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「這樣，從亞伯拉罕到大衛共有十四代；從大衛到遷至巴比倫的時候也有十四代；從遷至巴比倫的時候到基督又有十四代。」（馬太福音1：17）
人類在這個世界上，除了有自我存在意識之外，多數的人都會對自己的家庭、血緣、背景有些認知或是好奇心。將自己把過去與現在連結在一起，給我們一種身份的認同感。我們甚至會希望我們的後裔──那些我們永遠見不到的子子孫孫，會知道我們跟他們血脈連。難怪古人云，國有史，方有志，家有譜。沒有族譜的家庭，就像斷了根的浮木，無法感受到世代相傳，來自老祖宗的家族力量。當人類感覺到自己扮演著歷史一環的角色時，會有一種莫名的歸屬感與使命感。近幾年來，收藏珍貴家譜紀錄已成為一個相當風行的趨勢，網上有許多幫你透過DNA尋根的廣告與服務。這些公司利用科學與互聯網技術，依據血緣關係把人聯繫起來，再按照輩份排序，構成“家族樹”的模型，讓參與的成員除了有機會去“認親”之外，也可以學習到自己的家族起源、關係等等。
聖經非常重視家譜，耶穌的家譜也不例外。早從亞伯拉罕的時代，上帝就已經應許亞伯拉罕說「我必使你的後裔極其繁多；國度從你而立，君王從你而出。」（創世紀17：6）。經過了14個年代之後，亞伯拉罕的後裔──大衛，正式登上王位，從政行事。他不只是一位優秀的戰士，他對上帝的專心倚靠和敬虔是歷代以色列國王無法攀比的。也因為大衛是一個合神心意的人，上帝揀選了他（撒母耳記上13：14；詩篇89：20），並透過先知拿單向大衛啟示說：「你的家和你的國必在我面前永遠堅立。你的國位也必堅定，直到永遠。」（撒母耳記下7：16）。從此以後，列代眾先知在預言中，每次談論到救世主彌賽亞，都是指大衛的後裔：「當那日子，那時候，我必使大衛公義的苗裔長起來；他必在地上施行公平和公義。」（耶利米書33：15）也因為這樣，基督教的新約聖經裡就不斷強調耶穌與大衛的關係，為的是要顯示耶穌就是那位人們期盼的救世主。如保羅在羅馬書1：3所說：「論到......我主耶穌基督，按肉體說，是從大衛後裔生的」。很明顯的，馬太福音作者也希望他寫的家譜能確切地反應出耶穌與大衛的關係，證明耶穌不是憑空出現的，他是那位從亞伯拉罕傳下來的大衛子孫。
馬太福音的作者用非常獨特的排列方式整理出耶穌的家譜。他把這家譜分成三個段落，每一個段落有十四代。為什麼他堅持要用「十四」這個數目字做分段點呢？ 到底「十四」有什麼特別的表徵與功能呢？
「十四」是「七」的一倍，而「七 」這個數目字在聖經裡有一個特殊的地位（參部落格：十架七言）：上帝在六天內創造天地，第七天休息（創世記 1；2：1-2）；上帝應許挪亞，他不會再用洪水毀滅世界，並用七色彩虹來紀念這個盟約（創世記 9：8-15）；亞伯拉罕以七隻羔羊作為禮物來履行他的誓言（創世記 21：22-31）；上帝吩咐以色列人每逢七年的末一年要取消相互的所有債務，並釋放他們的奴隸（申命記 15：1-2, 12）； 約書亞和以色列軍隊圍繞耶利哥城遊行七天七次。在第七天，七位祭司吹號角後，城牆就塌陷崩毀（約書亞記 6：1-20）；先知以利沙指示亞蘭國元帥──麻瘋病人乃縵，在約旦河中沐浴七次以得到醫治（列王記下 5：9-10, 14）；大衛王描述神話語之純淨 「如同銀子在泥做的爐中煉過七次」（詩篇 12：6）；當彼得問耶穌，我們要原諒別人多少次，耶穌回答說：「七十次七次」（馬太福音 18：21-22）；約翰在啟示錄寫七封信給亞西亞的七個教會：「但願從那昔在今在以後永在的神，和他寶座前的七靈。」（啟示錄1：4）；甚至還有人分析耶穌的主禱文共包含了七項祈求。「七」的例子在聖經裡不勝枚舉，因此「七」，通常象徵「完成」或「完美」。「十四」是「七」的一倍，當然更表示是雙倍的完美。
希伯來文和數目字有非常緊密的關係。猶太人很看重數字學，有人把它翻成 “命理學”（“numerology”）。可能類似中國傳統一向重視姓名學，依據個人八字五行，以求有益之筆劃組合來取一個最吉祥的名字。希伯來數字傳統上是使用「希伯來字母表」中的字母書寫的。「零」除外，每個希伯來字母各會對應一個數字。 正因為如此，數字可以拼出不同的單詞，每個單詞加起來都有它的數值。譬如說，字母表的前九個字母對應於希伯來數字 1-9等等......。 而大衛王名字 דָּוִד（Dawid），源自希伯來語： דּוֹד（dvd）。這個名字的組合：第四個字母 ד（dalet) + 第六個字母 ו （vav）+ 第四個字母 ד （dalet）， 它們的對應數目就是4 + 6 + 4 = 14，所以這些字母數目總值剛好是14；另外，大衛是家譜中列出的第十四個名字。 所以我們看得出來，馬太福音的作者在這裡用心刻意用「十四」這個數字將耶穌與大衛王聯繫起來，從而以獨特的猶太方式呈現耶穌特殊的家族歷史。
事實上，歷代志上第一至第三章對亞伯拉罕家譜記載得非常詳細，而馬太福音第一章的家譜只不過是歷代志上的濃縮版。為了方便比較，我在下列之對照表，每一個人的名字前面都放一個數目字，每一個數目字剛好代表一代。依照馬太福音的排列，第一個「十四」由亞伯拉罕起頭，以大衛收尾因；第二個「十四」由所羅門起頭，耶哥尼雅收尾；但第三個「十四」除了由撒拉鐵和歷代志上有相同的起頭之外，馬太是由耶穌收尾，歷代志上則由尼利雅收尾。
馬太福音一章
1. 亞伯拉罕
2. 以撒
3. 雅各
4. 猶大
5. 法勒斯
6. 希斯崙
7. 亞蘭
8. 亞米拿達
9. 拿順
10. 撒門
11. 波阿斯
12. 俄備得
13. 耶西
14. 大衛
15. 所羅門
16. 羅波安
17. 亞比雅
18. 亞撒
19. 約沙法
20. 約蘭
21. 烏西雅
22. 約坦
23. 亞哈斯
24. 希西家
25. 瑪拿西
26. 亞們
27. 約西亞
28. 耶哥尼雅
29. 撒拉鐵
30. 所羅巴伯
31. 亞比玉
32. 以利亞敬
33. 亞所
34. 撒督
35. 亞金
36. 以律
37. 以利亞撒
38. 馬但
39. 雅各
40. 約瑟
41. 耶穌
| 歷代志上一至三章
1.亞伯拉罕
2. 以撒
3. 以色列（“雅各”）
4. 猶大
5. 法勒斯
6. 希斯崙
7. 蘭（“亞蘭”）
8. 亞米拿達
9. 拿順
10. 撒門
11. 波阿斯
12. 俄備得
13. 耶西
14. 大衛
15. 所羅門
16. 羅波安
17. 亞比雅
18. 亞撒
19. 約沙法
20. 約蘭
21. 亞哈謝
22. 約阿施
23. 亞瑪謝
24. 亞撒利雅
25. 約坦
26. 亞哈斯
27. 希西家
28. 瑪拿西
29. 亞們
30. 約西亞
31. 約雅敬
32. 耶哥尼雅
33. 撒拉鐵
34. 所羅巴伯
35. 哈拿尼雅
36. 耶篩亞
37. 利法雅
38. 亞珥難
39. 俄巴底亞
40. 示迦尼
41. 示瑪雅
42. 尼利雅
|
細心的讀者會馬上發覺上列的對照表有一些問題：
1. 按理說，14+14+14應該等於42才對，但這裡馬太福音的總數卻是41，它是14+14+13=41
2. 馬太福音的第二段──所羅門到耶哥尼雅，是十四代，但歷代志上從所羅門到耶哥尼雅卻有十八代；換句話說，馬太福音是14+14=28；歷代志上卻是14+18=32。這中間的差異在：馬太福音把歷代志上的「 21.亞哈謝」、「 22. 約阿施」、「 23. 亞瑪謝 」、「24. 亞撒利雅」省略掉，用烏西雅代取這四位國王的名字；然後再次把歷代志上的「 31. 約雅敬」省略掉，所以是32-4+1-1=28。馬太福音作者用“省略數學”的計算方法，完美地呈現出這三組的「十四代」。
3. 第三個段落的人名差異：除了撒拉鐵和所羅巴伯之外，其餘的家譜名字完全不相同。
針對以上的這些問題，為馬太福音家譜做辯護的基督徒可不少。以下為一些例子：
1. 馬太福音作者刻意刪除那些在耶和華眼中行惡的國王。
這種說法並不正確。因為馬太福音中耶穌的家譜裡面包含了幾位相當殘忍邪惡的國王，在這裡只先舉兩個例子：第23代的亞哈斯──猶大國第十二任位國王。他在位的16年間設立了巴力神像，並燒香，用火焚自己的兒女，將他們獻給假神（歷代志下28：1—4）；他不聽從先知以賽亞的話告，求諸於別人，甚至將聖殿所有金銀贈送給亞述王（以賽亞書7章)；他還擅自更改耶和華聖殿祭壇的祭禮，私移聖殿的器具（列王紀下16章）。另外，第 25代的瑪拿西──猶大國第十四任國王，他作王 55 年，是以色列及猶大國中執政最長久的一位。他和亞哈斯王一樣，為巴力築壇、作亞舍拉像，並使他的兒子經火、又觀兆、用法術、立交鬼的、和行巫術的（列王記下21章）。他流了許多無辜人的血，包括先知以賽亞（註：根據猶太人的傳說，因為先知以賽亞反對瑪拿西王的惡行，他就指責王的罪狀，結果被王狠狠的塞入一株空樹幹中，然後活活的被王鋸死。）
2. 在舊約聖經中，有時候會以記載祖父的名字取代父親的名字。
這種解釋方法也不太合理，因為就算一個人的名字被抹去了，不管怎麼樣，那一代依然存在，不會因為名字的不存，年代就被跳過。
3. 刪節名字的安排是一種詩詞的做法，一方面為了支持結構的平衡感與美感，一方面是為了幫助讀者容易背誦耶穌家譜；而且，家譜刪節其實有很多聖經先例。
這種講法也沒有道理。馬太福音作者非常刻意的做分段的安排，看不出他有任何意圖要把這份家譜做成詩詞。因為明確的指示給讀者三個「十四」來證明自己的論點，證實「十四」有他的神奇魔力，有雙重完美的意義，從亞伯拉罕起，一切都早已指向耶穌。如果文章的意圖是以證明為主，那麼，精確性遠比詩意的表達來得重要多了。
4. 馬太福音的家譜14x3=42-1=41並不是作者粗心的錯誤，是因為在馬太福音一章17節，大衛的名字被提了兩次；也就是說第十四代的大衛要算兩次：「從亞伯拉罕到大衛共有十四代；從大衛到遷至巴比倫的時候也有十四代......」如此算法，總數就會變成正確的「42」了！
這種數學算法，的確是太牽強了。如果照這種算法，第十四代是大衛，第十五代也是大衛，很明顯，一個名字代表一代，就算大衛被提了兩次，他還是屬於同一代的人，不會因為把他算兩次就多出了一個年代。
5.在耶穌的家譜裡面，介於27代和28代之間應該是猶大王約雅敬，可是他的名字被刪除。約雅敬是約西亞的兒子，耶哥尼雅的父親（歷代志上 3:15-16）。 有人辯解說，他名字之所以被排除在外，可能是因為他是一個傀儡國王，所以不算數。其實，約雅敬的原名是以利亞敬。當埃及入侵猶大的時候，埃及法老尼哥把以利亞敬的名字改成約雅敬（列王記下23：34），之後，約雅敬臣服於埃及，做了埃及王的傀儡；後來埃及被巴比倫打敗，約雅敬就從埃及的傀儡王變成巴比倫布甲尼撒王的傀儡王（列王記下王下24：1）。
問題是，無論約雅敬做了誰的傀儡，他畢竟是約西亞的兒子。兒子的身份並不會因為做了傀儡而不算人，他仍屬於約西亞王下一代的人物。這是家譜，不是國王朝代表。
6. 馬太在事實材料的紀錄上並非有誤，因為他的目的和重點是放在耶穌是是彌賽亞這件事上，著重他來自亞伯拉罕，所以大體上的架構已經夠正確了。
這種說法就更荒謬了。如果馬太福音作者只為了“大致結構”，他大可不需要以“家譜”作為標榜，他把重點列出來就夠了。
7. 有人說「三個十四」顯然只是個約略的數字，其中的名字全部都是那些有代表性，且是赫赫有名、家喻戶曉的人物，也就是經過作者精挑細選才列舉的。
這樣含糊的解釋，不是一個忠於對歷史事實的態度。中國古代，無論是顯赫的皇帝或惡名昭彰的皇帝，都同樣被寫在歷史書裡。誰有權利用自己主觀的觀點來“精挑細選”哪個皇帝值得名垂青史，哪個皇帝值得遺臭萬年，或哪個皇帝必須從歷史書上被塗抹？
8.「聖經都是神所默示的，於教訓、督責、使人歸正、教導人學義都是有益的」（提摩太後書3 ：16）上帝用祂奧秘的方式，啟示馬太福音的作者，把耶穌的家譜用這種方式寫出來。用信心去接受他就好了。
這是基督徒最喜歡用的經句。以一概全，非常實用。新約的讀者常常忘了，提摩太後書是約公元62-64年間寫的，馬太福音是在提摩太後書20年後才問世的。當年，他們唯一所知道，所被 “默示” 的“聖經”就是塔納赫（或作希伯來聖經，又稱舊約聖經）。
基督徒是不是已經習以為常，只要一看到新約內容跟歷史記載有差異時，反射動作就是為之辯護？如果今天學校寄通知來，說我們的孩子所有的課都被當掉了，必須留級一年，可是孩子回家時卻呈現了一張輝煌的100分成績單在我們的眼前。我們身為父母的是要去學校幫孩子辯護？還是應該選擇「這事別有蹊蹺，我非得把它弄清楚不可」的態度？
願基督徒拒絕選擇用睜一隻眼閉一隻眼或反射性的辯護態度來面對新舊約之衝突。雖然維持現況的觀點會給人一種習慣性的舒適感，但歷代志上和馬太福音白紙黑字之間的不同並不會因此而消失。
Genealogy of Jesus
"Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah."
Human beings, apart from having self-awareness, generally have some knowledge or curiosity about their family, lineage, and background. Connecting ourselves with the past and the present gives us a sense of identity. We might even hope that our descendants, those we'll never meet, will know that our bloodline connects to them. It's not surprising that there's a Chinese saying, "A nation requires a history, a family requires a genealogy." Families without genealogical records are like driftwood with severed roots, unable to feel the family's strength passed down through generations from ancestors. When humans feel that they play a part in history, they experience a sense of belonging and purpose. In recent years, tracing precious genealogical lines has become a popular trend, with many online ads and services offering DNA-based genealogical research. These companies use science and internet technology to connect people based on blood relationships, sort them by generations, and construct family tree models. Participants not only have the opportunity to discover relatives but also learn about their family origins, relationships, and more.
The Bible places significant importance on genealogies, and Jesus' genealogy is no exception. As far back as the time of Abraham, God promised Abraham, saying, "I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you" (Genesis 17:6). After fourteen generations, Abraham's descendant, David, officially ascended to the throne and entered into politics. He was not only a skilled warrior but also displayed an unwavering devotion to God, surpassing all other kings in the history of Israel. David's godly character led to his divine selection (1 Samuel 13:14; Psalm 89:20). Through the prophet Nathan, God revealed to David: "Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever." (2 Samuel 7:16). From then on, in the prophecies of various prophets, whenever they spoke about the Messiah, it referred to a descendant of David: "In those days and at that time I will make a righteous branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land." (Jeremiah 33:15). This is why the New Testament in Christianity continually emphasizes the relationship between Jesus and David to demonstrate that Jesus is the long-awaited Savior. As Paul states in Romans 1:3: “Concerning... our Lord Jesus Christ, who was descended from David according to the flesh.”It's evident that the author of the Gospel of Matthew intended for the genealogy to precisely represent the connection between Jesus and David, confirming that Jesus didn't appear without reason; he is, indeed, a descendant of David, who was descended from Abraham.
The author of the Gospel of Matthew used a very unique arrangement to compile Jesus' genealogy dividing it into three sections, each containing fourteen generations. Why did he insist on using the number "fourteen" as the dividing point? What special significance and purpose does "fourteen" have?
"Fourteen" is twice "seven," and the number "seven" holds a special significance in the Bible (Please refer to my blog post: The Seven Last Words of Jesus from the Cross): God created the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh day (Genesis 1; 2:1-2); God promised Noah that He would not destroy the world with a flood again and used a rainbow with seven colors as a sign of covenant (Genesis 9:8-15); Abraham presented seven lambs as a gift to fulfill his promise (Genesis 21:22-31); God commanded the Israelites to cancel all debts and release slaves to each other in the seventh year (Deuteronomy 15:1-2, 12); Joshua and the Israelite army marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days, and on the seventh day, after seven priests blew trumpets, the walls collapsed (Joshua 6:1-20); Prophet Elisha instructed Naaman, a leper and commander of the army of Aram, to bathe in the Jordan River seven times for healing (2 Kings 5:9-10, 14); King David described God's words as pure and flawless, " like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times" (Psalm 12:6); when Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive someone, Jesus answered, "seventy times seven times" (Matthew 18:21-22); In Revelation 1:4, apostle John wrote "To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne"; and even Jesus' Lord's Prayer includes seven petitions. The examples of "seven" in the Bible are numerous, and it often symbolizes completion or perfection. Fourteen, being seven times two, signifies a double measure of perfection.
Hebrew and numerals share a close relationship. Jewish people place great importance on numerology. This parallels the traditional Chinese emphasis on name analysis, where the components of a name are chosen based on the strokes of individual Chinese characters (生辰八字) to create an auspicious name. Hebrew numerals are traditionally written using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. With the exception of "zero," each Hebrew letter corresponds to a number. Consequently, numbers can be spelled out with different words, and each word has its numerical value. For example, the first nine letters of the alphabet correspond to Hebrew numbers 1-9 and so on.
In the case of King David, his name דָּוִד (Dawid) is spelled with the Hebrew letters דּוֹד(dvd). The combination of this name is: the fourth letter ד (dalet) + the sixth letter ו (vav) + the fourth letter ד (dalet), which correspond to the numbers 4 + 6 + 4 = 14. So, the numerical value of these letters adds up to 14. Additionally, David is the fourteenth name listed in the genealogy. Therefore, we can see that the author of the Gospel of Matthew deliberately used the number "fourteen" to connect Jesus with King David, presenting Jesus' unique family history in a distinctive Jewish manner.
In fact, the genealogy in 1 Chronicles chapter 1-3 provides a much more detailed account of Abraham's lineage, while the genealogy in Matthew 1 is essentially a condensed version of the Chronicles. For the sake of comparison, I've created the following chart, where each person's name is preceded by a numeral that represents a generation. According to the arrangement in Matthew's genealogy, the first set of fourteen starts with Abraham and ends with David; the second set of fourteen starts with Solomon and ends with Jeconiah; however, in the third set of fourteen, while both 1 Chronicles and Matthew starts with Shealtiel but ends with Jesus in Matthew, Elioenai in Chronicles.
Matthew 1 1. Abraham. 2. Issac 3. Jacob 4. Judah 5. Perez 6. Hezron 7. Ram 8. Amminadab 9. Nahshon 10. Salma 11. Boaz 12. Obed 13. Jesse 14. David 15. Solomon 16. Rehoboam 17. Abijah 18. Ada 19. Jehoshaphat 20. Jehoram 21. Uzziah 22. Jotham 23. Ahaz 24. Hezekiah 25. Manasseh 26. Amos 27. Josiah 28. Jeconiah 29. Shealtiel 30. Zerubbabel 31. Abiud 32. Eliakim 33. Azor 34. Zadok 35. Achim 36. Eliud 37. Eleazer 38. Matthan 39. Jacob 40. Joseph 41. Jesus | 1 Chronicles 1-3 1. Abraham 2. Issac 3. Jacob 4. Judah 5. Perez 6. Hezron 7. Ram 8. Amminadab 9. Nahshon 10. Salma 11. Boaz 12. Obed 13. Jesse 14. David 15. Solomon 16. Rehoboam 17. Abijah 18. Ada 19. Jehoshaphat 20. Jehoram 21. Ahaziah 22. Jehoash 23. Amaziah 24. Azariah 25. Jotham 26. Ahaz 27. Hezekiah 28. Manasseh 29. Amos 30. Josiah 31. Jehoiakim 32. Jeconiah 33. Shealtiel 34. Zerubbabel 35. Hananiah 36. Jeshaiah 37. Rephaiah 38. Arnan 39. Obadiah 40. Shemaiah 41. Neariah 42. Elioenai |
Observant readers will quickly identify certain issues in the side-by-side comparison above.
1. In theory, 14 + 14 + 14 should equal 42, but in Matthew's genealogy, the total is 41, which is 14 + 14 + 13 = 41.
2. The second section in Matthew's genealogy, from Solomon to Jeconiah, consists of fourteen generations, but in Chronicles, from Solomon to Jeconiah, there are eighteen generations. In other words, Matthew's genealogy is 14 + 14 = 28, while Chronicles is 14 + 18 = 32. The difference lies in how Matthew's Gospel omits the names Ahaz (21), Joash (22), Amaziah(23), and Azariah (24) from Chronicles and uses "Uzziah" to substitute for these four kings. Furthermore, Jehoiakim (31) from Chronicles is also omitted, resulting in 32 - 4 + 1 - 1 = 28. The author of Matthew's Gospel employs this "omission math" method to perfectly present these three sets of fourteen generations.
3. Differences in names in the third section: Except for Shealtiel and Zerubbabel, the rest of the genealogy names are entirely different.
Many Christians who defend Matthew's genealogy offer explanations for these issues. Here are some examples:
1. “The author of the Gospel of Matthew deliberately deleted the evil kings in the eyes of the Lord.” This claim is not accurate. In fact, Matthew's genealogy of Jesus includes several wicked kings. Here are two examples:
- Ahaz, the 23rd generation in the genealogy, was the twelfth king of Judah. During his 16-year reign. He set up Baal idols, offered incense, and even burned his own children as sacrifices to false gods (2 Chronicles 28:1–4). He did not heed the words of the prophet Isaiah, sought help from others, and even gave the gold and silver from the temple to the king of Assyria (Isaiah 7). He also changed the altar's ritual at the Lord's temple and relocated its sacred items (2 Kings 16).
- Manasseh, the 25th generation, was the fourteenth king of Judah ruling for 55 years. He was the longest-reigning monarch in both Israel and Judah. Similar to Ahaz, he built altars to Baal, made Asherah poles, caused his children to pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, consulted mediums and spiritists, and did much evil in the eyes of the Lord (2 Kings 21). He shed the blood of many innocent people, including the prophet Isaiah (Note: According to Jewish legend, because the prophet Isaiah opposed the wicked deeds of King Manasseh, he accused the king of his sins and, as a result, was cruelly placed into an empty tree trunk and then sawed to death while still alive by the king.).
These examples show that Matthew's genealogy does not exclude kings who committed evil deeds.
2. “In the Old Testament of the Bible, there are instances where a grandfather's name is used in place of the father's name.” This explanation is not reasonable because even if a person's name is omitted, the generation still exists, and the lineage is not skipped just because a name is missing.
3. “The omission of names is a poetic expression meant to balance and create beauty in the structure for reciting”. This claim is not supported. The author of the Gospel of Matthew deliberately structured the genealogy with clear segments, and there is no evident intention to make it poetic. The author offers explicit guidance to readers through three sets of fourteen, emphasizing their message the mystical power and dual significance of the number fourteen. This sequence ultimately traces a lineage from Abraham to Jesus. If the intention of the text is primarily to prove a point, precision would be far more important than poetic expression.
4. “The genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew results in 41 generations (14 x 3 = 42 - 1 = 41) is not due to the author's carelessness, but rather, because, in Matthew 1:17, David's name is mentioned twice. In other words, David, who is the 14th generation, is counted twice: "From Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon are fourteen generations..." According to this calculation, the total becomes the correct number 42!”
This mathematical explanation is indeed strained. By this logic, the 14th generation is David, and the 15th generation is also David, which clearly shows that one name represents one generation. Counting David twice does not add an extra generation.
5. In Jesus' genealogy, between the 27th and 28th generations, there should be King Jehoiakim of Judah, but his name is omitted. Jehoiakim was the son of Josiah and the father of Jeconiah (1 Chronicles 3:15-16). Some argue that Jehoiakim’s name is excluded because he was a puppet king and, therefore, not counted. In reality, Jehoiakim's original name was Eliakim. When Egypt invaded Judah, Pharaoh Necho changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim (2 Kings 23:34). Later, Jehoiakim served as a puppet king under Egypt and, after Egypt's defeat by Babylon, he became a puppet king under Babylon's Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:1). The issue is that, regardless of whom Jehoiakim served as a puppet, he was still the son of Josiah. His status as a son does not change because of his puppetry, and he belongs to the next generation under King Josiah. This is a genealogy, not a representation of kings' reigns.
6. “Matthew's genealogy is not factually incorrect; his primary focus is on establishing Jesus as the Messiah and demonstrating his descent from Abraham. So, the overall structure is already quite accurate.” This explanation is rather absurd. If the author of the Gospel of Matthew only intended to present a "general structure," he didn't really need to emphasize it as a "genealogy." Listing the key points would have sufficed.
7. "The three sets of fourteen" is clearly an approximate number, with all the names being those of highly representative, famous, and well-known individuals. In other words, these are carefully selected names by the author.” Such vague explanations do not adhere to a faithful attitude towards historical facts. In ancient China, whether emperors were illustrious or infamous, they were still recorded in historical books. No one has the right to subjectively "carefully select" which emperor deserves to be remembered in history, which deserves infamy, or which should be erased from historical records based on personal views.
8. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). God, in His mysterious way, inspired the author of the Gospel of Matthew to write Jesus' genealogy in this manner.” This is a favorite verse among Christians because it's a practical one that can be applied to any unanswered questions. However, readers of the New Testament often forget that 2 Timothy was written around 62-64CE, while the Gospel of Matthew was not produced until 20 years later. At the time, the only Scripture they knew and were "God-breathed" was the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible or Old Testament).
Have Christians become so accustomed to automatically defend any discrepancies between New Testament content and historical records? If a school sent a notice today stating that our child has failed all the classes and must repeat a year, but the child comes home with a brilliant report card showing all “A”s in every subject, should we, as parents, go to the school to advocate for our child? Or should we adopt an attitude of suspicion, thinking "There's something suspicious going on here"? I need to get to the bottom of it"?
Christians should be encouraged to avoid turning a blind eye or immediately adopting a defensive attitude when confronting conflicts between the Old and New Testaments. While maintaining the status quo may provide a comforting sense of familiarity, the differences between Chronicles and Matthew will not disappear as a result.
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