THE GOSPEL.* ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. I. THE genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham. 2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob 3 begat Judah and his brothers. And Judah begat Pharez and Zarah, by Tamar. And Pharez begat Hezron; and 4 Hezron begat Ram; and Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon; and Nahshon begat Salmon ; 5 and Salmon begat Boaz by Rahab. And Boaz begat Obed 6 by Ruth. And Obed begat Jesse; and Jesse begat David the king. And David begat Solomon by the wife of 7 Uriah. And Solomon begat Rehoboam; and Rehoboam 8 begat Abijah; and Abijah begat Asa; and Asa begat Jehoshaphat; and Jehoshaphat begat Joram; and Joram be9 gat Uzziah; and Uzziah begat Jotham; and Jotham begat 10 Ahaz; and Ahaz begat Hezekiah; and Hezekiah begat Manasseh; and Manasseh begat Amon; and Amon be11 gat Josiah; and Josiah begat Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the removal to Babylon. * This title is not in Tischendorf's text, nor in that of the oldest manuscripts, such as the Vatican and the Sinai manuscripts; but I presume that it is implied in the title, According to Matthew. Ver. 1-17. Comp. Luke iii. 23-38. Ver. 1. The genealogy, &c. Possibly, The book of the birth. 12 And after the removal to Babylon, Jeconiah begat She13 altiel; and Shealtiel begat Zerubbabel; and Zerubbabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim 14 begat Azor; and Azor begat Zadok; and Zadok begat 15 Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; and Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat 16 Jacob; and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 17 18 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the removal to Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the removal to Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this manner. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with 19 child by the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being righteous, and not willing to expose her to shame, 20 purposed to put her away privately. But while he thought on these things, lo! an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, fear not to take to thee Mary thy wife; for that which is 21 conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he will 22 save his people from their sins. Now all this took place, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord 23 through the prophet, saying, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel; "* that is, when interpreted, God-is24 with-us. Then Joseph, on waking up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took to him Ver. 16. Christ, i.e. Anointed, in reference to the claim of Jesus to be, in some sense, a king. Ver. 18. Comp. Luke i. 27. Ver. 21. Comp. Luke ii. 21. * Isa. vii. 14. 25 his wife; and he knew her not till she had brought forth a son: and he called his name Jesus. II. Now when Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judæa, in the days of Herod the king, lo! there came magians 2 from the East to Jerusalem, saying, Where is the king of the Jews that hath been born? for we saw his star in the 3 East, and came to do him homage. But when Herod the king heard of these things, he was troubled, and all Jeru4 salem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ 5 was to be born. And they said to him, In Bethlehem of 6 Judæa; for thus it is written by the prophet: “And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah, art by no means least among the princes of Judah; for out of thee shall come a ruler, who shall feed my people Israel.”* 7 Then Herod, having privately called the magians, ascertained from them exactly the time when the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search carefully for the child; and when ye have found him, bring 9 me word, that I also may go and do him homage. When they had heard the king, they departed. And lo! the star, which they had seen in the East, went before them, till 10 it came and stood over where the child was. When they 11 saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy; and when they had come into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and did homage to him; and opening their treasures, they presented him 12 gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way. Ver. 25. Comp. Luke ii. 7, 11. Ver. 25. In some manuscripts, her first-born son. Chap. II. 1. -magians; ie. Persian, Median, or devoted themselves to astrology and kindred arts. Chaldæan priests, who * Mic. v. 2. 13 And when they had gone, lo! an angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and remain there until I speak to thee; for Herod will seek the child, 14 to destroy him. And he arose, and took the child and his 15 mother by night, and went to Egypt; and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “I 16 called my son out of Egypt.' Then Herod, when he saw that he had been deceived by the magians, was greatly enraged; and sent forth, and slew all the male children that were in Bethlehem, and in all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time 17 which he had ascertained from the magians. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the 18 prophet, saying, "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping, and great mourning; Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they were no 19 more."† But when Herod was dead, lo! an angel of the 20 Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, and take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel; for they who sought the child's life are 21 dead. And he arose, and took the child and his mother, 22 and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judæa in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither; and being warned by God in a dream, he withdrew into the parts of Galilee, 23 and came and took up his abode in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets, "He will be called a Nazarene."‡ III. In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the * Hosea xi. 1. † Jer. xxxi. 15. Reference unknown; possibly to the Hebrew word netser, which is translated branch, in Isa. xi. 1. |