
Matthew 1:12
“And after they were brought to Babylon,.... Not Jechonias, but the father of Jechonias, and the Jews. Jechonias begat Salathiel. Not Jechonias mentioned in the former verse, but his son, called Jehoiachin, 2Ki 24:6 and Coniah, Jer 22:24 both which are rendered Jechonias by the Septuagint in 2Ch 36:8 and he is so called, 1Ch 3:16. Abulpharagius (c) calls him Junachir, and says he is the same who in Matthew is called Juchonia; and he asserts him to be the father of Daniel the Prophet.”
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 1:12
“Jechonias begat Salathiel - After Jechonias was brought to Babylon, he was put in prison by Nebuchadnezzar, where he continued till the death of this prince, and the accession of Evilmerodach, who brought him out of prison, in which he had been detained thirty-seven years, and restored him to such favor that his throne (seat) was exalted above all the kings which were with him in Babylon: Jer 52:31, Jer 52:32. But though he thus became a royal favorite, he was never restored to his kingdom.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Connections1 Chronicles 3:19, Jeremiah 22:30, Luke 3:27
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud: From Abiud onward none of these names appears in the Old Testament. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown hold that Matthew took them from the registers the Jews kept. John Gill suggests that Abiud was Meshullam, the eldest son, since men of the exile often bore two names, as Daniel 1:7 shows.
Matthew 1:13
“And Zorobabel begat Abiud, &c.--None of these names are found in the Old Testament; but they were doubtless taken from the public or family registers, which the Jews carefully kept, and their accuracy was never challenged.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Azor was the father of Zadok: Remigius of Rheims reads these names as pointers to Christ. He takes Zadok to mean the just one, joined to 1 Peter 3:18, and reads Achim as a name of brotherhood, joined to Matthew 12:50. Eliud he reads as a confession of God, the one Thomas makes in John 20:28.
Matthew 1:14
“He is also Sadoch, that is, 'the just,' or, 'the justified,' according to that, He was delivered, the just for the unjust. (1 Pet. 3:18.) He is also Achim, that is, 'my brother is He,' according to that, Whoso doeth the will of My Father, he is My brother. (Matt. 12:50.) He is also Eliud, that is, 'He is my God,' according to that, My Lord, and my God. (John 20:28.)”
Remigius of Rheims · written before 533 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Eleazar the father of Matthan: The Glossa Ordinaria carries on the reading of names, taking Eleazar as God the helper and Matthan as giving or given. It links Matthan with John 3:16. Remigius of Rheims reads Jacob as one who supplants, since Christ overthrew the devil and gave his people power to tread on serpents.
Matthew 1:15
“He is also Eleazar, i. e. 'God is my helper,' as in the seventeenth Psalm, My God, my helper. He is also Mathan, that is, 'giving,' or, 'given,' for, He gave gifts for men; (Eph. 4:8.) and, God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son. (John 3:16.)”
Glossa Ordinaria · written before 1274 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 1:15
“He is also Jacob, 'that supplanteth,' for not only hath He supplanted the Devil, but hath given His power to His faithful people; as, Behold I have given you power to tread upon serpents. (Luke 10:19.)”
Remigius of Rheims · written before 533 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
who is called Christ: Luke names Heli as the father of Joseph, and the emperor Julian cited this as a contradiction. Jerome answers from the law of Deuteronomy 25, under which a kinsman raised up children for a man who died childless. One man was Joseph's father by nature and the other by law.
Matthew 1:16
“And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus--From this it is clear that the genealogy here given is not that of Mary, but of Joseph; nor has this ever been questioned.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 1:16
“Jesus, who is called Christ - The name Jesus respects chiefly the promise of blessing made to Abraham: the name Christ, the promise of the Messiah's kingdom, which was made to David. It may be further observed, that the word Christ in Greek, and Messiah in Hebrews, signify anointed, and imply the prophetic, priestly, and royal characters, which were to meet in the Messiah.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Matthew 1:16
“Jesus, who is called Christ - As the word Χριστος Christ, signifies the anointed or anointer, from χριω, to anoint, it answers exactly to the Hebrew משיח mashiach, which we pronounce Messiah or Messias; this word comes from the root משח mashac, signifying the same thing. As the same person is intended by both the Hebrew and Greek appellation, it should be regularly translated The Messiah, or The Christ; whichever is preferred, the demonstrative article should never be omitted. Priests, prophets, and kings, among the Jews, were anointed in order to the legitimate exercise of their respective offices.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
ConnectionsLuke 3:23
fourteen generations from Abraham to David: Matthew states three sets of fourteen, though the third set holds thirteen names after Jeconiah unless he is counted twice. A tradition ties the number to David's name, whose Hebrew letters sum to fourteen. The genealogy is built to be remembered, three equal sets arriving at one name, "the Christ."
Matthew 1:17
“So all the generations ... - This division of the names in the genealogical tables was doubtless adopted for the purpose of aiding the memory. It was common among the Jews; and other similar instances are preserved. The Jews were destitute of books besides the Old Testament, and they had but few copies of that among them, and those chiefly in their synagogues. They would therefore naturally devise plans to keep up the remembrance of the principal facts in their history.”
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 1:17
“There are four women, and but four, named in this genealogy; two of them were originally strangers to the commonwealth of Israel, Rachab a Canaanitess, and a harlot besides, and Ruth the Moabitess; for in Jesus Christ there is neither Greek, nor Jew; those that are strangers and foreigners are welcome, in Christ, to the citizenship of the saints.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Matthew 1:17
“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 (1871)reformed
Connectionsfourteen generations, Matthew 1:6
Joseph Told to Take Mary as His Wife
Matthew 1:18-19
His mother Mary was pledged: Betrothal in first-century Judea bound as marriage and ended only by divorce. So a pregnancy before the couple "came together" placed Joseph under the case Deuteronomy 22 addresses. Called "a righteous man," Joseph resolves "to divorce her quietly," sparing her public shame while he still believes himself wronged.
Matthew 1:18
“For the one and the same Spirit of God, who proclaimed by the prophets what and of what sort the advent of the Lord should be, did by these elders give a just interpretation of what had been truly prophesied; and He did Himself, by the apostles, announce that the fulness of the times of the adoption had arrived, that the kingdom of heaven had drawn nigh, and that He was dwelling within those that believe on Him who was born Emmanuel of the Virgin.”
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 21), Section 4patristic
Joseph her husband was a righteous man: Jerome raises a difficulty with calling Joseph righteous. The law held guilty anyone privy to a crime, and Jerome answers that Joseph kept silent about a mystery he could not explain. Origen holds that Joseph drew back because he judged himself unworthy to approach the mystery he saw in her.
Matthew 1:19
“Her husband - The word in the original does not imply that they were married. It means here the man to whom she was espoused. A just man - Justice consists in rendering to every man his own. Yet this is evidently not the character intended to be given here of Joseph. The meaning is that he was kind, tender, merciful; that he was so attached to Mary that he was not willing that she should be exposed to public shame.”
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Matthew 1:19
“But how is Joseph thus called just, when he is ready to hide his wife's sin? For the Law enacts, that not only the doers of evil, but they who are privy to any evil done, shall be held to be guilty. Or this may be considered a testimony to Mary, that Joseph, confident in her purity, and wondering at what had happened, covered in silence that mystery which he could not explain.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
an angel of the Lord appeared: The angel's address, "Joseph, son of David," is spoken to the man whose legal line carries the throne to Jesus. This dream is the first of five that guard the child. The command "do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife" answers Joseph's fear.
Matthew 1:20
“That which is conceived (or formed) in her - So I think γεννηθεν should be translated in this place: as it appears that the human nature of Jesus Christ was a real creation in the womb of the virgin, by the power of the Holy Spirit. The angel of the Lord mentioned here was probably the angel Gabriel, who, six months before, bad been sent to Zacharias and Elisabeth, to announce the birth of Christ’s forerunner, John the Baptist. See Luk 1:36.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
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Matthew 1:20
“In this word appeared is conveyed the power of Him that did appear, allowing Himself to be seen where and how He pleases. (in Luc. ii. 5.) Be not troubled that he calls her his wife; for she is not herein robbed of her virginity, but her wedlock is witnessed to, and the celebration of her marriage is declared.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
give Him the name Jesus: Jesus renders the Hebrew Yeshua, a short form of Joshua meaning the LORD saves. The name holds the sentence the angel completes: "He will save His people from their sins." In Matthew's setting "His people" reads first as Israel, and the book widens the promise to all nations in 28:19.
Matthew 1:21
“And she shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Jesus. For though she was with child, it could not be known any otherwise than by prediction or divine revelation, that she should have a son, whose name should be called Jesus; a name of the same signification with Joshua and Hosea, and may be interpreted a "Saviour", Act 13:23 for the word ישוע Jesus, comes from ישע which signifies "to save." And to this agrees the reason of the name given by the Angel, for he shall save his people from their sins.”
3 more voices on this verse
Matthew 1:21
“Jesus is a Hebrew word, meaning Saviour. He points to the etymology of the name, saying, For He shall save His people from their sins.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Matthew 1:21
“His name Jesus - The name Jesus is the same as Saviour. It is derived from the verb signifying to save, In Hebrew it is the same as Joshua. In two places in the New Testament it is used where it means Joshua, the leader of the Jews into Canaan, and in our translation the name Joshua should have been retained, Act 7:45; Heb 4:8. It was a very common name among the Jews. He shall save - This expresses the same as the name, and on this account the name was given to him.”
Matthew 1:21
“Jesus - That is, a Saviour. It is the same name with Joshua (who was a type of him) which properly signifies, The Lord, Salvation. And all the Israel of God.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Matthew 1:22-23
All this took place to fulfill: This is the first of Matthew's twelve fulfillment quotations, drawn from Isaiah 7:14. The Hebrew almah names a young woman of marriageable age. The Greek parthenos, which Matthew follows, means "the virgin," so the sign has a near horizon in Isaiah and its fulfillment in this birth.
Matthew 1:22
“Now all this was done,.... These are not the words of the Angel, but of the Evangelist; observing that Mary's being with child of the Holy Ghost, and her conception in such an extraordinary manner, whilst a pure virgin, before she and Joseph came together, who though espoused to him, was untouched by him, were all brought about in this way, and with such circumstances, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet; that is, the Prophet Isaiah, and so some copies read.”
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 1:22
“Now all this was done - The prophecy here quoted is recorded in Isa 7:14. See the notes at that passage. The prophecy was delivered about 740 years before Christ, in the reign of Ahaz, king of Judah. The land of Judea was threatened with an invasion by the united armies of Syria and Israel, under the command of Rezin and Pekah. Ahaz was alarmed, and seems to have contemplated calling in aid from Assyria to defend him.”
Cross references
Matthew 1:22
- QuotingIsaiah 7:14“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.”
the ARCHETYPE fulfillment formula: hina plerothe to rhethen hypo kyriou dia tou prophetou legontos ('that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying'), pleroo V-APS-3S + rhethen V-APP-NSN together; contested source (LXX parthenos vs MT almah, both readings at full strength on the page)
Verse 21 named the child Jesus; Chrysostom explains that Scripture often puts an event in place of a name. So the people who call him Immanuel are those who see God among men. John Wesley reads the plural verb as all his people acknowledging him by that name.
Matthew 1:23
“Behold, a virgin shall be with child,.... These words are rightly applied to the virgin Mary and her son Jesus, for of no other can they be understood; not of Ahaz's wife and his son Hezekiah, who was already born, and must be eleven or twelve years of age when these words were spoken; nor of any other son of Ahaz by her or any other person since no other was Lord of Judea; nor of the wife of Isaiah, and any son of his, who never had any that was king of Judah.”
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 1:23
“THOSE words, "being interpreted," salute my ear with much sweetness. Why should the word, "Emmanuel," in the Hebrew, be interpreted at all? Was it not to show that it has reference to us Gentiles and, therefore, it must be interpreted into one of the chief languages of the then existing Gentile world, namely, the Greek? This, "being interpreted," at Christ's birth and the three languages employed in the inscription upon the Cross at His death, show that He is not the Savior of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles.”
Matthew 1:23
“It is observable, the words in Isaiah are, Thou (namely, his mother) shalt call; but here, They - that is, all his people, shall call - shall acknowledge him to be Emmanuel, God with us. Which being interpreted -- this is a clear proof that St. Matthew wrote his Gospel in Greek, and not in Hebrew.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Cross references
Matthew 1:23
- QuotingIsaiah 7:14“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.”
Matthew fulfillment formula 'that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet' (contested: LXX parthenos vs MT almah, both readings at full strength on the verse page)
ConnectionsIsaiah 7:14, Matthew 28:20
Matthew 1:24-25
embraced Mary as his wife: Joseph obeys, naming the child, a legal act that places Jesus in David's line by adoption. On "he had no union with her until she gave birth" readers divide. Protestants mostly read until as implying a later marriage; Catholic and Orthodox readers, holding her perpetual virginity, leave it open.
Matthew 1:24
“Being raised from sleep - Having fully awoke. Did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him - That is, he took Mary to wife. Probably this was done immediately, since he was now convinced of her innocence, and, by delay, he would not leave any ground of suspicion that he had not confidence in her.”
he had no union with her: John Gill calls the phrase a modest idiom for the marriage act, as old as Genesis 4:1. Chrysostom holds that the word until speaks only of the time before the birth, as the word often does in Scripture. Albert Barnes reads it as implying an ordinary marriage afterward.
Matthew 1:25
“Knew her not - The doctrine of the virginity of Mary before the birth of Jesus is a doctrine of the Scriptures, and is very important to be believed. But the Bible does not affirm that she had no children afterward. Indeed, all the accounts in the New Testament lead us to suppose that she did have them. See the notes at Mat 13:55-56. The language here evidently implies that she lived as the wife of Joseph after the birth of Jesus.”
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 1:25
“And knew her not,.... Or "but he knew her not", και answering to the Hebrew ו that is, had carnal knowledge of her, or copulation with her, though his wife. The words are an euphemism, or a modest way of expressing the conjugal act, and is a very ancient one, see Gen 4:1 and what has been used in nations and languages.”
How this psalm is built
The form: A royal genealogy arranged in three sets of fourteen generations, as Jerome classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
How this chapter is built
2 more paragraphs on the patterns
Verse 17 states the arrangement itself, three sets of fourteen generations from Abraham to David, from David to the exile and from the exile to the Christ. Jerome records that three kings of Judah are left out between Joram and Uzziah, and reads the omission as serving the evangelist's plan of three fourteens. Adam Clarke notes that such omissions are common in Jewish genealogies and gives Ezra 7:3 as an example. Augustine observes that the three fourteens do not add up to forty two names, because Jeconiah is counted twice, at the close of one set and the head of the next. The list also names four women beside Mary, which is unusual in a genealogy of its kind.
Sources: Jerome, Commentary on Matthew, on Matthew 1:8 and 1:11. Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, 1832, on Matthew 1:8. Augustine of Hippo in the Catena Aurea of Thomas Aquinas, on Matthew 1:17.
Keep studying
Studies39
- Christ / Messiah
- Son of David
- Immanuel
- The Designer's Fingerprint
- David and Bathsheba: 2 Samuel 11-12
- Dreams in Scripture and in Egypt
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- Gematria and Its Limits
- Gleaning and the corner of the field
- God Dwelling with His People, from Eden to the New Jerusalem
- How Prophecy Works
- Bookends: How Scripture Frames Itself
- Jesus
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Show the next 6 titles
People and groups11
Places1
Words12
Subjects1
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
Jerome, Commentary on Matthew, 398, on Matthew 1:8.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Glossa Ordinaria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome; John Chrysostom; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas and Remigius of Rheims, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.