Things Hard to be Understood | by Rob Thiele | Volume 22, Issue 6 | November – December 2016
The genealogy of Jesus recorded in Matthew 1 raises some interesting questions. Why are some names omitted from this record? Why does Matthew sum up by highlighting three sets of 14 generations in verse 17? Why include it, since it seems to be Joseph’s genealogy and of course he was not Jesus’ father at all?
Matthew begins his gospel, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ …”, an allusion to the toledoth phrases of Genesis which form the framework of that record, introducing the stories where God’s purpose is outlined and developed. They begin with Genesis 2:4: “These are the generation…
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