Bible Study - Matthew 1:1-18
I am going to go ahead and get started. We are going to begin with a prayer.
Heavenly Father, we humbly come before you to thank you and praise you for your gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. We are beginning our study with the first book of your New Covenant with us and thank you for this. We pray that you will fill us with the Holy Spirit and may He work through us to bring about your revelation, understanding and a closer relationship with You Father. We thank you and praise you! In Jesus name. Amen.
Matthew 1: 1-18
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;
5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;
8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;
9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;
10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;
11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:
12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;
13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;
14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;
15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;
16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
It seems that the New Testament begins with the most boring content. But not so. It may be hard to follow with all the begats, but just those names themselves reveal so much about God and who He is and who we are to Him. So lets take this one verse at a time.
Verse 1 says "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." Matthew begins by making his case that Jesus is the promised Messiah. The old testament prophets prophesied what bloodline the Messiah would could from. This establishes that fact with the geneology to back it up. That's why Jesus was upset that the Jews did not accept Him for who He was. But these boring verses contain so much more.
Abraham ~ Father of multitudes
Isaac ~ one who rejoices
Jacob ~ supplanter
Supplanter means to take the place of another.
Jacob's name was changed to Israel. He had 12 sons. Those 12 sons became the 12 tribes of Israel. But the one son or tribe, that establishes the bloodline of the Messiah is Jacob (Israel's) son Judah.
Here is where it gets interesting.
in verse 2, Matthew says that Jacob begat JUDAS and His brethren. He mentions brethren here because it establishes the beginning of Israel and it's 12 tribes. Each of Judas' brothers was a tribe of Israel. But why does Matthew specifically say JUDAS and not JUDAH?
At first I thought it was a typo, so I started checking other prints....nope. Matthew specifically, and it was specifically interpreted TO THE LETTER...
J.U.D.A.S. Just one letter difference changes the meaning...
JUDAH means "Praise"
JUDAS means "Traitor"
This was God Breathed on purpose, for Matthew to be written and interpreted that way. I'm not sure if Matthew was even aware of it or it's significance. It could have only came from God. Matthew was just trying to establish the geneology.
So why did Judah become Judas in Matthew? Remember we are looking at the meaning of each name and each name tells a beautiful story when looking at the geneology in it's entirety.
Out of Jacob's (Israels) sons, the most favored and blessed son was Joseph. (Joseph is where we get the story of his coat of many colors.) I always thought Jesus came from the line of Joseph. NOT SO. Judah and his brothers were jealous of Jacob's love for Joseph. So Judah and his brothers devised a plan, threw Joseph down a well, was going to kill him but then sold him into slavery. Judah became Judas, betraying his brother. So why would Jesus' lineage come from Judas and not Joseph?
Joseph's sons Ephraim and Mannasseh together became the Tabernacle of Joseph, or House of Joseph. The house of Joseph actually divided Israel, beginning with Ephraim's jealousy of Judah. Ephraim actually left Egypt 30 years before the exodus. They rebelled against God and it resulted in them being slayed by the Philistines, all but 10. The Philistines spread their bodys along the road and they laid there til their bones had been bleached by the sun. When God led Israel out of Egypt He actually lead them in a round about way in order to protect them from seeing and suffering the remains of Ephraim. So because of what would happen with Josephs sons, it makes more sense that Jesus would rather come from Judah because Joseph's line had reached a dead end.
Moving on....
Judas (traitor) ~ Judah (praise)
Judas begat Phares and Zara
Phares (breach/division)
Zara (radiance or light)
verse 3 tells us Judas begat Phares and Zara from Thamar.
Thamar is actually Tamar their mother.
Why would it be mentioned here their mother and why would it mention two sons?
Beginning with Judas (Judah) there had been a betrayal that allowed the enemy to breach Israel and divide it. Both of Judah's sons are mentioned in verse 3 because they were twins. Tamar (Thamar) is mentioned as their mother because of how they were conceived, which further adds to the reason why Judah was spelled Judas in Matthew.
Judah had 3 sons that are not mentioned in the geneology.
They were Er (meaning Observant), Onan (meaning power) and Shelah (meaning breaks, unties, undresses). Judah gave Er a canaanite bride Tamar.
Tamar ~ means beautiful date palm (I will explain the date palm after this.)
Er was very evil and so God killed Er before he could have children with Tamar. Tamar was then married to Onan who was by Hebrew law suppose to give his deceased brother an heir. Onan refused to give Tamar a child because then it would be heir to Judah instead of him. Because of Onan's disobedience God killed him too. Shelah was too young to marry Tamar and give her a child. Instead of waiting, Tamar disguised herself and met with Judah. Judah thought she was a beautiful prostitute, not knowing it was his daughter in law, so he slept with her. She concieved Phares and Zara, twins.
While giving birth to the twins, Zara was positioned to come first. Phares grabbed Zara and pulled him back and Phares was born first. Now about Tamar (beautiful, date palm)
The date palm is the oldest cultivated fruit tree in the world. It can be found in scripture from Genesis to Revelations. It has been considered and called the "Tree of Life". In ancient days God told mankind that it could be used for food, shelter and medicine. Even today and throughout ancient history its trunk is used for lumber, it's palms are used to weave baskets, rugs, ropes, shelter and even furniture. It has been used in art and architecture even to this day. It was a symbol of life, victory, royalty. The people waved the palm branches when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and spread them before him as a symbol of Him being King. It's where we get the term Palm Sunday. Archeologist found 2000 year old seeds while excavating where Jews burned their food and then had committed a mass suicide rather than be captured by the romans. Miraculously those seeds were germinated and resurrected after 2000 years, just as Israel was resurrected after 2000 years.
Psalms 92:12
Esekiel 47:12
Rev 7:9
Matthew 1: 3..... Phares begat Esrom and Esrom begat Aram
Esrom ~ dart of joy
Aram -~ ram
From here I am just going to list every name in the geneology and it's meaning. If you go back from Abraham to Jesus and read the meaning of each name that God used to bring about the Messiah, Jesus Christ, you will see God's heart and His purpose, and maybe even more than I can see. It is a beautiful story that NO human could ever intentionally devise, readvise or corrupt. You will see God in a sacred way, that one does not see by just reading the verses. It is a beautiful description and I thank God Matthew wrote it the way he did. Remember to go back and just read what each name means from Abraham to Jesus.
Abraham ~ Father of multitudes
Isaac ~ one who rejoices
Jacob ~ supplanter, one who takes the place of
Judas ~ traitor Judah ~ praise
Phares ~ breach / division Zara ~ God remembers
Tamar ~ beautiful date palm
Esrom ~ dart of joy
Aram ~ ram
Aminadab ~ My people are willing
Naasson ~ helper, entry way
Salmon ~ peaceable, perfect, rewarder
Booz ~ In strength
of Rachab ~ grow strong
Obed ~ servant of God
of Ruth ~ sorrow, pity, grief
Jesse ~ the Lord exists
David ~ Beloved
Solomon ~ Peace
of her that was wife of Urias ~ God is light
Abia ~ God is my Father
Asa ~ healer, physician
Josephat ~ the Lord is Judge
Joram ~ Jehova is exalted
Ozias ~ strength from the Lord
Joatham ~ the perfection of the Lord
Achaz ~ takes or possesses
Ezekias ~ God gives strength
Manasses ~ making to forget
Amon ~ teacher, builder, wealthy protector
Josias ~ God supports and heals
Jechonias ~ preparation, stability of the Lord
and his brothers about the time they were carried away into Babylon
Salathiel ~ asked or lent of God
Zorobabel ~ a stranger at Babylon
Abiud ~ Father of praise
Eliakim ~ God will establish
Azor ~ a helper, a court
Sadoc ~ just, justified, righteous, sacred
Aachim ~ He whom Jehovah has set up
Eliud ~ God is great
Eleazar ~ God has helped
Matthan ~ Gift or hope of the Lord
Jacob ~ Supplanter, one who takes the place of
Joseph ~ He will add
Mary ~ beloved
JESUS ~ Savior / God's salvation / the way, the truth, the life
Then in verse 17 Matthew says,
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
I went back and counted all the generations and it is true, 14 generations between each.
The number 14 is significant in scriptures.
-Jacob worked for 14 years in order to obtain his wife Rachel.
-The celebration of the completion of Solomon's Temple lasted 14 days.
-Israel was delivered from Egypt on the 14th day of Nisan.
-The Passover where the firstborn were delivered from death by the lambs blood was on the 14th day of Nisan.
-Jesus was crucified on the 14th day of Nisan.
When I counted the blood line from David to Joseph, Joseph was number 12. But Jesus was not born of Joseph, He was born of the Holy Spirit from Mary. So you could say Mary is the 13th generation. But it's my opinion the Holy Spirit was the 13th generation, because it was God's divine plan of salvation. If we were to look at the lineage of Mary, she also was from the bloodline of David but that is not in the scripture of Matthew that we are studying.
The number 14 is a double portion of the number 7 which represents perfection. 7 x 2 or 7 + 7 is 14. A double portion of perfect. Perfect in Heaven, Perfect in Earth. Thy Kingdom Come Thy Will be done, In Earth as it is in Heaven. A savior who re-connects us with God and bridges that distance between Heaven and Earth. Awesome. A double portion of perfect.
Thank you Jesus.