Pages

01 August 2012

Genealogy of Jesus

Jesus' genealogy can be found at two places in the Bible
 
Matthew's gospel (Mat 1:2-16) starts with Abraham and lists his descendants all the way down to Jesus. There are 41 generations in total, divided into 3 sections as follows: 
  • Abraham – David (from Abraham to David) 
  • David – Josias (from David until the carrying away to Babylon 
  • Jechonias – Jesus (from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ) 
Each section contains 14 generations. Note that David is counted twice: once at the end of the first section, then once again at the beginning of the second section. This explains how 41 generations are divided equally into three. See Mat 1:17 for further explanation. 

Luke’s gospel (Luk 3:23-38) starts with Jesus and follows his line up until God. There are 77 generations mentioned in total.