Matthew 1:17 BSB — MannaFest

Matthew 1:17

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.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

So all the generations from Abraham unto David are fourteen generations; and from David unto the carrying away to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the carrying away to Babylon unto the Christ fourteen generations.

KJV

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

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Commentary

4 voices

Ambrose of Milan

Catena Aurea by Aquinas (397)

(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.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

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.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

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.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

29 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
Πᾶσαι	Pasai	All	G3956 →
οὖν	oun	therefore	G3767 →
αἱ	hai	the	G3588 →
γενεαὶ	geneai	generations	G1074 →
ἀπὸ	apo	from	G575 →
Ἀβραὰμ	Abraam	Abraham	G11 →
ἕως	he'ōs	to	G2193 →
Δαυὶδ	Dauid	David [were]	G1138 →
γενεαὶ	geneai	generations	G1074 →
δεκατέσσαρες	dekatessares	fourteen	G1180 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ἀπὸ	apo	from	G575 →
Δαυὶδ	Dauid	David	G1138 →
ἕως	he'ōs	until	G2193 →
τῆς	tēs	the	G3588 →
μετοικεσίας	metoikesias	carrying away	G3350 →
Βαβυλῶνος	Babulōnos	to Babylon	G897 →
γενεαὶ	geneai	generations	G1074 →
δεκατέσσαρες	dekatessares	fourteen	G1180 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ἀπὸ	apo	from	G575 →
τῆς	tēs	the	G3588 →
μετοικεσίας	metoikesias	carrying away	G3350 →
Βαβυλῶνος	Babulōnos	to Babylon	G897 →
ἕως	he'ōs	until	G2193 →
τοῦ	tou	the	G3588 →
Χριστοῦ	Christou	Christ	G5547 →
γενεαὶ	geneai	generations	G1074 →
δεκατέσσαρες.¶	dekatessares	fourteen.	G1180 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Matthew 11:2
Meanwhile John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent his disciples
leads to
- Matthew 14:3
  Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,
- Mark 6:17
  For Herod himself had ordered that John be arrested and bound and imprisoned, on account of his brother Philip’s wife Herodias, whom Herod had married.
- Matthew 4:12
  When Jesus heard that John had been imprisoned, He withdrew to Galilee.
- Luke 7:18–35
  Then John’s disciples informed him about all these things.
Through
2 Kings 24:14
He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained.
leads to
- Jeremiah 52:28
  These are the people Nebuchadnezzar carried away: in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews;
- 2 Kings 25:12
  But the captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.
Through
John 1:41
He first found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ).
leads to
- John 4:25
  The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”
- John 1:45
  Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

The gold bar shows how strongly the cross-reference sources tie the two verses together: a long bar means many compiled references make the connection, a short one means few.

Matthew 1:11–12and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.2 Kings 24:14He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained.Mark 15:32Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” And even those who were crucified with Him berated Him.Jeremiah 27:20which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.Matthew 11:2Meanwhile John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent his disciples John 1:41He first found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ).

Contested claims2

Held at full strength, with the debate attached

◈Matthew's three fourteens and David = 14contested · tier A

Matthew's three sets of fourteen pivot on David (named at 1:6), and David — D-W-D = 4+6+4 = 14 — is the leading explanation of the schematic count. Three kings (Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah) and Jehoiakim are omitted to hold the fourteens, checkable against 1 Chronicles 3. The device is stated by Matthew himself; the David-gematria reason for it is the leading reading and remains contested.

The critique, at full strength

The three-fourteen structure is stated by Matthew himself and is not contested; the David-gematria explanation of WHY fourteen is the leading reading but remains contested, and Davies and Allison (Matthew Vol. 1, ICC, 1988, on 1:17) present it as one explanation among several. The schema also has a visible cost: three kings (Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah) and Jehoiakim are omitted to hold the counts, checkable against 1 Chronicles 3. That the device and its cost are both open to inspection is what makes this an authorial device rather than a hidden code.

Full registry →

◈Matthew 1:17 — the three fourteenscontested · tier A

The honest mainstream counterpart to Panin: Matthew 1:17's three sets of fourteen generations (3 × 14 = 6 × 7), plausibly keyed to the letter-value of David's name (dwd = 14). Real, author-intended, openly visible numerology — stated three times by the evangelist himself — beside the invisible-until-counted kind.

The critique, at full strength

Mainstream and openly visible rather than contested - the number is stated three times by the evangelist himself. The one genuinely contested element is the REASON: that the schema is keyed to David's gematria (דוד = 4+6+4 = 14) is the leading explanation, not a settled one, and Davies and Allison (Matthew Vol. 1, ICC, 1988, on 1:17) present it as such. Note also the openly acknowledged cost of holding the fourteens - three kings (Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah) and Jehoiakim are omitted, checkable against 1 Chronicles 3. That the omissions are visible and discussable is exactly what separates this from an invisible statistical claim.

Full registry →

A number pattern the author built in
Matthew 1:6
In Hebrew the name David is written with three letters: D(4) + W(6) + D(4) = 14, and Matthew hangs his whole genealogy on three sets of fourteen, naming David at the hinge (Matt 1:6, 17). It is the leading explanation for why the count is fourteen and why kings were passed over to keep it.
Davies & Allison Matthew Vol.1 on 1:17 (cite-only); Matt 1:1-17 / 1 Chr 3 (PD)
How the passage is built
fourteen generations
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

Where scholars push back(1)

Matthew 1:6. Davies and Allison note the number-value reading is inference: Matthew never states it, and the fourteens may simply be a memory structure.

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About Matthew

John the Baptist Baptizes Jesus — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

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Continue: Matthew 1 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

Held at full strength, with the debate attached

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Matthew

The record, by era

Held at full strength, with the debate attached

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Matthew