Matthew 1 Footnotes
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Luke has a different genealogy of Jesus that traces his ancestry all the way back to Adam. See note on Lk 3:23-38 for an explanation of the differences between these two genealogies.
1:18-25 This passage, unique to Matthew, shows the exemplary character of Joseph. He did not question the angel’s explanation for Mary’s pregnancy. He obeyed without question what the angel told him to do, going ahead with his plans to take Mary as his wife.
1:22-23 Matthew cited the Greek version of Is 7:14 virtually verbatim, including the Greek word parthenos (“virgin”). The underlying Hebrew word, almah, means something like “a marriageable girl.” It probably always refers in the OT to virgins (Pr 30:19 has been suggested as a counterexample, but it is not obviously such). Is 7:14 was a prophesied sign to Judah’s King Ahaz that an impending military crisis would be averted by God. The prophecy received an immediate fulfillment in Isaiah’s own son (Is 8:1-4), but that son was a “sign” of a greater fulfillment (Is 8:18), and the prophecy thus continued to present the ultimate manifestation of “God is with us” in Is 9:1-7. The name Jesus (“Yahweh saves”) describes what Jesus does; Immanuel (“God is with us”) describes who Jesus is. Matthew included the prophecy to assert the divinity of Jesus.