Mateo 1:12-16

Most of the names in this section occur nowhere else in the Bible. Matthew probably knew them from oral tradition and or written sources.

"While no twentieth-century Jew could prove he was from the tribe of Judah, let alone from the house of David, that does not appear to have been a problem in the first century, when lineage was important in gaining access to temple worship." [Note: Carson, "Matthew," p. 63.]

Matthew 1:16 contains careful and unusual wording. Matthew was preparing for what he later explained, the virgin birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:23). The phrase "who is called" (ho legomenos) does not imply doubt about Jesus’ messiahship. It just identifies the Jesus whose genealogy preceded. This is one of Matthew’s favorite expressions in this Gospel. It announces the names of persons or places 12 times (cf. Matthew 1:16; Matthew 2:23; Matthew 4:18; Matthew 10:2; Matthew 13:55; Matthew 26:3; Matthew 26:14; Matthew 26:36; Matthew 27:16-17; Matthew 27:22; Matthew 27:33). As this verse shows, Jesus was legally Joseph’s son even though He was virgin born by Mary.