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Matthew 1

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Quick answer

Matthew opens with Jesus' genealogy and birth, presenting him as the son of David and son of Abraham — Immanuel, "God with us."

The genealogy is a theological argument: Jesus is the promised king and the one through whom the nations are blessed. The virgin birth is read as the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 — God has come to be with his people.

Part of The Genealogy and Birth of Jesus📖 Matthew introduction

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1The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: ✦ 2Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers. ✦ 3Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez fathered Hezron, and Hezron fathered Ram. ✦ 4Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon. ✦ 5Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, and Obed fathered Jesse. ✦ 6Jesse fathered David the king. David fathered Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. ✦ 7Solomon fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, and Abijah fathered Asa. ✦ 8Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, and Joram fathered Uzziah. ✦ 9Uzziah fathered Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, and Ahaz fathered Hezekiah. ✦ 10Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, and Amon fathered Josiah. ✦ 11Josiah fathered Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. ✦ 12After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel, and Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel. ✦ 13Zerubbabel fathered Abihud, Abihud fathered Eliakim, and Eliakim fathered Azor. 14Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, and Achim fathered Eliud. 15Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, and Matthan fathered Jacob. 16Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. ✦ 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. ✦ 18Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. ✦ 19And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. ✦ 20But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ✦ 21She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” ✦ 22Now all this took place so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: ✦ 23“Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” ✦ 24And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, ✦ 25but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he named Him Jesus. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

In this chapter

Person / place AbrahamPerson / place DavidPerson / place Jesus of NazarethConcept ImmanuelConcept Messiah / Christ

Where this chapter connects

Luke 1 ·12Luke 2 ·111 Chr 3 ·8Matt 2 ·7Luke 3 ·7Matt 1 ·6Gen 38 ·51 Chr 2 ·5

Christ at the center

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryFollowing the MessiahAppian Media · Free · evangelical

    A free, beautifully shot 10-part series walking the lands of Jesus' life — Bethlehem, Galilee, Jerusalem, and more.

  • ★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • DocumentaryHolyLandSiteHolyLandSite · Free · evangelical

    Free on-location videos tying biblical events to the actual sites in Israel — the Temple Mount, Galilee, Capernaum, and more.

  • ApologeticsCold-Case Christianity (J. Warner Wallace)J. Warner Wallace · Free · evangelical

    A cold-case homicide detective examines the Gospels' reliability — forensic faith for skeptics and seekers.

Pastoral

  • SermonGrace to You — John MacArthurJohn MacArthur · Free · reformed

    Decades of careful verse-by-verse expository sermons, especially through the New Testament. (MacArthur, d. 2025; archive remains free.)

  • DocumentaryThat the World May KnowRay Vander Laan · Paid · evangelical

    Ray Vander Laan's on-location series immersing you in the Bible's historical and cultural world. (Mostly paid via Focus on the Family; some free clips.)

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

  • CommentaryCommentary on Matthew 1Matthew Henry · Free

    On the genealogy and the name Immanuel.

Commentaries & study tools

Matthew 2 →