Question received at questions@reasonsforhopejesus.com 

 I was reading the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 and Luke 3 and have two related questions.

First, although the genealogy is essentially the same at the end points (Adam/Abraham to Joseph), the genealogy is different in the middle (Matthew lists Solomon as the son of David, whereas Luke lists Nathan).  At the end, Matthew lists Joseph as the son of Jacob, while Luke lists Joseph as the son of Heli. I am not sure how to reconcile those differences.

Second, both genealogies trace Jesus’ lineage to David through Joseph, not Mary.  But since Jesus does not have any earthly/blood linkage to Joseph, why is Jesus’ lineage to Joseph important?  Joseph is Jesus’ father by adoption, so wouldn’t Jesus’ lineage to Mary be more important?

The Genealogy of Jesus as Recorded in Matthew 

Matthew’s first verse proclaims Jesus’ legal right as Messiah, the anointed one, a king who would come from the Tribe of Judah.  The promised Seed was to come through Abraham (Genesis 22:18) and through David (Isaiah 11:1).  

Matthew 1:1  The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Matthew next proceeds to record the line of succession.  As correctly noted, when this genealogy reaches David, the succession proceeds through King Solomon, whereas, in the book of Luke it proceeds with Nathan, the second surviving son of King David.

Because Matthew is presenting Jesus as the coming Messiah to the nation of Israel, he provides a genealogy that begins with the father of the nation, Abraham. Matthew then continues his record through King Solomon, all the way to Jesus’ earthly father Joseph.  This is the record of Jesus’ genealogy through Joseph.  It presents Jesus’ legal right to the throne of David, to be Messiah (anointed One or King) from the Tribe of Judah.

The Genealogy of Jesus as Recorded in Luke

The Gospel of Luke presents Jesus as the Son of Man and reveals Him in all His humanity to be 100% man.  Luke begins with Joseph and traces the genealogy back to the first man Adam.  Luke 3:23 records Joseph as the son of Heli. Matthew records Joseph as the son of Jacob.

Luke 3:23  And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli

Matthew 1:16  And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Is this a contradiction? These are clearly two different genealogies for Joseph.  Two different names are given to Joseph’s father.  In addition, reviewing the genealogy after King David, Matthew’s account goes through King Solomon, the first surviving son of David and Bathsheba. But Luke’s account goes through Nathan, their second surviving son.  Nathan was never a king in Israel. Therefore, the Luke genealogy does not support Jesus’ right to the throne of David. Nathan was, however, a son of David from the Tribe of Judah, so the genealogy in Luke does support Jesus as a son (descendant) of David.

This is not a contradiction, and the answer is really quite simple.  Matthew is the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph and Luke is the genealogy of Jesus through Mary.   

That raises the question, why does Luke record it as the genealogy of Joseph instead of Mary in Luke 3:23.  To understand this requires some background about Jewish marriage and inheritance laws and customs. 

Before proceeding, note that in Matthew, we read each person was begotten (“begat” in KJV, “born” in modern translations).  The word “begat” is defined as: “to become the father of (someone) or to procreate as the father.” Notice that Matthew 1:16 does not say that Joseph “begat” Jesus. Rather, it says that Jesus was “born” of Mary. The word “born” is defined as: “brought into life by the process of birth.” This records that Jesus was not Joseph’s biological child. Jesus was the child born of his wife, Mary. This supports that Jesus was the adopted son of Joseph, not the begotten son of Joseph. Of course, we know that Jesus was begotten of God.

Luke Records the Genealogy of Jesus Through Mary 

Numbers 36:1-2  … the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spoke before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel,And they said, The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel, and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.

The Daughters of Zelophehad

Zelophehad was of the generation of people who were not allowed entrance into the Promised Land and therefore died in the wilderness.  We read in Numbers 27 of Zelophehad’s five daughters who came before Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the princes of all the congregation.  They brought a petition to request the inheritance of their father’s land as a way to preserve his name.  Inheritance was always through the male line, so the daughters asked, 

Moses responded exactly as we should respond in all matters.  He “brought their cause before the LORD.” (Numbers 27:5)  And the Lord answered Moses:

Numbers 27:7  The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them.

There was, however, a provision required so that the name and lineage of the father be preserved.  The daughters were to marry within their tribe (Numbers 36:6-9) so the land would remain in the tribe of the father.

Mary’s Father

Heli was Mary’s father.  Because Heli had no sons, he adopted Joseph as his son for the purposes of inheritance (according to the provision of God recorded in Numbers).  Mary and Joseph were both from the Tribe of Judah. Therefore, Mary met the requirement of marrying within the same tribe. 

Finally, let’s read Luke 3:23 again and consider what it says:

Luke 3:23  And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli

The word “supposed” in this verse is the Greek word nomizo.  It means:  to do by law, to accustom, to deem, or to regard.  So we can understand this to mean that Jesus was “reckoned by law,” not by birth, to be the son of Joseph — just as we understand that Joseph was “reckoned by law” as the son of Heli.

In Summary

1. There is a Torah exception on the rules of inheritance.  The exception was…

•  requested by Moses on behalf of the daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 27:1-5).  
•  granted by God (Numbers 27:6-11). 
•  defined by God (Numbers 36:6-9).  
•  instituted by Joshua (Joshua 17:3-6). 

2.  Mary met the required provision when she married within her tribe (Matthew 1:16).

3.  Joseph was the adopted son of Heli, reckoned by law (Luke 3:23).

4.  Matthew records the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph.  The genealogy is from Abraham to Joseph, which establishes Jesus’ legal right to the Throne of David as the Messiah of Israel.

5.  Luke records the genealogy of Jesus through Mary.  Luke starts with Mary (although Joseph’s name is listed) and traces the genealogy back to Adam.  This genealogy establishes Jesus’ birthright and bloodline as the Son of Man. 

We now understand why the genealogies differ in their beginnings (Abraham and Adam) and after King David (one through Solomon, the other through Nathan). This also explains why the names of Joseph’s father are different (Heli is Mary’s father). 

In addition to these being the genealogies of two different people (Matthew is of Joseph; Luke is of Mary), there is another interesting proof of God’s work tucked away in these passages.  Next week we’ll address Solomon and Nathan — the two sons of King David and his wife Bathsheba and their significance in the genealogical line of Jesus.

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Related articles:
Why Are There Two Different Genealogies for Jesus?
Where are the genealogies of Jesus in Mark and John?
What is the Prophetic Meaning of the Ensigns of the Camps of Israel?
Jesus in the Gospels: What are the Four Different Presentations of Jesus?
Misconceptions about the Birth of Jesus
What is the Blood Curse of Jeconiah?

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