ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Matthew 1

Matt. 1:1–2:23 The Arrival of Jesus the Messiah. Matthew’s introduction echoes Genesis. The word in 1:1 rendered “genealogy” (Greek genesis) implies that it is a book of “beginnings” (see note on Gen. 2:4). “The book of the genealogy” appears to function as a heading for the genealogy (Matt. 1:2–17) and as a title for the entire story: a new beginning with the arrival of Jesus the Messiah and the kingdom of God.

Matt. 1:1–17 Jews kept extensive genealogies to establish a person’s legitimacy and inheritance rights. Matthew likely draws on the genealogies of the OT, with some omissions (see note on v. 17). He demonstrates Jesus’ legal claim to the throne of David. Genealogies had more than one function in the ancient world. Sometimes they traced a specific family’s history, offering a fairly complete list of descendants. Or they could focus on a longer period of time, listing one ancestor in each generation, often skipping some generations. Sometimes genealogies traced national or human history. They then used important figures to divide history into major parts. Matthew’s genealogy is an example of this second kind of genealogy.

Matt. 1:1 The book of the genealogy. The Gospel’s opening words carried special significance for a Jewish audience. Their ancestry was linked with God’s covenants with Israel. Jesus was a common name. It is “Joshua” in Hebrew, meaning “Yahweh saves.” Christ, which means “anointed,” points back to David as the anointed king of Israel and to the promise of an “anointed one,” the Messiah, who would rule God’s people (2 Sam. 7:11b–16). Son of David points to his royal lineage. son of Abraham. God’s covenant with Abraham established Israel as a chosen people. It also affirmed that the whole world would be blessed through his family (Gen. 12:1–3; 22:18).

Matt. 1:3 The inclusion of five women in Jesus’ genealogy—Tamar, Rahab and Ruth (v. 5), Bathsheba (“the wife of Uriah,” v. 6), and Mary (v. 16)—is unusual. Descent was usually traced through men as the head of the family. It is also remarkable that three of the women (Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba) were of questionable character and two of the women (Rahab and Ruth) were Gentiles.

Matt. 1:6b–11 Matthew may have drawn from 1 Chron. 3:10–14. Both genealogies omit several of the kings found in the books of Kings and Chronicles. Such omissions were a common practice in genealogies (see note on Matt. 1:1–17).

Matt. 1:12 Jechoniah (2 Kings 24:8–9) was so evil that his family was cursed (Jer. 22:30). Yet the legal claim to the throne could still come through Jechoniah’s line.

Matt. 1:16–17 Jesus is the rightful legal heir to the covenant promises associated with David (v. 6) and Abraham (vv. 1–2).

Matt. 1:17 fourteen generations. Matthew does not mean all the generations that had lived during those times; see note on vv. 6b–11. Rather, he counts 14 generations within each major section. He uses the genealogy as a way to mark the major periods of Israel’s history.

Matt. 1:18 Mary had been betrothed to Joseph. In the custom of betrothal, parents chose a young woman to be engaged to their son. A second stage of betrothal involved official arrangements and a legally binding marriage agreement before witnesses. Only a formal process of divorce could break a betrothal.

Matt. 1:19 Betrothed partners were referred to as husband and “wife” (v. 20), though they were not yet married. Having sexual relations during betrothal was considered adultery.

Matt. 1:20 The angel of the Lord is Gabriel (see Luke 1:26).

Matt. 1:21 Jesus. See note on v. 1. save his people from their sins. See Isa. 40:2; 53:6; Jer. 31:31–34.

Matt. 1:22 All this took place to fulfill. Matthew often points to an event or teaching of Jesus that fulfills an OT passage. He does this to indicate: (1) a direct prediction and fulfillment (e.g., vv. 22–23); (2) the intended full meaning of the OT Scripture (e.g., 5:17–20); or (3) a person or event that corresponds to Israel’s history (e.g., 2:15, 17–18).

Matt. 1:23 the virgin. The Greek word corresponds to the Hebrew term in Isa. 7:14 (see note there). The prophecy in Isa. 7:14 points to God’s enduring promise for the line of David. Matthew thus presents the virgin birth of Jesus as God’s miraculous fulfillment of this promise.

Matt. 1:24 he took his wife. See notes on vv. 18, 19.