John Gill Commentary Matthew 1
John Gill Commentary
Matthew 1
John Gill Commentary
Matthew 1
"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." — Matthew 1:1 (ASV)
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ
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 (Genesis 5:1) and which the Septuagint render by the same phrase as here; and as that was the book of the generation of the first Adam; this is the book of the generation of the second Adam. The Jews call their blasphemous history of the life of Jesus, (wvy twdlwt rpo) "The book of the generations of Jesus" F15 . This account of Christ begins with the name of the Messiah, well known to the Jews,
the son of David ;
not only to the Scribes and Pharisees, the more learned part of the nation, but to the common people, even to persons of the meanest rank and figure among them. See (Matthew 9:27) (12:23) (22:42) . Nothing is more common in the Jewish writings, than for (dwd Nb) "the son of David" to stand alone for the Messiah; it would be endless to cite or refer to all the testimonies of this kind; only take the following F16 ,
``R. Jochanan says, in the generation in which (dwd Nb) "the son of David" comes, the disciples of the wise men shall be lessened, and the rest, their eyes shall fail with grief and sorrow, and many calamities and severe decrees shall be renewed; when the first visitation is gone, a second will hasten to come.
It is a tradition of the Rabbins (about) the week (of years) in which (dwd Nb) "the son of David" comes, that in the first year this scripture will be fulfilled, (Amos 4:7) . "I will rain upon one city" in the second, arrows of famine will be sent forth; in the third there will be a great famine, and men, women and children, holy men and men of business will die, and the law will be forgotten by those who learn it; in the fourth there will be plenty and not plenty; in the fifth there will be great plenty, and they shall eat and drink and rejoice, and the law shall return to them that learn it; in the sixth there will be voices (or thunders; ) in the seventh there will be wars; and in the going out of the seventh (dwd Nb) the "son of David" comes.
The tradition of R. Judah says, In the generation in which (dwd Nb) "the son of David" comes, the house of the congregation (the school or synagogue) shall become a brothel house, Galilee shall be destroyed, and Gabalene shall become desolate; and the men of Gabul (or the border) shall go about from city to city, and shall find no mercy; and the wisdom of the scribes shall stink; and they that are afraid to sin shall be despised; and the face of that generation shall be as the face of a dog, and truth shall fail, as it is said, (Isaiah 59:15) --
The tradition of R. Nehorai says, In the generation in which (dwd Nb) "the son of David" comes, young men shall make ashamed the faces of old men, and old men shall stand before young men, the daughter shall rise up against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; nor will a son reverence his father.
The tradition of R. Nehemiah says, In the generation in which (dwd Nb) "the son of David" comes, impudence will increase, and the honourable will deal wickedly, and the whole kingdom will return to the opinion of the Sadducees, and there will be no reproof. --
It is a tradition of the Rabbins, that (dwd Nb) "the son of David" will not come, until traitorous practices are increased, or the disciples are lessened or until the smallest piece of money fails from the purse, or until redemption is despaired of.''
In which passage, besides the proof for which it is cited, may be observed, how exactly the description of the age of the Messiah, as given by the Jews themselves, agrees with the generation in which Jesus the true Messiah came; who as he was promised to David, and it was expected he should descend from him, so he did according to the flesh; God raised him up of his seed, (Romans 1:3) (Acts 13:23) it follows,
The son of Abraham .
Abraham was the first to whom a particular promise was made, that the Messiah should spring from, (Genesis 22:18) . The first promise in (Genesis 3:15) only signified that he should be the seed of the woman; and it would have been sufficient for the fulfilment of it, if he had been born of any woman, in whatsoever nation, tribe, or family;
but by the promise made to Abraham he was to descend from him, as Jesus did; who took upon him the seed of Abraham, (Hebrews 2:16) or assumed an human nature which sprung from him, and is therefore truly the son of Abraham. The reason why Christ is first called the son of David, and then the son of Abraham, is partly because the former was a more known name of the Messiah; and partly that the transition to the genealogy of Christ might be more easy and natural, beginning with Abraham, whom the Jews call F17 (oxyh var) the "head of the genealogy", and the root and foundation of it, as Matthew here makes him to be; wherefore a Jew cannot be displeased with the Evangelist for beginning the genealogy of our Lord at, Abraham.
FOOTNOTES:
- F15: Apud Wagenseil. Tela Ignea.
- F16: T. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 97. 1. Shir Hashirim Rabba, fol. 11. 4.
- F17: Juchasin, fol. 8. 1. Tzeror Hammor. fol. 29. 3. & 154. 4.
"Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judah and his brethren;" — Matthew 1:2 (ASV)
Abraham begat Isaac
The descent of Christ from Abraham is in the line of Isaac; Abraham begat Ishmael before Isaac, and others after him, but they are not mentioned; because the Messiah was not to spring from any of them, but from Isaac, of whom it is said, "in Isaac shall your seed be called", (Genesis 21:12) and who, as he was a progenitor, so an eminent type of Christ; being Abraham's only beloved son; and particularly in the binding, sacrifice and deliverance of him.
Isaac begat Jacob .
The genealogy of Christ proceeds from Isaac, in the line of Jacob. Isaac begat Esau, as well as Jacob, and they two were twins, but one was loved, and the other hated; wherefore no mention is made of Esau, he had no concern in the Messiah, nor was he to spring from him, but from Jacob, or Israel, by whose name he is sometimes called, (Isaiah 49:3)
Jacob begat Judas and his brethren .
The lineage of Christ is carried on from Jacob in the line of Judah; the reason of which is, because it was particularly prophesied that the Messiah, Shiloh, the prince and chief ruler, should be of him, (Genesis 49:10) (1 Chronicles 5:2) . And it is evident beyond all contradiction, that our Lord sprung from his tribe, (Hebrews 7:14) .
The reason why the brethren of Judah, who were eleven in number, are mentioned, when the brethren of Isaac and Jacob are not, is, because though the Messiah did not spring from them, yet the promise of him was made to the twelve tribes, who all expected him, and to whom he was sent, and came. These made but one body of men, and therefore, though the Messiah came from the tribe of Judah, yet he is said to be of them all, (Romans 9:4Romans 9:5) .
"and Judah begat Perez and Zerah of Tamar; and Perez begat Hezron; and Hezron begat Ram;" — Matthew 1:3 (ASV)
And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar
The genealogical account of Christ goes on from Judah in the line of Phares, with whom Zara is mentioned; not because they were twins, for so were Jacob and Esau, and yet the latter is taken no notice of; but it may be because of what happened at their birth, see (Genesis 38:28Genesis 38:29Genesis 38:30) . But the line of the Messiah was in Phares, and very rightly is he put in the genealogy of Christ, the Jews themselves being witnesses; who expressly say, that "the Messiah comes from him." These two are said to be begotten of Thamar, daughter-in-law to Judah; who, though she was a Canaanitish woman, has the honour to be named in the genealogy of Christ, who came to save Gentiles as well as Jews: nor can the Jews reproach our Evangelist for putting her into the account; since they themselves frequently acknowledge that the Messiah was to spring from her: they say, F18
``there are two women from which come David the king, and Solomon, and the king Messiah; and these two are Thamar and Ruth.'' Jonathan Ben Uzziel on (Genesis 38:6) says, that Thamar was the daughter of Shem the great.
And Phares begat Esrom ;
called Hezron, (Ruth 4:18) where the same phrase is used as here. He had another son called Hamul, (1 Chronicles 2:5) but the account proceeds from Phares, in the line of Esrom.
And Esrom begat Aram ;
called Ram in (Ruth 4:18) where the same way of speaking is used as here. Esrom also besides him begat Jerahmeel, Chelubai, or Caleb, and Segub, (1 Chronicles 2:9 1 Chronicles 2:21) but these are not in the line. Elihu, who conversed with Job, is said to be of the kindred of Ram, (Job 32:2) whether the same with Ram or Aram, may be inquired.
FOOTNOTES:
- F18: Shemot Rabba, sect. 30. fol. 131. 4. Caphtor, fol. 122. 1.
"and Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab; and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;" — Matthew 1:5 (ASV)
And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab
That Salmon begat Boaz, is affirmed in (Ruth 4:21) but it is not there said, nor any where else in the Old Testament, as here, that he begat him of Rahab, that is, of Rahab the harlot. This the Evangelist had from tradition, or from the Jewish records. That the Messiah was to spring from Boaz is asserted by the Jewish writersF19.
They also own that Rahab was married to a prince in Israel, which some sayF20 was Joshua: they pretend that she was ten years of age when the Israelites came out of Egypt; that she played the harlot all the forty years they were in the wilderness, and was married to Joshua upon the destruction of Jericho. To excuse this marriage with a Canaanitish woman, they tell us, she was not of the seven nations with whom marriage was forbid; and moreover, that she became a proselyte when the spies were received by her: they own that some very great persons of their nation sprung from her, as Jeremiah, Maaseiah, Hanameel, Shallum, Baruch, Ezekiel, Neriah, Seraiah, and Huldah the prophetess.
The truth of the matter is, she became the wife of Salmon, or Salma, as he is called, (1 Chronicles 2:11) . And in the Targum on (Ruth 4:20) is said to be of Bethlehem; he was the son of Nahshon or Naasson, a famous prince in Judah, and the head and captain of the tribe, (Numbers 1:7) (2:3) (Numbers 7:12Numbers 7:17) (10:14) . And from Rahab sprung the Messiah, another instance of a Gentile in the genealogy of Christ; and a third follows.
And Booz begat Obed of Ruth ;
who was a Moabitess. It is a notion that generally obtains among the JewsF21, that she was the daughter of Eglon, grandson of Balak, king of Moab; and it is often taken notice of by themF23, that the king Messiah should descend from her; and also other persons of note, as David, Hezekiah, Josiah, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, and Daniel; wherefore the mentioning of her in this genealogy, cannot be said by them to be impertinent.
And Obed begat Jesse .
Jesse is thought to be, not the immediate son of Obed, but to be of the fourth generation from him; though no others are mentioned between them in Ruth, any more than here. A Jewish writer observesF24, that
``the wise men of the Gentiles say, that there were other generations between them; perhaps, says he, they have taken this from the wise men of Israel, and so it is thought.'' Now notwithstanding this, Jesse may be said to be begotten by Obed, as Hezekiah's posterity, who were carried captive into Babylon, are said to be begotten by him, (Isaiah 39:7) though they were a remove of several generations from him. However, Jesse is rightly put among the progenitors of Christ, since the Messiah was to be a rod of his stem, and the branch of his roots, and is called the root of Jesse, (Isaiah 11:1Isaiah 11:10) which words are interpreted of the Messiah, by many of the Jewish writersF25; and to this day the Jews pray for him in their synagogues under the name of (yvy Nb) , "the son of Jesse"F26.FOOTNOTES:
- F19: Zohar in Gen. fol. 105. 4. Gloss in T. Bab. Maccot. fol. 23. 2. Tzeror Hammor, fol. 49. 2. Zoher in Gen. fol. 63. 3.
- F20: T. Bab. Megilia, fol. 14. 2. Juchasin, fol. 10. 1. Shalshelet Hakabala, fol. 7. 2. Abarb. Kimchi & Laniado in Josh. 6. 25. & Moses Kotsensis Mitzvot Torah, pr. neg. 112.
- F21: Targ. in Ruth. i. 4. T. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 105. 2. Horayot, fol. 10. 2. Nazir. fol 23. 2. Sota, fol. 47. 1. Zohar in Deut. fol. 109. 2. Shalshelet Hakabala fol. 8. 1.
- F23: Targ. in Ruth iii. 15. T. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 93. 7. Midrash Ruth, fol. 34. 4. Zohar in Gen, fol. 72. 1. Tzeror Hammor, fol. 20. 4. & 123. 4. & 132. 4.
- F24: Juchasin, fol. 10. 2.
- F25: Targum, Aben Ezra & Kimchi in loc. & Zohar in Exod. fol. 71. 1.
- F26: Seder Tephillot, fol. 278. 1. & 285. 2. Ed. Basil, T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 29. 1.
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