Jewish

1) Why is this genealogy important?
The book of Matthew is written to a predominately Jewish audience. In the Jewish mind, lineage was everything and provided your standing within the Jewish people. It established you as one of God’s chosen people. From the beginning, God knew Adam and Eve would sin and He had a plan to save His people, through His Son, Jesus. The Old Testament prophesies of the coming Savior and his family line through which He would come. Matthew’s Jewish audience would be well-versed in the prophecies concerning the coming Messiah. In Genesis 12:3 God tells Abraham “in you all families of the Earth shall be blessed”.  Jeremiah 23:5 tells of the “Righteous Branch” that would come from King David. Matthew’s genealogy provides proof that Jesus is exactly who He claims to be and God does what He says He will do. After 400 years of silence following the prophet Malachi, Matthew uses his opening words to link Jesus back to the moment in history where God chose to set His people apart through Abraham and connects Jesus to David to establish Jesus’ royal connection. Jesus’ genealogy shows God is faithful and will fulfill His promises, no matter how long it takes.

2) Who are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba?
The Bible introduces Tamar in Genesis 38. We know Judah took her for a wife for his firstborn, Er. Tamar, a widow twice over had no children to take care of her and was promised Judah’s youngest son. However, Judah did not keep his promise and Tamar tricked him into adultery and her son was born out of such an act.

Rahab is first mentioned in Joshua 2 and is quickly identified as a prostitute who lives in the land, God promised to the Israelites. Joshua also reveals she risked her life in order to help the Jewish spies who entered the Holy Land. She showed kindness to God’s people, and in return, her life was spared when the Israelites entered the Holy Land.

Ruth has an entire book of the Bible dedicated to her story and who she is. She is a Moabite, but she marries an Israelite, and becomes a widow. She chooses to stay a companion to her mother-in-law and as a result, God takes care of her and provides a husband.

Bathsheba is found in 2 Samuel 11:2 and following. She is a married woman David has an affair with. Through repentance, God brings healing and a marriage that brings the future king whose descendants would bring forth King Jesus.

3) In a Biblical world dominated by men and sonship why are four women listed in Jesus’ genealogy?
In the Jewish world Matthew lived in, having a son or being a son, especially a firstborn, carried considerable weight. It was a patriarchal society where sons inherited everything their fathers had, taking their place as head of the family upon their fathers’ death. Women did not hold a prominent place in everyday Jewish life. They were wives and mothers, but cast aside in society. Yet, Matthew chose to include four women in this portion of Jesus’ genealogy. A Jewish reader would have never skipped over these names; these names would have stood out to them. Matthew, through Divine Intervention, doesn’t put these names here accidentally. They are not four women one might assume would make the genealogy of Jesus. They are neither Jewish nor righteous, being most well known for their moral failure or Israel’s idolatry. Matthew Henry writes, “He takes even great sinners, upon their repentance, into the nearest relation to himself”. I love the image that once true repentance has been sought, God draws deeply into intimate relationship. These unlikely women are exactly who He chooses to bring Jesus’ lineage through. From the beginning, God demonstrates His heart to take the greatest of sinners and adopt them into His family if they will choose true repentance.