11: This verse brings up several difficulties. The first is actually fairly easy to deal with. Jeconias is Jeconiah, Jehoiachin, or Coniah. This king God said to write as childless. In other words, none of his children would sit upon the throne. And, indeed, they did not. However, though the legal line of Christ through his earthly father, Joseph, is here traced, identifying Joseph as his earthly father is a misstatement. He legally descended from Jeconiah, but not physically. Jesus was not born of a man, but of Mary, his mother. He is the seed of the woman mentioned by God way back at the beginning. The genealogy of Mary may be traced without the inclusion of Jeconiah, so no problem exists.
The second difficulty comes in the counting of the genealogy. Matthew explains that there are three groups of fourteen in the generations of Christ. The difficulty comes when one counts the names. Rather than forty-two, there are only forty-one. This would suggest that one is missing. Many, in an attempt to solve this problem, have tried to insert in this verse a variant reading which includes the name of Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim was actually the son of Josiah, Jeconiah, or Jehoiachin, was Josiah’s grandson.
In order to understand how that this verse is correct just as it is found, one must consider several things:
First, There are other places in the genealogy where Matthew omits the names of well-known direct descendants and lists those further down the line. Specifically, after Joram he omits Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah. Thus, it is not out of keeping with Matthew’s construction of the genealogy to admit the omission of a generation.
Second, it must be remembered that Matthew is introducing a memory device with these groups of fourteen. Three groups of fourteen are not somehow required to prove the lineage of Christ. Thus, the three groups can be counted more arbitrarily than one might think.
Finally, Matthew states in verse 17 exactly how the fourteens are to be counted. Abraham to David are counted, which makes fourteen. David to the captivity are counted, which makes fourteen if you do not count David (who has already been counted) and you do count the captivity itself. From the captivity to Jesus are counted, which makes fourteen if you do not count the captivity (which has already been counted). That the captivity should be counted is evidenced by two things. For one, in this verse we see the brethren of Jeconias mentioned, which is a departure from Matthew’s normal construction up to that point. This seems to point to the captivity as being considered an item in the list. For the other, Matthew plainly states in verse 17 that the captivity in Babylon is to be counted in the same manner as David, Jesus, or Abraham.
Personal Journal Entry #12076
Prayer Journal Entry #12076
Daily Bible Reading: Joshua 16:1-19:51
Praise Journal Entry #12037: Heavenly Father, I am so glad that You are not hesitant to communicate Your Truth to mankind. When false information is supplied by the enemy, it takes any form that is convenient. You, on the other hand, have put Your Truth into a form that we can analyze. Of course, doing so without Your Spirit is fruitless. Thank You for guiding our lives and giving us Truth rather than lies that are only designed to lull us into a deadly hypnosis. Oh, God, Almighty God, make Your wisdom known to me! Help us all to understand and heed Your words of love to us. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.