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MATTHEW 2
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page 1155
Key Figures in Jesus’ Genealogy
A genealogy is a list of people in a family, sometimes going back hundreds or thousands
of years. For instance, your genealogy would include you, your parents, your grandparents, your great-grandparents, and on and on. The Bible features a lot of genealogies,
and sometimes they just seem like boring lists of names. But they’re there for a reason!
The genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 shows that Jesus’ ancestors included Abraham and
David. Matthew wanted his readers to understand that Jesus was the King and Savior
descended from David that the Old Testament speaks about. Read on for some of the
other important people in Jesus’ genealogy.
Abraham
was chosen by God to be the father of God’s people, the Israelites.
Isaac
was the son of Abraham and his wife, Sarah. He was the first of the
many descendants God promised to Abraham.
Jacob’s
sons and their families became the twelve tribes of Israel.
God did incredible things for Jacob’s family, including setting
them free from slavery in Egypt.
Rahab
was a woman who lived a sinful lifestyle, but she saved
the lives of two Israelite spies and became part of God’s family.
Ruth
was a courageous woman who was faithful to her
mother-in-law after both their husbands died. Like Rahab,
she wasn’t an Israelite, but God brought her into his family.
David
is considered the greatest king of Israel. God
promised his family would rule Israel forever (2 Samuel
7:16), a promise that pointed ahead to Jesus.
Mary
became Jesus’ mother when she was a young
woman. She is the only person in the genealogy who
was with Jesus throughout his earthly life.
