Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 1:12

"And after the carrying away to Babylon, Jechoniah begat Shealtiel; and Shealtiel begat Zerubbabel;" — Matthew 1:12 (ASV)

Jechonias begat Salathiel — Here we encounter a cluster of genealogical difficulties.

1. The natural impression left by Jeremiah 22:30 is that Coniah (or Jeconiah) died childless, or at least left no descendants who came to rule as Zerubbabel did.
2. In the genealogy given by Luke, Salathiel is named as the son of Neri (Luke 3:27).
3. In 1 Chronicles 3:17–19, Salathiel is the son of Assir, the son of Jeconiah, and Zerubbabel is the son of Pedaiah, the brother of Salathiel.

It is not easy to resolve these difficulties, but the most probable solution is that Assir was the only son of Jeconiah and died without children before his father. Consequently, the line of Solomon came to an end. The descendants of Nathan, another son of David, then took their place in the succession and were considered, by adoption, the sons of the last survivor of the other line.

Notably, this practice is analogous to what prevails among Indian princes and in other Eastern nations (Compare the note on Luke 3:23-38).