Genealogies of Jesus

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BLACKFOOT
<snip>
In researching the proposed contradiction of Jesus'
geneologies.  I found this explanation.  I look forward
to your comments on the logic & the sources quoted.
Thanks. :)

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26. Was Jacob (Matthew 1:16) or Heli (Luke 3:23) the father
of Joseph and husband of Mary?

(Category: misunderstood the Hebrew usage)

The answer to this is simple but requires some explanation.
Most scholars today agree that Matthew gives the genealogy
of Joseph and Luke gives that of Mary, making Jacob the father
of Joseph and Heli the father of Mary.

This is shown by the two narrations of the virgin birth.
Matthew 1:18-25 tells the story only from Joseph's
perspective, while Luke 1:26-56 is told wholly from
Mary's point of view.

A logical question to ask is why Joseph is mentioned in
both genealogies? The answer is again simple. Luke follows
strict Hebrew tradition in mentioning only males. Therefore,
in this case, Mary is designated by her husband's name.

This reasoning is clearly supported by two lines of evidence.
In the first, every name in the Greek text of Luke's genealogy,
with the one exception of Joseph, is preceded by the definite
article (e.g. 'the' Heli, 'the' Matthat). Although not obvious
in English translations, this would strike anyone reading the
Greek, who would realize that it was tracing the line of
Joseph's wife, even though his name was used.

The second line of evidence is the Jerusalem Talmud, a Jewish
source. This recognizes the genealogy to be that of Mary,
referring to her as the daughter of Heli (Hagigah 2:4).

(Fruchtenbaum 1993:10-13)

EDWARDS
Personally, I find Julius Africanus' "harmony" of the genealogies (as
recounted by Eusebius) to be more credible, which is not to say that it is
by any means convincing.

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