Matthew 1:17 — Community Reflections

MATTHEW 1:17 — KING JAMES VERSION 0

“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.”

So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations. The three-by-fourteen structure Matthew announces is a theological pattern, not a census. Fourteen may reflect the numerical value of David's name in Hebrew (D-V-D = 4+6+4 = 14), making the genealogy a sustained meditation on the Davidic promise. The three epochs — promise (Abraham to David), failure and exile (David to deportation), and restoration (deportation to Christ) — map the entire sweep of Israel's covenant history as a movement toward the Messiah. What looks like a list of names is actually a compressed narrative of the entire Old Testament.

Church Fathers on Matthew 1:17

Having enumerated the generations from Abraham to Christ, he divides them into three divisions of fourteen generations, because three times at the end of fourteen generations the state of the people of the Jews was changed. From Abraham to David they were under Judges; from David to the carrying away into Babylon under Kings; from the carrying away to Christ under the High Priests.
Pseudo-Chrysostom · 5th century

Or he divided the whole genealogy into three parts to shew that not even by the change of their government were they made better, but under Judges, Kings, High Priests, and Priests, held the same evil course. For which cause also he mentions the captivity in Babylon, shewing that neither by this were they corrected. But the going down into Egypt is not mentioned, because they were not still in terror of the Egyptians as they were of the Assyrians or Parthians; and because…
Chrysostom · 4th century

Let us not think this is to be overlooked, that though there were seventeen Kings of Judaea between David and Jeconiah, Matthew only recounts fourteen. We must observe that there might be many more successions to the throne than generations of men; for some may live longer and beget children later; or might be altogether without seed; thence the number of Kings and of generations would not coincide.
Ambrose · 4th century · in Luc., c. 3

Read all 12 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Publish a reflection on this verse

No reflections on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!