Joseph’s Dream

It begins with Abraham, whose son was Isaac. Isaac’s son was Jacob, and Jacob’s sons were Judah and his brothers.

Judah’s sons Perez and Zerah were born to Tamar. From Perez the line runs on, father to son, through Hezron and Ram, Amminadab and Nahshon, to Salmon.

Here and there Matthew names a mother too. Salmon and Rahab had a son, Boaz. Boaz and Ruth had a son, Obed, and Obed’s son was Jesse.

Jesse’s son was David the king. And King David’s son Solomon was born to the woman who had been Uriah’s wife.

Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the exile to Babylon.

After the exile to Babylon, Jechoniah had a son, Shealtiel, and Shealtiel’s son was Zerubbabel. From Zerubbabel the line runs on through Abiud, Eliakim and Azor, through Zadok, Achim and Eliud, and through Eleazar to Matthan. Matthan’s son was another Jacob.

Then Matthew writes, “Jacob became the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”

Matthew sums it up: “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the exile to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the carrying away to Babylon to the Christ, fourteen generations.”

Luke’s list runs the other way from Matthew’s, from son to father, back through the generations. Some of its names come up more than once. Joseph was the son of Heli, and Heli was the son of Matthat. From Matthat the list goes back through Levi, Melchi, Jannai and Joseph, through Mattathias, Amos, Nahum, Esli and Naggai, and through Maath, Mattathias, Semein, Joseph and Judah. Then come Joanan and Rhesa, and then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri.

Neri was the son of Melchi. From Melchi the list goes back through Addi, Cosam, Elmodam and Er, through Jose, Eliezer, Jorim, Matthat and Levi, and through Simeon, Judah, Joseph, Jonan and Eliakim. Then come Melea and Menan, and then Mattatha, “the son of Nathan, the son of David.”

Between David and Joseph, the two lists are not the same. Matthew’s goes from David through his son Solomon, and Luke’s goes back to David through his son Nathan. In Matthew, Shealtiel’s father is Jechoniah and Joseph’s father is Jacob. In Luke’s list, Shealtiel is the son of Neri and Joseph is the son of Heli.

From David, Luke’s list goes on back through Jesse, Obed and Boaz, Salmon and Nahshon, Amminadab and Aram, Hezron and Perez, to Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham.

But Luke doesn’t stop at Abraham. Abraham was the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, and the list goes on back through Serug, Reu, Peleg, Eber, Shelah, Cainan and Arphaxad to Shem, the son of Noah. From Noah it goes back through Lamech, Methuselah, Enoch, Jared, Mahalaleel and Cainan to Enos, the son of Seth. And there the list ends: Seth was “the son of Adam, the son of God.”

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: After his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly.

But when he thought about these things, look, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take to yourself Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She shall give birth to a son. You shall name him Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”

Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself; and didn’t know her sexually until she had given birth to her firstborn son. He named him Jesus.