The Rose-Colored Glass is Half Full

The first Biblical error of significance that I discovered was in Matthew 1:17:

“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 generation.”

I had been studying the Bible in great detail at the time because of our recent doctrinal upheaval and conversion to a new denomination. On my third pass through the New Testament in less than a year, I was making an effort to plumb the text for new depths. On this particular day, I decided to learn the spiritual significance of the genealogies in Matthew chapter 1. Since (my training told me) God wrote everything for a reason, I wanted to ensure that I understood the message he was trying to deliver. I was not content to simply skim over the list of “begats” as I had done in the past, but took the time to understand each person in Jesus’ lineage.

I decided to make a list containing each name and then to write a brief outline of the persons’ life, noting any particular spiritual truth that could be gained. Instead, what I found set me on a journey that would peel back the layers of my faith to reveal the devastating emptiness at its core.

Before you spend time reading the rest of this article, please allow me to attempt to save you some time and effort. If you are not interested in discovering that your faith may be false, don’t continue. If you believe that every Biblical problem has an answer (even if no one can find it) don’t bother reading. If you are afraid that the Devil is leading you astray by tempting you with false evidence, don’t waste your time.

If, on the other hand, you are willing to examine and study your faith to ensure that it has a solid foundation, please continue. If you feel that your faith is based on fact and truth and are willing to test it, I encourage you to read on.

If you have ever read a Biblical commentary, you will know that the book of Matthew focuses on Jesus as the “King of the Jews.” In order to establish Jesus’ credentials, Matthew¹ starts with a standard genealogy that will demonstrate that Jesus is a rightful heir to the throne of David. These types of genealogies were not uncommon in those days. Kings had many children, and because of the length of time and number of generations since the last sitting king, there were many descendants with legal claims to the throne. Therefore, Matthew takes his genealogy a step further by attempting to demonstrate that Jesus is not only a legal heir, but is in fact the long-awaited Messiah promised by God. One of the ways that Matthew attempts to make his case is by showing the God-ordained order in Jesus’ lineage:

“So all the generations…are fourteen generations.”

“…fourteen generations”

“…fourteen generations”

Matthew knows that the number fourteen has special significance for the Jews. He expects them to see the hand of God in the generations of his chosen one, the Messiah. (Apparently, nobody told Matthew that each of Jesus’ brothers would share the same number of generations as would his cousins, second cousins, etc. But I digress.)

As I prepared my list of names and biographies, I noticed a problem that took me completely by surprise: despite Matthew’s insistence that there are are three sets of fourteen generations in the genealogy provided, one list contains only thirteen!

I encourage, nay urge you to examine the list in Matthew chapter 1 for yourself and count the names. Verify and/or attempt to disprove my count, as I have done many time. You will, unfortunately, find that verse 17 does not accurately describe the nature of the list.

To attempt to resolve this problem, I immediately consulted the Old Testament genealogies found in the books of 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles. The king-lists found in those books reference many of the same names as Matthew’s genealogies, so I hoped that they would reveal a solution to the problem. Instead, I discovered that they made the problem much worse.

According to the Old Testament lists, Matthew left out four names that should have been included in Jesus’ lineage: Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah, and Jehoiakim. If Matthew had included these four names in their proper locations, the second list would have been far too long!

(To Be Continued)

Notes:

1. I will use “Matthew” in the place of “the author of Matthew” to avoid confusion on the part of those unfamiliar with modern Biblical scholarship.