Genealogies

In Matthew 1 and Luke 3, we have two genealogies. These two genealogies at first glance seem to conflict. But after some study, i have understood how they do not conflict.

i had a talk with some very scholarly atheists one time. They told me how Biblical scholars state that the two genealogies do not conflict; that one is of Joseph and one is of Mary. Then they went on to tell me how the two books oppose each other in saying how Joseph had two different fathers.

In Matthew 1:16, we see how Jacob begot Joseph. The use of the word "begot" means that Jacob was the natural father of Joseph. "Beget" in Biblical language means, in modern day language, "to be the biological father." However, in Luke 3:23, we see that Joseph is stated to be the son of Heli. Please note, though, that the word "begot" is NOT used in this recording of Joseph's lineage.

i scratched my head on this one. Perhaps Heli was a guardian of Joseph? But how to explain the different ancestry in the lineages.

i did some more research.
In the beginning of both lineages in Matthew and Luke, they look about the same. Abraham begot Isaac, etc., until the list continues after David. David, as many know, had more than one son. David had lots of children. In Matthew 1:6, we read, "and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah." In Luke 3:31, we read, "the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David." While the lineage in Matthew goes from first to last, the lineage in Luke goes from last to first. It's backwards, but the list in Luke puts Mary's line as starting from Nathan the son of David. Joseph's line starts from Solomon the son of David. So we see the Jesus' parents both were of the line of David but Joseph and Mary did not have the same ancestors.
The lineage in Luke IS of Mary. And the lineage in Matthew IS of Joseph. i did some research by going to the Defender's Study Bible. The notes on Luke 3:23 provided some insight. The word "son" found in Luke 3:23 is not in the original; so the word could be taken to mean "son-in-law," as it most likely does, because Joseph is clearly stated in Matthew to be the natural son of Jacob.

The genealogies are complementary. In Luke 3, Mary isn't mentioned. Her lineage is mentioned but her name is not inserted simply because she is a woman and women rarely had their names mentioned in genealogies. Joseph took her place in her genealogy as the son-in-law of Heli. The two lines of Joseph and Mary split at David. David had Solomon (Matthew 1). Solomon's line would not be the line from which the King would come but Nathan, David's other son, would continue the line in which the King would arise, through Mary. Joseph was the leader of his family and the earthly father of Jesus. Mary was the one who physically delivered Jesus into the world and it is through HER line, the line to which the honor of kingship was bestowed, that Jesus came.