Matthew Chapter 1

“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, etc.] This is the genuine title of the book, which was put to it by the Evangelist himself; for the former seems to be done by another hand. This book is an account, not of the divine, but human generation of Christ; and not merely of his birth, which lies in a very little compass; nor of his genealogy, which is contained in this chapter; but also of his whole life and actions, of what was said, done, and suffered by him. It is an Hebrew way of speaking, much like that in (<010501>Genesis 5:1) and which the Septuagint render by the same phrase as here; and as that was…”

“GENEALOGY OF CHRIST. ( = Luke 3:23-38). (Mat. 1:1-17) The book of the generation--an expression purely Jewish; meaning, "table of the genealogy." In Gen 5:1 the same expression occurs in this sense. We have here, then, the title, not of this whole Gospel of Matthew, but only of the first seventeen verses. of Jesus Christ--For the meaning of these glorious words, see on Mat 1:16; Mat 1:21. "Jesus," the name given to our Lord at His circumcision (Luk 2:21), was that by which He was familiarly known while on earth. The word "Christ"--though applied to Him as a proper name by the angel who announced His birth to the…”

“The book of the generation - This is the proper title of the chapter. It is the same as to say, “the account of the ancestry or family, or the genealogical table of Jesus Christ.” The phrase is common in Jewish writings. Compare Genesis 5:1. “This is the book of the generations of Adam,” i. e., the genealogical table of the family or descendants of Adam. See also Genesis 6:9. The Jews, moreover, as we do, kept such tables of their own families. and it is probable that this was copied from the record of the family of Joseph. Jesus - See the notes at Matthew 1:21. Christ - The word “Christ” is a Greek word,…”

“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ - That is, strictly speaking, the account of his birth and genealogy. This title therefore properly relates to the verses that immediately follow: but as it sometimes signifies the history of a person, in that sense it may belong to the whole book. If there were any difficulties in this genealogy, or that given by St. Luke, which could not easily be removed, they would rather affect the Jewish tables, than the credit of the evangelists: for they act only as historians setting down these genealogies, as they stood in those public and allowed records. Therefore they were…”

“1:1–2:23 This account demonstrates that Jesus’ lineage and birth (ch 1), as well as the geography of his early years (ch 2), fulfilled Old Testament expectations, and that attempts to thwart God’s will do not succeed (2:1-15; see also 27:62-66). 1:1 The phrase a record of the ancestors introduces 1:1-17. A similar phrase is used in Genesis to introduce each section of that book. • Jesus . . . David . . . Abraham: These names are repeated in reverse order in the genealogy, an example of a literary form known as chiasm (arrangement of elements in mirror-image). Being identified as a descendant of David introduces…”

“generation: Gen 2:4, Gen 5:1; Isa 53:8; Luke 3:23-38; Rom 9:5 the son of David: Mat 9:27, Mat 15:22, Mat 22:42-45; Sa2 7:13, Sa2 7:16; Psa 89:36, Psa 132:11; Isa 9:6, Isa 9:7; Isa 11:1; Jer 23:5, Jer 33:15-17, Jer 33:26; Amo 9:11; Zac 12:8; Luk 1:31, Luk 1:32; Luk 1:69, Luk 1:70; Joh 7:42; Act 2:30, Act 13:22; Rom 1:3; Rev 22:16 the son of Abraham: Gen 12:3, Gen 22:18, Gen 26:3-5, Gen 28:13, Gen 28:14; Rom 4:13; Gal 3:16 Matthew 1:2”