This genealogy of Jesus was taken from a combination of various chapters in the Bible. And best efforts to reconcile some of the inconsistencies in these chapters were employed.
Jesus’ family tree from Adam to Noah was taken from Genesis 5:3–32. The descendants of Shem all the way to Abraham were taken from Genesis 11:10–32. From Abraham to Jesus, the source used was Matthew 1, but a reference to Luke 3:23–38 was also made in all these.
For a more detailed account of Judah’s descendants, reference was likewise made to 1 Chronicles 2 and, more particularly with regard to the family line from Perez to David, Ruth 4:19. On the other hand, for more specific details on the descendants of Solomon, 1 Chronicles 3:10–24 was additionally used as a source.
The following is the genealogy of Jesus:
ADAM (first man) – EVE (first woman)
SETH (third son) – UNNAMED WIFE
ENOSH (first son) – UNNAMED WIFE
KENAN – UNNAMED WIFE
MAHALALEL – UNNAMED WIFE
JARED – UNNAMED WIFE
ENOCH – UNNAMED WIFE
METHUSELAH – UNNAMED WIFE
LAMECH – UNNAMED WIFE[1]
NOAH – UNNAMED WIFE[2]
SHEM – UNNAMED WIFE[3]
ARPACHSHAD[4] – UNNAMED WIFE
CAINAN – UNNAMED WIFE
SHELAH – UNNAMED WIFE
EBER – UNNAMED WIFE[5]
PELEG – UNNAMED WIFE[6]
REU – UNNAMED WIFE
SERUG – UNNAMED WIFE
NAHOR – UNNAMED WIFE
TERAH – UNNAMED WIFE[7]
ABRAHAM – SARAH[8]
ISAAC (only son)[9] – REBECCA[10]
JACOB (second son) – LEAH[11]
JUDAH (fourth son) – TAMAR[12]
PEREZ (first son) – UNNAMED WIFE
HEZRON – UNNAMED WIFE
RAM[13] – UNNAMED WIFE
AMMINADAB[14] – UNNAMED WIFE
NAHSHON – UNNAMED WIFE
SALMON – RAHAB[15]
BOAZ – RUTH[16]
OBED – UNNAMED WIFE
JESSE – UNNAMED WIFE[17]
DAVID (eighth son) – BATHSHEBA[18]
SOLOMON (second son) – NAAMAH[19]
REHOBOAM – MAACAH[20]
ABIJAH – UNNAMED WIFE[21]
ASA – AZUBAH[22]
JEHOSHAPHAT – UNNAMED WIFE
AHAZIAH[25] (youngest son) – ZIBIAH[26]
JOASH[27] – JEHOADDIN
AMAZIAH – JECOLIAH[28]
UZZIAH – JERUSHA[29]
JOTHAM – UNNAMED WIFE
AHAZ – ABIJAH[30]
HEZEKIAH – HEPHZIBAH[31]
MANASSEH – MESHULLEMETH[32]
AMON – JEDIDAH[33]
JOSIAH – ZEBIDAH[34]
JEHOIAKIM[35] (second son) – NEHUSHTA[36]
JEHOIACHIN – UNNAMED WIFE
SHEALTIEL – UNNAMED WIFE
ZERUBBABEL[37] – UNNAMED WIFE[38]
ABIUD – UNNAMED WIFE [39]
ELIAKIM – UNNAMED WIFE
AZOR – UNNAMED WIFE [40]
ZADOK – UNNAMED WIFE
ACHIM – UNNAMED WIFE
ELIUD – UNNAMED WIFE[41]
ELEAZAR – UNNAMED WIFE[42]
MATTHAN – UNNAMED WIFE[43]
JOSEPH – MARY
JESUS THE MESSIAH
[1] The Jewish Book of Jubilees, in its Chapter 4, names Seth’s wife as Azura, his younger sister; Enosh’s wife as Nôâm, his younger sister; Kenan’s wife as Mûalêlêth, his sister; Mahalalel’s wife as DinaH, the daughter of Barakiel, the daughter of his father’s brother; Jared’s wife as “Baraka, the daughter of Râsûjâl, a daughter of his father’s brother”; Enoch’s wife as “Edna, the daughter of Danel, the daughter of his father’s brother”; Methuselah’s wife as “Edna, the daughter of Azrial, the daughter of his father’s brother”; Lamech’s wife as Betenos, “the daughter of Baraki’il, the daughter of his father’s brother.”
[2] The Book of Jubilees, Chapter 4, names Noah’s wife as “`Emzârâ, the daughter of Râkê’êl, the daughter of his father’s brother,” Mehujael. The Arabic Book of Rolls and Syriac Cave of Treasures both agree that Noah’s wife was “Haykêl, the daughter of Namûs (or Namousa), the daughter of Enoch, the brother of Methuselah.” Saint Epiphanius’ Panarion, on the other hand, mentions Noah’s wife as “Haikal, the daughter of Abaraz, of the daughters of the sons of Enos.” Then Armenian traditions call her “Nemzar, Noyemzar or Noyanza,” and the Latin work Inventiones Nominum refers to her as Set.
[3] The Book of Jubilees, Chapter 7, names Shem’s wife as Ne’elatama’uk, “the daughter of Baraki’il, the daughter of his father’s brother.” Arabic literature, written by Patriarch Eutychius of Alexandria, recognizes Salit as Shem’s wife, while theologian John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible claims Shem’s wife to be Zalbeth. On the other hand, Latin work Inventiones Nominum refers to her as Nora.
[4] In Genesis 11:12, Arpachshad is named as the father of Shelah, while Luke 3:35–36 refers to Arphaxad as the father of Cainan, the father of Shelah.
[5] The Book of Jubilees, Chapter 8, names Arpachshad’s wife as “Rasu’eja, the daughter of Susan, the daughter of Elam,” Arpachshad’s older brother; Cainan’s wife as “Melka, the daughter of Madai, the son of Japheth,” Shem’s brother; Shelah’s wife as “Mu’ak, the daughter of Kesed,” the brother of Shelah’s father, Cainan; Eber’s wife as “’Azûrâd, the daughter of Nebrod,” the grandson of Ham, Shem’s brother.
[6] The Book of Jubilees, Chapter 10, names Peleg’s wife as “Lomna the daughter of Sina’ar.”
[7] The Book of Jubilees, Chapter 11, names Reu’s wife as “’Ôrâ, the daughter of ‘Ûr, the son of Kesed”; Serug’s wife as “Melka, the daughter of Kaber, the daughter of his father’s brother”; Nahor’s wife as “’Ijaska, the daughter of Nestag of the Chaldees”; Terah’s wife as “’Edna, the daughter of ‘Abram, the daughter of his father’s sister.”
[8] In Genesis 20:12, Abraham reveals Sarah to be his half-sister: “the daughter of my father, but not of my mother.”
[9] Isaac was the only son of Abraham and Sarah, but he was the second son of Abraham, whose first son was Ishmael, with Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar (Genesis 16:15).
[10] Rebecca was “the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife Milcah” (Genesis 24:15), making her Isaac’s first cousin once removed.
[11] Jacob married Leah and Rachel, sisters and both his first cousins (Genesis 29:10–14). Rachel was the wife whom Jacob loved, but it was from Leah’s lineage that Jesus came.
[12] Tamar was Judah’s daughter-in-law, who pretended to be a prostitute and had sexual intercourse with him, and then she bore him twins, Perez and Zerah. This happened sometime after Judah’s wife died (Genesis 38:12–30), with whom he previously had three sons.
[13] In Luke 3:33, Ram’s name is given as Arni.
[14] Luke 3:33 mentions Amminadab as “the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez.” However, Matthew 1, 1 Chronicles 2, and Ruth 4:19 omit Admin and name Amminadab as the son of Ram.
[15] She is believed to be the Rahab of Jericho, a woman who helped the Israelites to capture the city by sheltering two men who were sent to spy out the city before they attacked it (Joshua 2).
[16] Aside from Rahab and Tamar, Ruth was a Gentile who had been married into Israel’s leading families and became part of the ancestry of Jesus.
[17] In Jewish tradition, Nitzevet, daughter of Adael, is said to be the wife of Jesse and the mother of David.
[18] Bathsheba was another non-Israelite woman who became the ancestress of Jesus. She was first married to Uriah the Hittite, whom David conspired to send to battle in order to be killed (2 Samuel 11:1–27).
[19] 1 Kings 14:21 names Naamah as the mother of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. Naamah was a woman from Ammon, an Ammonite, making her one of the queen mothers of Israel or Judah who was a foreigner.
[20] 2 Chronicles 11:21 states that among Rehoboam’s 18 wives and 60 concubines, Maacah was the one he loved most. In verse 20 of the same chapter, Maacah was described as the daughter of Absalom, the son of David. However, in 2 Chronicles 13:2 (where Maacah is spelled as Micaiah), she is mentioned as the daughter of Uriel. Explanations were made to reconcile this inconsistency, including the proposition that Maacah was the daughter of Uriel by Tamar and the granddaughter of Absalom.
[21] Sources name Arsah to be the mother of Asa.
[22] 1 Kings 22: 42 mentions Azubah as the “daughter of Shilhi.”
[23] Jehoram of Judah, son of Jehoshaphat, should not be confused with Jehoram of Israel, son of Ahab and Jezebel (2 Kings 8).
[24] Athaliah was “the daughter of King Ahab and granddaughter of King Omri of Israel” (2 Kings 8:26) and thus the brother of Jehoram of Israel. She was married to Jehoram of Judah to seal a pact between the kingdoms of Judah and Israel.
[25] Matthew 1:6b–11 lists “Jehoram, Uzziah, Jotham” in the ancestry of Christ, while 1 Chronicles 3:11–12 writes “Jehoram, Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham.” This inconsistency could imply that Matthew is giving here an abbreviated genealogy of the ancestry of Jesus, while 1 Chronicles details it further.
[26] Zibiah was described in 2 Kings 12:1 as a woman “from the city of Beersheba.”
[27] He was also called Jehoash of Judah, the eighth king of Judah (not to be confused with Jehoash of Israel, the 12thking of the ancient northern kingdom of Israel, who was the son of Jehoahaz (2 Kings 14:1) and the father of Jeroboam II). When Joash was just an infant, his grandmother, Athaliah, ordered the massacre of the royal family, and only Joash was saved, leaving him the only surviving son of Ahaziah. He “became king of Judah at the age of seven, and he ruled in Jerusalem for forty years” (2 Chronicles 24:1). Jehoiada the priest “chose two wives for King Joash, and they bore him sons and daughters” (1 Chronicles 24:2). One of these two wives was “Jehoaddin from Jerusalem” (2 Kings 14:2 and 2 Chronicles 25:1).
[28] 2 Chronicles 26 names “Jecoliah from Jerusalem” as the mother of Uzziah, the son of Amaziah.
[29] In 2 Kings 15:33, Jerusha (also spelled Jerushah in 2 Chronicles 27:1), “daughter of Zadok,” is named as the mother of Jotham, son of Uzziah.
[30] Abijah is mentioned in 2 Kings 18:2 as the mother of Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, and “the daughter of Zechariah.”
[31] Hephzibah is named in 2 Kings 21:1 as the mother of Manasseh, son of Hezekiah.
[32] Meshullemeth is cited in 2 Kings 21:19 as the mother of Amon, son of Manasseh, and “the daughter of Haruz from the town of Jotbah.”
[33] Jedidah is described in 2 Kings 22:1 as the mother of Josiah, son of Amon, and “the daughter of Adaiah from the town of Bozkath.”
[34] Zebidah was one of the wives of Josiah, son of Amon, and is cited in 2 Kings 23:36 as the mother of Jehoiakim and “the daughter of Pedaiah from the town of Rumah.”
[35] Jehoiakim’s birth name was Eliakim, which King Neco of Egypt changed to Jehoiakim after making him “king of Judah as successor to Josiah” (2 Kings 23:34), his father. Matthew 1 omits Jehoiakim in the list of Jesus’ forefathers. One theory is that he was merely a puppet king. Another theory for this omission may be that Matthew 1 does not talk about the literal genealogy of Jesus but refers merely to the “generations” of Christ, possibly explaining why it also leaves out other names in the list.
[36] 2 Kings 24 describes Nehushta as the mother of Jehoiachin and “the daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem.”
[37] Zerubbabel is named in Ezra 3:2 as the “son of Shealtiel,” while he was described in 1 Chronicles 3:19 as the son of Pedaiah, the brother of Shealtiel. Because of this, Shealtiel is said to have died without a child and that his brother, Pedaiah, married his widow based on Jewish inheritance law (Deuteronomy 25:5–6). Another theory suggests that the title “son of Shealtiel” refers to Zerubbabel not as being a biological son of Shealtiel but being a member of Shealtiel’s household. If Zerubbabel lived in the household of Shealtiel, he could therefore be called Shealtiel’s son.
[38] Sources refer to Maukab, the daughter of Ezra the Priest, as the wife of Zerubbabel.
[39] Sources name Tamita as the wife of Abiud.
[40] Sources pertain to Lebaidah as the wife of Azor.
[41] Sources refer to Johanna Ap Joseph as the wife of Eliud.
[42] Sources name Hayat Tsamiti de Jerusalem as the wife of Eleazar.
[43] Sources pertain to Hazibah/Estha as the wife of Matthan.
[44] A discrepancy is being asserted between Matthew 1, which refers to Joseph as the son of Jacob, and Luke 3, which writes “Joseph, who was the son of Heli.” Many explanations have been made to reconcile this. One is that while Matthew 1 presents the genealogy of Jesus through his father, Joseph, Luke 3 gives it through his mother, Mary. It is suggested that in his presentation of Christ’s genealogy, Luke follows the Jews’ tradition of citing only the males’ names. It is claimed, therefore, that Luke is giving the genealogy of Jesus through Mary, but designated by her husband’s name. Another theory is that Jacob is the biological father and Heli the legal father.
[45] According to sources, Jacob had two wives. The first is said to be Euchariah, a Jewish princess whose lineage is little known about. The second is claimed to be Cleopatra VIII (Cleopatra of Jerusalem), the daughter of Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Julius Caesar, the Dictator of Rome, who also later became the wife of Herod.
Den of Faith 