| Matthew 1 | |
|---|---|
_recto_Matthew%2c_1-1%25E2%2580%25939%2c12.jpg) Gospel of Matthew 1:1–9,12 on therecto side ofPapyrus 1, written about AD 250 | |
| Book | Gospel of Matthew |
| Category | Gospel |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 1 |
Matthew 1 is the first chapter of theGospel of Matthew in theNew Testament. It contains two distinct sections. The first lists thegenealogy ofJesus fromAbraham to his legal fatherJoseph, husband ofMary, his mother. The second part, beginning atverse 18, provides an account of thevirgin birth of Jesus Christ.
The original text was written inKoine Greek. This chapter isdivided into 25 verses.
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:[a]
Matthew opens with thegenealogy of Jesus, set out in three stages each of 14 generations: from Abraham toDavid, from David to theBabylonian exile and thence to Jesus' legal father Joseph, the husband of Mary his mother. The list opens and closes with a significant title for Jesus as "Jesus Christ" (1:1,1:18; rarely used in the Gospel of Matthew).[4] The opening words of the gospel show that it is written by aJew for Jewish readers.[5] The genealogy demonstrates that Jesus comes from theseed of Abraham and belongs to the House ofDavid, and thus is their heir. The Gospel also asserts Jesus is, in fact, the Son of God, and Joseph is, thus, not actually Jesus' father. Legally, however, Joseph is Jesus' father and some scholars contend legal parentage is of the most importance. Ra McLaughlin argues that the central event in this passage is actually the adoption of Jesus by Joseph (signified by his naming of the child), which alone makes Jesus eligible to be themessiah from the line of David.[6]
The section begins with Abraham, who is traditionally regarded as the ancestor of all the families of the Earth. It then runs through the prominentOld Testament figures ofIsaac,Jacob, andJudah. The passage also references Judah's brothers who have no actual place in the genealogy.Gundry contends they are included because the author of Matthew is trying to portray the people of God as a brotherhood.[7]
There are several problems with the genealogies. The list here is significantly different from that found inLuke 3, where the list from theBabylonian captivity to Jesus' grandfather is wholly different. Matthew skips several names in portions where the genealogy is well known from other sources,Jehoiakim is left out in1:11 and four names are dropped from1:8. Unlike most Biblical genealogies, Matthew's genealogy mentions several figures not in the direct line of descent, including four women,Tamar,Rahab,Ruth andBathsheba.
Several theories address these questions. One popular theory is that, while Matthew provides the genealogy of Joseph and his father Jacob,Luke details the genealogy of Joseph's father-in-lawHeli. Thus, the author of Matthew focuses on Jesus' royalty lineage, rather than precise biological line (that possibly used by the author Luke) which the author of Matthew did not have access to.[8] McLaughlin argues that becauseJeconiah must be counted in two different groups in order to make the "fourteen generations" of1:17, the genealogy here must be seen, not as a historically complete list, but as a literary device intended to highlight four significant events inIsraelite history: thecovenant withAbraham, the covenant with David, the Babylonian exile, and especially the reign of the messiah, which is the subject of the rest of the Gospel.[6]
Other scholars doubt these theories, and most who do not believe in theinerrancy of the Bible believe one or both of the pair are historically inaccurate. Luke's genealogy contains a more realistic number of names, given the time period, and Matthew's list also lacks thepapponymic naming used in the period.Gundry believes the latter part of Matthew's list is "a large figure of speech". He argues that at the time it was perfectly acceptable to fill gaps in a historical narrative with plausible fiction.[7]
The second part of Matthew 1 relates some of the events leading up to the birth of Jesus (Matthew 2:1).[9] While Luke and Matthew focus on varying details, the most important ideas, such as theVirgin Birth and the divine nature of Jesus, are shared. Unlike Luke's account, Matthew focuses on the character ofJoseph and Joseph's discovery and concern over his betrothed's pregnancy "before they came together",[10] and the message from an angel telling Joseph to stand by Mary, quotingIsaiah 7:14 presaging the birth of the Messiah.
This section's focus on Joseph is unusual. Swiss theologianEduard Schweizer suggests that Matthew is far more concerned with proving Jesus' legal status as the stepson of Joseph, and thus a legal heir ofDavid, than with proving theVirgin Birth. Schweizer feels this evinces Matthew's intended audience was of predominantly Jewish background, a pattern continuing throughout the Gospel, and the importanceOld Testament references provides further evidence.[11] Commentary writer David Hill believes that the quote fromIsaiah was, in fact, the central element and believes the entire last part of the chapter was written to prove that Jesus' story matches the prophecy.[12]
Stendhal, by contrast, sees the second section of this chapter as a large footnote to the last line of the genealogy, a lengthy explanation of why Joseph is merely the husband of Jesus' mother but also why Jesus is an heir to David. McLaughlin argues that Matthew recognizes that the prophecyIsaiah gave toKing Ahaz in the referenced Old Testament passage concerned a virgin living at that time (namely, Isaiah's wife) and a child (namely, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz), who was born as a sign to Ahaz (Isaiah 8:1),[13] and he argues that Matthew saw the act ofsalvation of which Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz's birth was a sign as a "type" (or pre-figuring) of the salvation that would come through the virgin and child he was describing (namely, Mary and Jesus).
Other commentators feel this section should be attached to thesecond chapter, which is divided into four sections, each focusing on an Old Testament passage, and this portion is often seen as the first of those sections.[14]
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