Confused by the start of the new testament

[ConfusedNT]

Hi I'm confused by Matthew chapter 1. It starts by saying:

Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

But then when it goes through all the begats it ends up with Joseph not Mary. If Jesus was the son of God, and not Joseph's son, how was Jesus related to David and Abraham?

Or does it mean it in the familial sense (e.g. Joseph raised Jesus as his father) rather than the genetic sense?

Or am I misunderstanding the first part altogether?

I'm reading the King James version of the new testament if that makes a difference.

I think in Jewish tradition a person is officially a descendant of their mother. The maternal side of one’s ancestry is taken into consideration instead of the paternal. (Because in olden days women were frequently captured/raped so Jews quickly corporated this kind of “law” into their system very early on.

Just to add, when ancient scriptures mention someone’s father (remember, the father is never certain!) they probably mean in whose house, under whose wings that person was brought up. Whether these men of the house thought those children they were raising were biologically theirs or raised someone else’s offsprings in oblivion, is a different matter.

Look on it as the difficult Second Album. They had to sound different without totally alienating the fans of their first release.

It's only when they got to Revelations that they went a bit free form jazz.

That's interesting and then I suppose also explains why it specifies 'they will call his name Emmanuel' when in fact he is called Jesus.

@ConfusedNT In Isaiah 9 it states, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
It doesn't mean that these will be the mashiach's literal names - it describes His nature. Jesus (originally Yeshua) means 'the Lord is salvation' and as a pp mention, Immanuel means 'God is with us'.

@Tescoland There's more info on the One For Israel website in regards to the finer points. Putting aside the ins and outs of Jewish guardianship, Mary is also thought to be a descendant of King David through her father's line.

'If Jesus is not the natural son of Joseph, then how does he have any right to David’s throne?

Opponents of Jesus’s messianic claims say that only gene-carrying descendants of the royal line of David are eligible to inherit the throne of Israel. This is simply not true. It was not unusual for a king to adopt an heir to his throne when he lacked natural children, and furthermore, the laws of levirate marriage stipulated that if a childless widow were to marry her deceased husband’s brother, her first husband’s name and inheritance would be passed on to the child of that union. Legal and kinship standing, therefore, was related to either genes or adoption or marriage.

Even though Jesus didn’t share Joseph’s DNA, he was Joseph’s adopted son, and as such he would have been David’s legal royal heir through Solomon.'

The Jesus Question

Jesus did share Joseph’s DNA of course. I thought everyone knew the “virgin birth” was a translation “error”.

Jesus had a biological mother and biological father. He also had a spiritual father (Yahweh) and a spiritual mother (the Holy Spirit).

The Holy Trinity is no different to all the other holy trinities that preceeded it like Osiris/Isis/Horus.

The name of Israel even comes from the 3 divinities ISIS, RA and El.

Isis (Sarah) was the egyptian Holy Mother, Queen of Heaven - sister-wife of “God”; and is equivalent to Asherah, the Canaanite goddess that was wife of the Canaanite God, El (meaning Lord). Ra is abRAham (Abraham means father Ra of Egypt).

Of course we also now know that the Greek term for “virgin” was erroneously (rather by design not accident) used to translate the original Hebrew which merely means “young maid”; jews at the time pointed this out.

The temple of Asherah’s Phoenician equivalent, Tanit, was called the “Shrine of the Heavenly Virgin”. The divine virgin births in older religions were in effect appropriated for this new religion, christianity.

Further, Jesus, an Essene, was not from Nazareth as a place of that name did not exist during the lifetime of Jesus. The term Nazorean comes from the translation of the Hebrew description “keeper of the covenant”. The covenant being the laws of Moses amongst other “rules” by which the Essenes adhered strictly. James, brother of Jesus took over the role of Teacher of Righteousness at Qumran after Jesus’ demise; he was for them now the priestly messiah.

For the jewish Essenes, there were two messiahs, one priestly and one royal.

It’s worth remembering that Moses was the first jewish messiah and that there were other contemporary candidates for the new messiah in addition to Jesus.

I thought everyone knew the “virgin birth” was a translation “error”.

Whilst I appreciate your informative post, not everyone is of an Abrahamic faith or culture, so it's not that wierd (I don't think) that I didn't know that

I am aware of other translation errors but I had never heard that before.

"James, brother of Jesus took over the role of Teacher of Righteousness"

Fascinating thread! Really appreciate all the detail pp's have written.

I had no idea that Jesus had siblings!!

@RandomPerson42 What's the source of this information please?

@PutYourBackIntoit Yes, Jesus' mother Mary did not stay a virgin as some believe; He had at least 4 brothers and also sisters:

"Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” Matthew 13:54-56.

"While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” Matthew 12:46-47.

"What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days." John 2:11-12.

"They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers." Acts 1:14.

"Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles - only James, the Lord’s brother." Galatians 1:18-19.

"But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his own brothers did not believe in him." John 7:3-5.

"This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus." Matthew 1:18-25.