Journey
Five women in Matthew's line
Tamar, Rachab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary: the women in Matthew's family tree of Jesus and the stories behind each one, with Rachab read as Rahab of Jericho.
People in this journey
Opening stop: Four mothers in a list of fathers, Matthew 1:1
Matthew's list runs from father to son, begat after begat, so the women he adds stand out. Each came into David's line by an irregular road: Tamar by a disguise, Ruth from Moab, and Bathsheba, the wife of a Hittite, through David's sin. Matthew spells the names his own way, but his Judas and Thamar are plainly Judah and Tamar, the parents of Pharez and Zarah (Genesis 38:29-30). He never says his Rachab is Rahab of Jericho, but the timing fits: Salmon, the father of her son, was the son of Nahshon, who led Judah in the wilderness (Ruth 4:20, Numbers 2:3).
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
King James Version
The chapter opens as a book of generation and runs a list of fathers and sons from Abraham through David to the deportation to Babylon and on to Christ. Four women appear inside the chain of fathers: Thamar, Rachab, Ruth, and her that had been the wife of Urias. The list reaches Jacob, who begat Joseph the husband of Mary, and the narrator counts the whole as three sets of fourteen generations. The birth account follows. Mary is espoused to Joseph and is found with child of the Holy Ghost before they come together. Joseph plans to put her away privily. An angel of the Lord appears to him in a dream, tells him not to fear to take Mary, says the child is of the Holy Ghost, and gives the name JESUS with a reason. The narrator adds a prophetic quotation about a virgin and the name Emmanuel. Joseph wakes, takes his wife, and calls the child JESUS.
Continue the journey
This journey has 8 stops. The opening stop is free. Premium opens the rest of the guided path, and every Scripture chapter stays free to read.