Limitless Word

Matthew 1

WEBKJVBSBESVNKJVNASBNLT
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

Read the chapter

1This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham: ✦ 2Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers. ✦ 3Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar). Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram. ✦ 4Ram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon. ✦ 5Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse. ✦ 6Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah). ✦ 7Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam was the father of Abijah. Abijah was the father of Asa. ✦ 8Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram. Jehoram was the father of Uzziah. ✦ 9Uzziah was the father of Jotham. Jotham was the father of Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah. ✦ 10Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh. Manasseh was the father of Amon. Amon was the father of Josiah. ✦ 11Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin and his brothers (born at the time of the exile to Babylon). ✦ 12After the Babylonian exile: Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel. ✦ 13Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim. Eliakim was the father of Azor. 14Azor was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Akim. Akim was the father of Eliud. 15Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob. 16Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah. ✦ 17All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah. ✦ 18This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. ✦ 19Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. ✦ 20As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. ✦ 21And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ✦ 22All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: ✦ 23“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” ✦ 24When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. ✦ 25But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph 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 are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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 →