|
by
Doug Ward |
At the beginning of his Gospel, Matthew the apostle shows that Jesus of
Nazareth possessed the proper pedigree to the promised Messiah. Specifically,
he presents evidence that Joseph, Jesus' father from a legal standpoint, came
from the royal line of King David of Israel.
Matthew
introduces his summary of Joseph's ancestry with these words: "The book of
the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham"
(Matthew 1:1). This verse echoes Genesis 5:1, which says, "This is the
book of the generations of Adam." Indeed, the Greek phrase for "book
of the genealogy" in Matthew 1:1, biblos
geneseos, is also used in the Greek Septuagint
translation for "book of the generations" in Genesis 5:1. By making a
verbal link to Genesis 5:1, Matthew identifies Jesus as a "second
Adam" and implies that the coming of Jesus begins a major new chapter in
the continuing story of redemption begun in the book of Genesis.
The
Hebrew word for "generations" in Genesis 5:1, toledot,
is also significant. It appears frequently in the book of Genesis, marking
transition points in the narrative.
In
some cases, the "toledot verses" introduce
what will be covered next. For example, Genesis 10:1 begins, "These are
the generations [toledot] of the sons of Noah
..." This verse is followed by a listing of some male descendants of
Noah's three sons.
In
other cases, these verses give a recap of what has just been covered. An
example is Genesis 10:32, which says, "These are the clans of the sons of
Noah, according to their genealogies..." This final verse of Genesis 10
summarizes the contents of the chapter.
Some
toledot verses describe both the preceding and
succeeding material. In Genesis 5:1, "the generations
of Adam" introduces a listing of descendants of Adam, beginning with his
son Seth. It also comes right after a listing of generations following Adam's
son Cain.
My
friend Rob Wilson at Church of the Messiah has suggested that it is appropriate
to view Matthew 1:1 as a kind of toledot verse. This
verse, "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ..." begins not only
the Gospel of Matthew, but also the entire New Testament. The New Testament can
be summarized as the story of Jesus and his disciples, so Matthew 1:1 is a
fitting way to introduce it.
On
the other hand, in Christian Bibles Matthew 1:1 comes immediately after the
Hebrew Scriptures, which chronicle the history leading up to the coming of
Jesus. This verse, then, can be viewed as a fitting description of what comes
before it as well.
For
Christians the entire Bible, and all of history, are about Jesus. Let us
resolve to keep him at the center of our lives in 2026.
File
translated from TEX by TTH,
version 3.66.
On 05 Jan 2026, 13:57.
