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Matthew 1:1. Genealogy 11 Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham. In the prophet Isaiah we read: “Who will explain His generation?” (Is.53:8) Let us therefore not think that the evangelist [or ": Gospel] contradicts the prophet in the sense that the evangelist 12 begins to expound what, according to the word of the prophet 13, is impossible to expound; because the first, the prophet, speaks of birth according to the deity, and the second, the evangelist, speaks of the incarnation. And he began from the carnal side 14 so that through man we could begin to talk about God. Matthew 1:2. Son of David, Son of Abraham. Abraham gave birth to Isaac; Isaac gave birth to Jacob; Jacob gave birth to Judah and his brothers. Here the order is such that the ancestors follow the descendant; but here the evangelist needed to make a change. Indeed, if he put Abraham first, and then David, then he again needed to repeat Abraham in order to further show the order of descent. That is why he, omitting the rest, initially called the Savior the son of only these [two], because only these two were given the promise of Christ - [namely]: He says to Abraham: “and in your seed all nations will be blessed” (Gen. 22:18) and to David: “I will set you on your throne from the fruit of your womb” (Ps. 132:11). Matthew 1:3. Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar; Perez begat Hezrom; Hezrom begat Aram. Aram gave birth to Abminadab; Amminadab gave birth to Nahshon. It is necessary 15 to pay attention to the fact that in the genealogy of the Savior not a single holy woman is indicated, but only those of them are mentioned whom the Holy Scripture condemns, in order to show that He who came for the sake of sinners, coming from sinners, blotted out the sins of all. Therefore, the following verses refer to the Moabite Ruth and Bathsheba (Bethsabee), the wife of Uriah. Matthew 1:4–9. Nahshon begat Salmon; Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab; Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth; Obed begat Jesse; Jesse begat David king; David the king begot Solomon from Uriah; Solomon begat Rehoboam; Rehoboam gave birth to Abijah; Abijah begat Asa; Asa begat Jehoshaphat; Jehoshaphat gave birth to Joram. The aforementioned Nahshon is the ancestor of the tribe of Judah, as we read in the book of Numbers (Numbers 1:2). Matthew 1:9–11. Uzziah begat Jotham; Jotham begat Ahaz; Ahaz begat Hezekiah; Hezekiah begat Manasseh; Manasseh begat Amun; Amon gave birth to Josiah; Josiah begat Joachim; Joachim begat Jeconiah and his brothers 16 before moving to Babylon.” In the fourth book of Kings (2 Kings 3, 2 Kings 8) 17 we read that Ahaziah was born of Joram, after whose death Jozabeth, the daughter of King Jehoram, Ahaziah’s sister, kidnapped Joash, her brother’s son, and saved him from the murder that was prepared by Athaliah (Athalia “or”: Atholia). He [Joash] was succeeded by his son Amaziah, after whom his son Azariah reigned, also called Uzziah [or: Ahaziah], whose successor was his son Jotham. So you see that, according to the undoubted testimony of past events, there were three more kings in the middle, whom this evangelist missed, because Joram did not father Uzziah, but Ahaziah, and also the rest whom we have enumerated. This undoubtedly happened because the evangelist had in mind to present three times fourteen 19 clans in different periods of time, and the clan of the most wicked Jezebel was attached to the clan of Joram; therefore, her family is forgotten until the third generation, so as not to be included in the ranks of those participating in the sacred Nativity. Matthew 1:12–15. After moving to Babylon, Jeconiah gave birth to Salathiel; Shealtiel begat Zerubbabel; Zerubbabel begat Abihu; Abihu begat Eliakim; Eliakim begat Azor; Azor begat Zadok; Zadok gave birth to Achim; Achim begat Eliud; Elihu begat Eleazar; Eleazar begat Matthan; Matthan gave birth to Jacob. If we wanted to place Jehoiachin at the end of the previous fourteen generations 20 , then in the next fourteen 21 there would be not fourteen, but thirteen generations. So, let us now know that Jeconiah was before Joachim and that this latter was the son, and not the father [of the first]; the name of the first of them is written through the letters: “c” and “t”, and the second - through “ch” and “n”; and that due to the error of the scribes and the remoteness of their time from us, a confusion occurred among the Greeks and Latins [of these names]. Matthew 1:16. Jacob gave birth to Joseph. Regarding this place, Emperor Julian brought to our attention the disagreement of the evangelists, namely: why the evangelist Matthew called Joseph the son of Jacob, and Luke [the evangelist] called him the son of Eli (Luke 3:23) 22 (Heli); he did not understand that, according to the custom described in the Scriptures (non intelligens consuetudinem Scripturarum), one was his father by nature, and the other by grace. In fact, we know the commandment given by Moses at the command of God, that if a brother or relative dies childless, then another brother or relative should take his wife to restore the seed of his brother or relative (Deut. 2). Africanus, the compiler of chronicles, and Eusebius of Caesarea discussed this in more detail in the books: διαφωνίας εύαγγελίων. Matthew 1:17. 23: The husband of Mary, from whom Jesus was born, called Christ. When you hear the word “husband,” don’t suddenly think about marriage, but remember the Scripture’s custom of calling grooms husbands and brides wives. Matthew 1:17. And from the migration to Babylon to Christ there are fourteen generations. Count from Jeconiah to Joseph and you will find thirteen births. Thus, the fourteenth birth is the birth of Jesus Christ. Matthew 1:18. The birth of Jesus Christ was like this. The diligent reader will begin to inquire and say: “Since Joseph was not a father, what does the order of birth brought to Joseph have to do with the Lord?” To this we first of all answer that it is not the custom of the Scriptures for a number of women to be introduced into the genealogy. Then, Joseph and Mary were from the same tribe, so according to the law, he had to accept her as a close relative and be registered 24 with her in Bethlehem, because they were from the same tribe. Matthew 1:18. Upon the betrothal of His Mother Mary to Joseph. Why is He conceived not just from a Virgin, but from a betrothed woman to her husband? First, to show the descent of Mary through the genealogy of Joseph; secondly, so that She would not be stoned as if she were an adulteress 25; thirdly, so that during her flight to Egypt she could have protection in the person of her [imaginary] husband. Martyr Ignatius also points out the fourth reason why He was conceived from a betrothed woman; this is so, he says, that His birth would be hidden from the devil, so that the devil would consider Him to be born of a married wife, and not of a Virgin. “Before they were united, it turned out that She was with child from the Holy Spirit.” Only by Joseph, and not by anyone else, was she found 26 with child; he, of course, by the right of a legal spouse, knew everything that concerned his future wife. When it is said: “Before they came together 27,” it does not follow from this that they came together later: Holy Scripture shows here something that did not happen. Matthew 1:19–20. Joseph, Her husband, being righteous and not wanting to make Her public, wanted to secretly let Her go. But when he thought this, behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said. If one who has intercourse with a harlot 28 becomes one body with her (1 Cor. 6:16), and if the law prescribes that not only those who are guilty [of sin], but also those who are accomplices in committing it, are responsible for the crime (Lev. 5:1-2), then how is Joseph, hiding [or intending to hide 29] the crime of his wife, called righteous in Scripture? This is evidence in favor of Mary, because Joseph, knowing her immaculate purity and marveling at what happened, covered with silence what the secrets of which he did not comprehend. “Joseph, son of David! Do not be afraid to accept Mary your wife; for that which is born in Her is of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:21. "She will give birth to a Son" We have already said above that the betrothed 30 (sponsae - brides) are called wives, as the book against Helvidius teaches in more detail. And what the angel said to him in a dream with an expression of tender caress was in order to justify the validity of his modest silence. At the same time, it should be noted that Joseph is called the son of David to show that Mary also comes from the line of David. Matthew 1:21. [continued]: And you shall call His name Jesus; for He will save His people [populum suum] from their sins. The word Jesus in Hebrew means Savior. Thus the evangelist denotes the origin of 32 His name when he says: “And you shall call His name...”. etc. Matthew 1:22–24. [beginning]: And all this happened in such a way that what was spoken from the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled, who says: Behold, a virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel, which means: God is with us. Joseph arose from sleep, did as the Angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife 33." Instead of what was said by the Evangelist Matthew: “He will be with child,” the prophet says: “He will be with child.” This is because the prophet, predicting the future, designates what should 34 be, and writes: “will receive,” and the evangelist, conveying the story of what happened, replaced: “will receive” with the word: “will have.” Indeed, the one who has cannot in any way 35 accept [what he already has]. Here is the same thing that we see in the psalms: “You ascended on high, you took captivity captive, you accepted gifts for people (Ps. 67:19). Citing this testimony, the apostle did not say: “received”, but: “gave”, because there the future is shown - that He will receive 36, and here the story goes that He gave what was accepted. Matthew 1:24. [end] and Matthew 1:25. : “And he received his wife, and did not know her, until at last she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and he called his name Jesus.” Based on this passage, some carry out the most ungodly idea that Mary had other children, because as if He would not be called the firstborn if he did not have brothers “[or”: only the one who has brothers is called the firstborn]. But (cun) Holy Scripture is in the habit of calling the firstborn not the one after whom there were other brothers, but the one who was born first. Read the above-mentioned book against Helvidius. In the translation: The Gospel of Matthew - ed. In the lane: “The Book of Kinship” – ed. In the translation: this one (i.e. the evangelist) - ed. In the translation: that (i.e. the prophet) - ed. In the lane: the carnal side - ed. At the lane in the text from the Gospel he quoted: “Josiah begat Jeconiah and his brothers - ed. In the lane: three fourteens - ed. In the lane: the previous Pentecost - ed. In the lane: the next Pentecost - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “Jesus, beginning His ministry, was about thirty years old, and was, as they thought, the Son of Joseph, Eliev” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: verse 18 – ed. At the lane: to be attributed - ed. In the lane: adulterer - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “Before they were combined” - ed. In the lane: the fornicator - ed. In the lane: having to hide - ed. In the lane: word production – ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “And all this happened, that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, who says: Behold, a virgin is with child and will give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel, which means: God is with us. Rising from sleep, Joseph did as the Angel of the Lord commanded him, and accepted his wife. In the lane: has to accept – ed. You might be interested in: