# Matthew 1:2

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See also: [Genealogy of Jesus](/source/Genealogy_of_Jesus)

**Matthew 1:2** is the second verse of [the first chapter](/source/Matthew_1) in the [Gospel of Matthew](/source/Gospel_of_Matthew) in the [New Testament](/source/New_Testament). The verse is the first part of the section where the [genealogy](/source/Genealogy) of [Joseph](/source/Saint_Joseph), the legal father of [Jesus](/source/Jesus), is listed.

## Content

In the [King James Version](/source/King_James_Version) of the Bible the text reads:

- [Abraham](/source/Abraham) begat [Isaac](/source/Isaac);
- and Isaac begat [Jacob](/source/Jacob);
- and Jacob begat [Judas](/source/Judah_(son_of_Jacob))
- and his brethren;

The [World English Bible](/source/World_English_Bible) translates the passage as:

- Abraham became the father of Isaac.
- Isaac became the father of Jacob.
- Jacob became the father of Judah
- and his brothers.

For a collection of other versions see [BibleHub Matthew 1:2](http://biblehub.com/matthew/1-2.htm).

## Analysis

The passage also references Judas or Judah's brothers, who have no actual place in the genealogy. [Robert H. Gundry](/source/Robert_H._Gundry) contends they are included because the author of Matthew is trying to portray the people of God as a brotherhood.[1] Harold Fowler argues that while Isaac and Jacob's brothers were excluded from the promise of the [messiah](/source/Messiah), all twelve of Judah's brothers were the ancestors of the tribe from which the messiah would come. The inclusion of the brothers is thus a reminder to the readers that it is from this group where the messiah will come.[2]

[W. D. Davies](/source/W._D._Davies) and [Dale Allison](/source/Dale_Allison) note that Isaac's birth is a [miraculous one](/source/Miraculous_births) according to the Old Testament, and thus there is some symmetry with both the first and last births mentioned in the genealogy being miraculous ones.[3]

## References

1. [Gundry, Robert H.](/source/Robert_H._Gundry) *Matthew a Commentary on his Literary and Theological Art.* Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982.

1. Fowler, Harold. *The Gospel of Matthew: Volume One.* Joplin: College Press, 1968

1. Davies, W.D. and Dale C. Allison, Jr. *A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew*. Edinburgh : T. & T. Clark, 1988-1997.

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