Matthew 1:12-16

Matthew 1:12-16

[12] And  after  they were brought  to Babylon,  Jechonias  begat  Salathiel;  and  Salathiel  begat  Zorobabel;  [13] And  Zorobabel  begat  Abiud;  and  Abiud  begat  Eliakim;  and  Eliakim  begat  Azor;  [14] And  Azor  begat  Sadoc;  and  Sadoc  begat  Achim;  and  Achim  begat  Eliud;  [15] And  Eliud  begat  Eleazar;  and  Eleazar  begat  Matthan;  and  Matthan  begat  Jacob;  [16] And  Jacob  begat  Joseph  the husband  of Mary,  of  whom  was born  Jesus,  who  is called  Christ. 

What does Matthew 1:12-16 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Most of the names in this section occur nowhere else in the Bible. Matthew probably knew them from oral tradition and or written sources.
"While no twentieth-century Jew could prove he was from the tribe of Judah, let alone from the house of David, that does not appear to have been a problem in the first century, when lineage was important in gaining access to temple worship." [1]
Matthew 1:16 contains careful and unusual wording. Matthew was preparing for what he later explained, the virgin birth of Jesus ( Matthew 1:23). The phrase "who is called" (ho legomenos) does not imply doubt about Jesus" messiahship. It just identifies the Jesus whose genealogy preceded. This is one of Matthew"s favorite expressions in this Gospel. It announces the names of persons or places12times (cf. Matthew 1:16; Matthew 2:23; Matthew 4:18; Matthew 10:2; Matthew 13:55; Matthew 26:3; Matthew 26:14; Matthew 26:36; Matthew 27:16-17; Matthew 27:22; Matthew 27:33). As this verse shows, Jesus was legally Joseph"s son even though He was virgin born by Mary.