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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Matthew 1:17 - 1:17
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_1:17
17So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
Mat_1:17 "generations" This was not a complete historical genealogy. The Hebrew term "generations" was ambiguous and could have meant grandfather or great-great-grandfather or ancestor.
▣ "from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations" There are three sections of fourteen ancestors listed (1) Abraham to David, ( 2) David to the Exile, and (3) the Exile to Jesus. Only thirteen names are listed in the third section, so possibly Jehoiachin is counted in both the second and third sections. The number pattern implies that some names were left out (cf. 1 Chronicles 1-3). Some commentators believe that these structured lists of fourteen are based on the numerical value of the consonants of David's name in Hebrew (daleth, 4 + waw, 6 + daleth, 4 = 14).