Late to the party here 😊. The first time I came across this information was in David C Mitchell’s EXCELLENT book entitled “ Jesus: The Incarnation of the Word.” Thank you for the confirmation. By the way, he does go into the “Shealtiel adoption” issue mentioned above. May the Lord bless you and continue to lead you in your work.
I have more questions after re-reading your amazing research: how would you come up with the suggestion that Shealtiel was adopted? Was it because of the phrase "Shealtiel, his son" from 2 Chro. 3:17? If so, could the word "his son" there only denoted the royal designation "crowned prince" just like the "his son" in the 2 preceding verses? I think the "I borrow him" explanation persuaded me more.
This is fascinating! Could you explain more what you wrote:
"To say that Heli is another name for Jacob is one thing, but to *also* say that Levi is another name for Eleazar, Eliud for Melchi, Achim for Jannai (etc.), seems a bridge too far"?
1) Are you saying that based on the sequencing of the names before and after Heli/Jacob?
2) I heard that in Hebrew language, the term "father" could be used to denote "forefather/ancestor", and therefore, the genealogy could simply skip names in the lineage. So could one writer selected Levi and another writer selected Eleazar?
Re 2, yes, genealogies can skip generations from time to time, but that can only get you so far explanation-wise. If Matthew has 12 names between Joseph and Zerubbabel while Luke has 17, and if all but one or two are different and you want to explain the differences via the skipped generation hypothesis, then you’d need to fit a total of almost 30 generations between the exile and the birth of Joseph, i.e., in a 550 year period, which seems a bit much.
Thank you for the explanation. I thought even between Malachi and the birth of Christ is already 400 years. And if Wikipedia was right, Zerubbabel returned to Jerusalem between 538 and 520 BC, so would it still be reasonable close to 550 years?
For two chapters Luke has told us how Jesus was miraculously conceived. Whose genealogy is the human lineage of Jesus? I mean it's obvious. Bible understanding isn't only for PhDs like Ehrman.
Late to the party here 😊. The first time I came across this information was in David C Mitchell’s EXCELLENT book entitled “ Jesus: The Incarnation of the Word.” Thank you for the confirmation. By the way, he does go into the “Shealtiel adoption” issue mentioned above. May the Lord bless you and continue to lead you in your work.
Thank you!
I wonder if Ian Huyett's (@ianhuyett) article on the genealogies (https://ianhuyett.substack.com/p/a-resource-on-matthew-and-lukes-contradictory) could also help tie up the questions regarding the genealogy from Jesus to Zerubbabel? The citation he gives from Clement is interesting.
Thank you, James!
I have more questions after re-reading your amazing research: how would you come up with the suggestion that Shealtiel was adopted? Was it because of the phrase "Shealtiel, his son" from 2 Chro. 3:17? If so, could the word "his son" there only denoted the royal designation "crowned prince" just like the "his son" in the 2 preceding verses? I think the "I borrow him" explanation persuaded me more.
This is fascinating! Could you explain more what you wrote:
"To say that Heli is another name for Jacob is one thing, but to *also* say that Levi is another name for Eleazar, Eliud for Melchi, Achim for Jannai (etc.), seems a bridge too far"?
1) Are you saying that based on the sequencing of the names before and after Heli/Jacob?
2) I heard that in Hebrew language, the term "father" could be used to denote "forefather/ancestor", and therefore, the genealogy could simply skip names in the lineage. So could one writer selected Levi and another writer selected Eleazar?
Re 1, yes, that’s what I’m saying.
Re 2, yes, genealogies can skip generations from time to time, but that can only get you so far explanation-wise. If Matthew has 12 names between Joseph and Zerubbabel while Luke has 17, and if all but one or two are different and you want to explain the differences via the skipped generation hypothesis, then you’d need to fit a total of almost 30 generations between the exile and the birth of Joseph, i.e., in a 550 year period, which seems a bit much.
Thank you for the explanation. I thought even between Malachi and the birth of Christ is already 400 years. And if Wikipedia was right, Zerubbabel returned to Jerusalem between 538 and 520 BC, so would it still be reasonable close to 550 years?
Thanks very much. You deserve the reward you mention in the last sentence!
Just one typo. 3 lines from the end of Component#3: Shealtiel was a descendant of David, not an ancestor.
Oops--thanks very much (on both counts!).
For two chapters Luke has told us how Jesus was miraculously conceived. Whose genealogy is the human lineage of Jesus? I mean it's obvious. Bible understanding isn't only for PhDs like Ehrman.