Chapter
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Matthew 1:1
ESV The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
NIV This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
NASB The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
CSB An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
NLT This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham :
KJV The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

What does Matthew 1:1 mean?

As are the other Gospels in the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew is about one person: Jesus. Matthew set out not only to tell Jesus' story, but also to establish that Jesus was in fact the long-promised Messiah the Jewish people had been expecting.

Matthew begins with a genealogy. His opening words, "the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ" are likely a subtitle referring to the first two chapters. Genealogies were extremely important to the Jewish people of the time, and Matthew will write this book with his fellow Jewish readers in mind. In order to back up his claim that Jesus is the Messiah, he will have to start by showing that Jesus is a legitimate descendant of Abraham and especially of David.

Matthew calls Him "Jesus Christ" from his opening verse. The name Jesus is derived from the Greek version of the name given by Joseph and Mary in obedience to the angel (Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:31), which is Iēsou. This, in turn, is from the Hebrew Yeho'sua, also translated as "Joshua," which means "Yahweh saves." The term Christ means "anointed," and Matthew's Jewish readers would have understood it to mean Messiah. Jesus was both the rightful descendant of King David with a legitimate claim to the throne of Israel and the long-expected Savior of Israel.

Matthew's mention of Abraham and David is significant for another reason. They represented God's two great covenants with the nation of Israel. God's covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:1–3; 22:18) declared Israel to be His chosen people with a promise to bless them greatly. God also told Abraham the entire world would be blessed through his descendants. That promise is fulfilled in Christ.

God's covenant with the great King David, made through the prophecy of the prophet Nathan, was that David's line would rule over Israel forever: "Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever" (2 Samuel 7:16). Matthew will show that Jesus is the ultimate fulfilment of that covenant promise to David, as well.
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app:
BibleRef.com is part of Got Questions Ministries

For answers to your Bible questions, please visit