Matthew 1:13
Encyclopedia
Matthew 1:13 is the thirteenth verse of Matthew 1
of the Gospel of Matthew
in the New Testament
. The verse is part of the section where the genealogy
of Joseph
, the father of Jesus
, is listed. This verse covers the section somewhat after the Babylonian Captivity
six generation before Jesus
.
See also: Genealogy of Jesus
In the King James Version of the Bible
the text reads:
The World English Bible
translates the passage as:
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 1:13
Zerubbabel is reported to have had a number of children, but no other source has one named Abiud. The Eliakim listed is not to be confused with Jehoiakim
, who is sometimes referred to as Eliakim. Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel is also listed in the genealogy of Jesus that appears in Luke 3:27. For a full discussion of this issue see Genealogy of Jesus#Explanations for divergence.
Those listed in this part of the genealogy lived in the period after the Babylonian Captivity
and six generation before Jesus
. Traditionally Zerubbabel's period is believed to have started in 539 BC, while Azor, the last listed, is said to have died in 372 BC
. This is a long period of time for just four people and many scholars feel an accurate list would be longer. Luke's genealogy has far more names covering this period. That this part of the genealogy is usually lacking in papponymic
naming leads Albright and Mann to speculate that over the generations the repeating and similar names were merged.
Of the people listed in this passage only Zerubbabel is well known. He plays an important role in the Book of Ezra
and appears elsewhere in the Bible. It is at this point that the Old Testament histories conclude, and the other three figures listed here are only known from this genealogy. It is thus unknown where the rest of the genealogy comes from. As noted in Josephus
prominent Jewish families did keep detailed genealogical records, and the author of Matthew may have had access to some of these. Each local government also kept genealogical records to ensure proper rules of inheritance were followed.
Gundry
believes that the rest of the genealogy is a creative fiction by the author of Matthew to fill in the gap between the end of the OT sources and Jesus' birth. He argues that the reason Abiud, Eliakim, and Azor are not known outside this passage is because the author of Matthew made them up. To Gundry once the list moves away from the accepted genealogy of Jewish leaders it is fabricated until it reaches the known territory of Joseph's grandfather. Gundry does not imagine that Matthew has made up the list entirely. The names listed do fit the period of history. Rather Gundry sees the author, who had been copying the list of kings from the Old Testament
, turn to that source for the names of Joseph's ancestors. Specifically he believes the names are all drawn from 1 Chronicles, but were modified to not make the copying obvious.
Abihu was one of the priests whose name means "son of Judah." According to Gundry the author of Matthew liked the meaning behind this name and it was slight modified to become Abiud. Eliezer
succeeded Abihu and his name is changed to Eliakim by the author of Matthew, linking him to the Eliakim mentioned in Isaiah 22 and to Jehoiakim
, a king that was left out of the earlier narrative. Azariah, another priest had his name shortened to create the name Azor.
Matthew 1
Matthew 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It contains two distinct sections. The first lists the genealogy of Jesus's legal father Joseph from Abraham...
of the Gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. The verse is part of the section where the genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
of Joseph
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
, the father of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, is listed. This verse covers the section somewhat after the Babylonian Captivity
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
six generation before Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
.
See also: Genealogy of Jesus
Genealogy of Jesus
The genealogy of Jesus is described in two passages of the Gospels: Luke 3:23–38 and Matthew 1:1–17.* Matthew's genealogy commences with Abraham and then from King David's son Solomon follows the legal line of the kings through Jeconiah, the king whose descendants were cursed, to Joseph, legal...
In the King James Version of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
the text reads:
- And ZorobabelZerubbabelZerubbabel was a governor of the Persian Province of Judah and the grandson of Jehoiachin, penultimate king of Judah. Zerubbabel led the first group of Jews, numbering 42,360, who returned from the Babylonian Captivity in the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia . The date is generally thought to...
begat Abiud; - and Abiud begat Eliakim;
- and Eliakim begat Azor;
The World English Bible
World English Bible
The World English Bible is a public domain translation of the Bible that is currently in draft form. Work on the World English Bible began in 1997 and was known as the American Standard Version 1997...
translates the passage as:
- Zerubbabel became the father of Abiud.
- Abiud became the father of Eliakim.
- Eliakim became the father of Azor.
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 1:13
Zerubbabel is reported to have had a number of children, but no other source has one named Abiud. The Eliakim listed is not to be confused with Jehoiakim
Jehoiakim
Jehoiakim .On Josiah's death, Jehoiakim's younger brother Jehoahaz was proclaimed king, but after three months pharaoh Necho II deposed him and replaced him with the eldest son, Eliakim, who adopted the name Jehoiakim and became king at the age of twenty-five...
, who is sometimes referred to as Eliakim. Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel is also listed in the genealogy of Jesus that appears in Luke 3:27. For a full discussion of this issue see Genealogy of Jesus#Explanations for divergence.
Those listed in this part of the genealogy lived in the period after the Babylonian Captivity
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
and six generation before Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. Traditionally Zerubbabel's period is believed to have started in 539 BC, while Azor, the last listed, is said to have died in 372 BC
372 BC
Year 372 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Fourth year without Tribunate or Consulship...
. This is a long period of time for just four people and many scholars feel an accurate list would be longer. Luke's genealogy has far more names covering this period. That this part of the genealogy is usually lacking in papponymic
Papponymic
A papponymic is a personal name based on the name of one's grandfather, similar to a patronymic, a name derived form the name of one's father. Papponyms have been common in a number of societies such as Ancient Greece and Ancient Israel...
naming leads Albright and Mann to speculate that over the generations the repeating and similar names were merged.
Of the people listed in this passage only Zerubbabel is well known. He plays an important role in the Book of Ezra
Book of Ezra
The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Originally combined with the Book of Nehemiah in a single book of Ezra-Nehemiah, the two became separated in the early centuries of the Christian era...
and appears elsewhere in the Bible. It is at this point that the Old Testament histories conclude, and the other three figures listed here are only known from this genealogy. It is thus unknown where the rest of the genealogy comes from. As noted in Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
prominent Jewish families did keep detailed genealogical records, and the author of Matthew may have had access to some of these. Each local government also kept genealogical records to ensure proper rules of inheritance were followed.
Gundry
Robert H. Gundry
Robert Horton Gundry is a Biblical scholar. He received a B.A. and a B.D. degree from the Los Angeles Baptist College and Seminary, and his Ph.D. from Manchester University in Manchester, England in 1961 and has taught for several decades at Westmont College in California...
believes that the rest of the genealogy is a creative fiction by the author of Matthew to fill in the gap between the end of the OT sources and Jesus' birth. He argues that the reason Abiud, Eliakim, and Azor are not known outside this passage is because the author of Matthew made them up. To Gundry once the list moves away from the accepted genealogy of Jewish leaders it is fabricated until it reaches the known territory of Joseph's grandfather. Gundry does not imagine that Matthew has made up the list entirely. The names listed do fit the period of history. Rather Gundry sees the author, who had been copying the list of kings from the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, turn to that source for the names of Joseph's ancestors. Specifically he believes the names are all drawn from 1 Chronicles, but were modified to not make the copying obvious.
Abihu was one of the priests whose name means "son of Judah." According to Gundry the author of Matthew liked the meaning behind this name and it was slight modified to become Abiud. Eliezer
Eliezer
For the mathematician and Tamil activist see C.J. Eliezer; for the AI researcher and writer on rationality see Eliezer Yudkowsky; for the Levite priest of the Hebrew Bible, see Eleazar...
succeeded Abihu and his name is changed to Eliakim by the author of Matthew, linking him to the Eliakim mentioned in Isaiah 22 and to Jehoiakim
Jehoiakim
Jehoiakim .On Josiah's death, Jehoiakim's younger brother Jehoahaz was proclaimed king, but after three months pharaoh Necho II deposed him and replaced him with the eldest son, Eliakim, who adopted the name Jehoiakim and became king at the age of twenty-five...
, a king that was left out of the earlier narrative. Azariah, another priest had his name shortened to create the name Azor.