Matthew 1:9 is the ninth verse of the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the Bible. The verse is part of the non-synoptic section where the genealogy of Joseph, the legal father of Jesus, is listed, or on non-Pauline interpretations the genealogy of Jesus. The purpose of the genealogy is to show descent from the line of kings, in particular David, as the Messiah was predicted to be the son of David (; , , among others), and descendant of Abraham (; ).

Content

In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

:And Ozias begat Jotham;

:and Joatham begat Achaz;

:and Achaz begat Ezekias;

The World English Bible translates the passage as:

:Uzziah became the father of Jotham.

:Jotham became the father of Ahaz.

:Ahaz became the father of Hezekiah.

For a collection of other versions see BibleHub Matthew 1:9.

Greek text

The Koine Greek Byzantine text or majority text, and the textus receptus both read:

  • .

Constantin von Tischendorf gives rather for the first king.

Westcott-Hort offers the main reading and also a variant for the third king.

Nestle-Aland has instead of .

Vulgate (Latin) text

The Latin Vulgate of Jerome gives:

Peshitta text

The Peshitta text is substantially different, translated it is:

: Awazea fathered Yoram Yoram fathered Yahoshapat fathered Khizaqea.

Analysis

This part (the second section - David to the Babylon Removal - as summarized in Matthew 1:17) of the list of Jesus' ancestry coincides with the list of the Kings of Judah that can be constructed from Old Testament records of Bible. Unlike other parts of Matthew's genealogy this list is fully in keeping with the other Jewish sources. Thomas Long sees this as Matthew's method to disclose the true identity of Jesus to his Jewish-Christian readers, that Jesus is 'the culmination of Israel's history', and 'the embodiment of their hunger for a true and perfect king'. Uzziah, was King of Judah (809 BC - 759 BC) (Amos 1:1). According to William F. Albright, Jotham ruled from 742 BC until 735 BC and his son Ahaz ruled from his death until 715 BC, whereas Ahaz's son Hezekiah ruled from 715 BC to 687 BC. Hezekiah was the king whose actions prompted the Babylonians to take the Jews into captivity, as prophesied in Isaiah 38 and mentioned in the genealogy at Verse 11. Hezekiah had fifteen years added to his lifespan by God, due to his piety.

These kings are also listed in 2 Kings 14-16, together with narrative about their reigns.

The kings in Matthew 1:9

The people mentioned in this section of the genealogy are all Kings of Judah.

Family tree

Archaeology

In the mid-1990s a bulla, wide, was found with an inscription: "Belonging to Ahaz (son of) Yehotam, King of Judah." This so-call "King Ahaz's Seal" is regarded to be authentic.

right|thumb|Stamped bulla sealed by a servant of King Hezekiah, formerly pressed against a cord; unprovenanced [[Redondo Beach, California|Redondo Beach collection of antiquities]]

The Tiglath-Pileser III annals mentions tributes and payments he received from Ahaz, king of Judah and Menahem, king of Israel.

There are extra-biblical sources that specify Hezekiah by name, along with his reign and influence, that "[h]istoriographically, his reign is noteworthy for the convergence of a variety of biblical sources and diverse extrabiblical evidence often bearing on the same events. Significant data concerning Hezekiah appear in the Deuteronomistic History, the Chronicler, Isaiah, Assyrian annals and reliefs, Israelite epigraphy, and, increasingly, stratigraphy". Hezekiah's story is one of the best to cross-reference with the rest of the Mid Eastern world's historical documents.

In 2015 in a dig at the Ophel in Jerusalem, Eilat Mazar discovered a royal bulla of Hezekiah, that reads "Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz king of Judah", and dates to between 727 - 698 BC. This is the first seal impression of an Israelite or Judean king to come to light in a scientific archaeological excavation. The impression on this inscription was set in ancient Hebrew script.

A lintel inscription, found over the doorway of a tomb, has been ascribed to his secretary, Shebnah ().

LMLK stored jars along the border with Assyria "demonstrate careful preparations to counter Sennacherib's likely route of invasion" and show "a notable degree of royal control of towns and cities which would facilitate Hezekiah's destruction of rural sacrificial sites and his centralization of worship in Jerusalem". The reign of Hezekiah saw a notable increase in the power of the Judean state. At this time Judah was the strongest nation on the Assyrian-Egyptian frontier. There were increases in literacy and in the production of literary works. The massive construction of the Broad Wall was made during his reign, the city was enlarged to accommodate a large influx, and population increased in Jerusalem up to 25,000, "five times the population under Solomon,"

thumb|[[Siloam pool]]

The Siloam Tunnel was chiseled through 533 meters (1,750 feet) of solid rock

thumb|Part of the Lachish Relief, British Museum. Battle scene, showing Assyrian cavalry in action. Above, prisoners are led away.

During the revolt of king Hezekiah against Assyria, city of Lachish was captured by Sennacherib despite determined resistance (see Siege of Lachish). As the Lachish relief attests, Sennacherib began his siege of the city of Lachish in 701 BC. The Lachish Relief graphically depicts the battle, and the defeat of the city, including Assyrian archers marching up a ramp and Judahites pierced through on mounted stakes. "The reliefs on these slabs" discovered in the Assyrian palace at Nineveh "originally formed a single, continuous work, measuring 8 feet ... tall by 80 feet ... long, which wrapped around the room" (559). and "uncountable smaller places," along with the siege of Jerusalem during Hezekiah's reign where Sennacherib says he just "shut him up...like a bird in a cage,"

One theory that takes the biblical view posits that a defeat was caused by "possibly an outbreak of the bubonic plague". Another that this is a composite text which makes use of a 'legendary motif' analogous to that of the Exodus story.

See also

  • -
  • Book of Isaiah:
  • Isaiah 7:1 "And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah..."
  • Isaiah 7:14 Messianic prophecy.
  • -
  • Hebrews 7:14 "For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood."

References

Sources

  • Parallel texts accessed 13 March 2006.
  • Parallel text and translations. accessed 13 March 2006.