Mt 1:1-17
1The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. 3Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. ... Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, 6Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. 7Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. ... 10Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah. 11Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.
...Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, 15Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah.
17Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
GENEALOGY: Matthew begins his Gospel with “the book of genealogy” (Greek: biblos geneseos) of Jesus Christ. This is generally thought to reflect Hebrew seper toledot which introduces the Noah story (Gn 6:9) and the lineage of priests and kings in the Old Testament. Biblical genealogies serve to identify the tribe to which an Israelite belongs at a time when being a member of a tribe or clan is important to survival. Genealogies are also used to undergird status, especially for the office of priest or king where lineage is important.
Matthew’s purpose lies in his emphasis on the titles of Jesus: “Christ” (Messiah), “son of David,” and “son of Abraham.” “Christ,” the translation of the Aramaic meshiha (“the anointed one”), makes Jesus the heir to the divine promise to David and to the messianic hopes of Israel (2 Sm 7: 16). The designation “son of Abraham” not only underlines Jesus’ being a member of the chosen people but also indicates that he is the seed of Abraham by whom “all the nations of the earth shall find blessing” (Gn 22:18). The original oracle speaks of “descendants,” but the first Christians speak of “the descendant,” that is, Jesus Christ (see Acts 3:25; Gal 3:8). The blessing to the pagan nations is dramatized by Matthew in the story of the Magi who come to pay homage to Jesus.