Matthew 1-2
New Catholic Bible
Prologue: The Birth of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth[a]
Chapter 1
The Genealogy of Jesus.[b] 1 The account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,[c] the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, with Tamar[d] being their mother.
Perez was the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
4 Ram the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5 Salmon the father of Boaz, with Rahab being his mother.
Boaz was the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth.
Obed was the father of Jesse,
6 and Jesse was the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa.
8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah.
9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amos,
Amos the father of Josiah.
11 Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 After the deportation to Babylon,
Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13 Zerubabbel the father of Abiud.
Abiud was the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
14 Azor the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
15 Eliud the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob.
16 Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, who gave birth to Jesus who is called the Christ.[e]
17 Therefore, in total there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, another fourteen generations from David to the deportation to Babylon, and another fourteen generations from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ.
18 The Birth of Jesus.[f] The birth of Jesus Christ occurred in this way. When his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came to live together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph was a just man and did not wish to expose her to the ordeal of public disgrace; therefore, he resolved to divorce her quietly.
20 After he had decided to follow this course of action, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to receive Mary into your home as your wife. For this child has been conceived in her womb through the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you shall name him Jesus,[g] for he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place in order to fulfill what the Lord had announced through the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
a name that means “God is with us.”[h]
24 When Joseph rose from sleep, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him. He took Mary into his home as his wife, 25 but he engaged in no marital relations[i] with her until she gave birth to a son, whom he named Jesus.
Chapter 2
The Wise Men Render Homage to the Messiah.[j] 1 After Jesus had been born in Bethlehem[k] of Judea during the reign of King Herod, wise men traveled from the east and arrived in Jerusalem, 2 inquiring, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw the rising of his star, and we have come to pay him homage.”
3 On hearing about their inquiry, King Herod was greatly troubled, as was true of the whole of Jerusalem. 4 Therefore, he summoned all the chief priests[l] and the scribes and questioned them about where the Christ was to be born. 5 They replied, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus has the prophet written:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”[m]
7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men, and he ascertained from them the exact time of the star’s appearance, 8 after which he sent them on to Bethlehem, saying: “Go forth and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I can go and pay him homage.”
9 After receiving these instructions from the king, the wise men set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising proceeded ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 The sight of the star filled them with great joy, 11 and when they entered the house they beheld the child with Mary his mother. Falling to their knees, they paid him homage. Then they opened their treasure chests and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.[n] 12 And since they had been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their own country by another route.
13 The Flight into Egypt. After the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and instructed him, “Arise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt. Remain there until I tell you. Herod seeks the child to kill him.” 14 Therefore, he got up, took the child and his mother, and departed that night for Egypt, 15 where they remained until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”[o]
16 The Slaughter of the Innocents at Bethlehem. When Herod realized that the wise men had deceived him, he flew into a rage and issued an order to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and the surrounding area who were two years old or less, in accordance with the information that he had obtained from the wise men. 17 [p]Thus were fulfilled the words that had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
lamenting and sobbing bitterly:
Rachel weeping for her children,
and refusing to be consoled,
because they were no more.”
19 The Return to the Land of Israel.[q] After the death of Herod, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Arise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought to kill the child are dead.”[r] 21 He got up, took the child and his mother, and returned to the land of Israel.
22 But when Joseph learned that Archelaus[s] had succeeded his father Herod in Judea, he was afraid to go there. After he had been warned in a dream concerning this, he withdrew to the region of Galilee. 23 He settled in a town called Nazareth,[t] so that what had been spoken through the Prophets might be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazorean.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 1:1 Who was Jesus? Where did he come from? The prologue of Matthew’s Gospel immediately confronts us with this question. The author has not simply gathered up some scattered recollections to complete his album on the life of Christ; rather, from the very first moment he is transmitting the Church’s testimony of faith.
- Matthew 1:1 To the ancients a genealogical tree was not only a set of data on one’s civil status but also a manifestation of one’s membership in a community and the importance of ancestry (Gen 5:1-11; Ex 6:14-24; 1 Chr 1–9; Ezr 2:59-63). The genealogy of Jesus is drawn up with special care; it is perhaps somewhat artificial, but it is quite solemn. In bringing Jesus on the scene, the entire history of the nation is recapitulated. He is the son of Abraham, in whom all the nations shall be blessed (Gen 18:18); he is the son of David, to whom the future of the people was entrusted (2 Sam 7:13-14); in other words, he is the one who will carry out God’s plan for Israel and the entire human race; he is the One Sent, the consecrated of God (Messiah, Christ).
The opening sentences of the Gospel are thus a “Book of Genesis,” an account of the new beginning of humanity and the world (Gen 2:4; 5:1). Luke will carry the genealogy of Jesus back to Adam himself (Lk 3:23-38). In Matthew’s list Joseph plays a well-defined part: it is by means of him that Jesus is given a de jure place in history. But at this point the Gospel unexpectedly avoids the phrase “the father of” (“begot”), and Joseph is simply the husband of Mary. The entire mystery of Jesus’ origin is already stated in these few words. - Matthew 1:1 Christ: is the Greek translation of the Hebrew “Messiah,” which means “anointed,” that is, consecrated. Priests were anointed (Lev 4:3, 5; 16:15); so were kings (1 Sam 10:1 [Saul]; 16:11 [David], etc.), so much so that the reigning monarch was sometimes given the title of “Messiah,” or “Anointed One” (see Pss 2:2; 89:38; etc.). The name “Jesus Christ,” which at this point was still an alternative for or associated with “Jesus of Nazareth,” is already to be found in the initial preaching of the apostles (see Acts 3:6).
- Matthew 1:3 The genealogy names four women: Tamar (see Gen 38; 1 Chr 2:4), Rahab (see Jos 2; 6:17), the wife of Uriah, i.e., Bathsheba (see 2 Sam 11; 12:24), and Ruth (see Book of Ruth). These four women were foreigners who in some way became part of the history of Israel. They symbolize the salvation that God intends for all peoples.
- Matthew 1:16 It is important to note that in the case of Christ’s birth, the text uses a formula that is far different from the one used for the other persons in the genealogy. In doing so, the evangelist is paving the way for the teaching of Christ’s virginal conception, which took place without the intervention of any man.
- Matthew 1:18 At the beginning of creation the Spirit made the waters fruitful (Gen 1:2; Ps 33:6-7); the Spirit restored life to a people who had been destroyed and were in exile (Ezek 37:1-14; Isa 44:2-4). Now the Spirit creates the new human being, the new Israel, in the womb of the Virgin. How mysterious the interventions of God that turn upside down the course of events and the ways of human beings! Joseph, who is irrevocably bound to Mary because at that time an espousal was a definitive act, is witness to the incomprehensible; he has too much trust in his wife to abandon her to the sentence imposed by the Law if she were to be thought an adulteress. But who will show him the way out of this impossible situation? A revelation of heaven makes his mission known to him in a dream, as the announcement of angels and messengers had to the patriarchs. Joseph obeys, and through him Jesus finds a place publicly in the dynasty of David.
What will this son become, whose name “Jesus” is already a program, since it means “God saves”? The prophecy of Isaiah, which had remained mysterious to the minds of believers, is now fulfilled. Such is the main message of this text that was originally addressed to Jews, namely, that God is in our midst to give us victory and to live the covenant to the full. “Emmanuel” means “God is with us” (Lk 1:31; Jn 1:14). That is the ultimate message. - Matthew 1:21 Jesus: is a transcription of the Greek Iêsous, which in turn is a transcription of the Hebrew Jehoshuah (“Joshua” in translations) or Jeshua in its later form. It means “God saves.”
- Matthew 1:23 See Isa 7:14. God’s promise of salvation to Judah in the time of Isaiah is seen to be fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. This is the first of some 60 citations, most of them Messianic, that Matthew takes from the Old Testament.
- Matthew 1:25 Engaged in no marital relations: literally, “did not know,” “know” being the usual word for conjugal relations (see Gen 4:1). The meaning of “he engaged in no marital relations with her . . . ” is: “without his knowing her, she bore a son.” The Hebrew word “until” neither implies nor excludes marital conduct after Jesus’ birth.
- Matthew 2:1 We shall never be able to identify with certainty these men of study and prayer, who may also have been astrologers (called by a Persian name, “Magi”). Orientals thought that a new star appeared at the birth of great persons (Num 24:17). In any case, the hour has come for pagans to share in the joy of encounter with God. This Gospel also confirms the expectation of Israel and cites the Prophets (Mic 5:1; 2 Sam 5:1-3): the new future of the People of God originates in the dynasty of David and in his native place, Bethlehem (1 Sam 16), but the mission of the Messiah goes beyond religious and national frontiers. The Messianic age is beginning (see Ps 72:10-11; Isa 9:1, 5; 49:23; 60:1-5; Lk 2:30-34).
- Matthew 2:1 Bethlehem: about five miles south of Jerusalem.
- Matthew 2:4 Chief priests: in the plural signifies the high priest now in office and his predecessors and members of their respective families. Herod’s act of consulting with the chief priests and teachers of the Law has some affinity with a Jewish legend about the child Moses in which Pharaoh is warned by sacred scribes about the coming birth of a deliverer of Israel from Egypt and plots to destroy the deliverer.
- Matthew 2:6 This prophecy of Micah (5:1) had been pronounced seven centuries earlier.
- Matthew 2:11 Because of the Old Testament texts of Ps 72:11, 16; Isa 60:6, the wise men were thought to be kings. House: indicates that the wise men did not visit Jesus on the night of his birth as did the shepherds. Although there are three gifts, this does not mean there were three wise men.
- Matthew 2:15 The citation from Hos 11:1, which originally referred to God’s calling Israel (God’s son) out of Egypt, is here applied to Jesus. Just as Israel was called out of Egypt at the time of the Exodus, so Jesus, the Son of God, will be called out of Egypt at the New Exodus.
- Matthew 2:17 The citation of Jer 31:15 originally referred to Rachel, the wife of Jacob, weeping for her children taken into exile in 721 B.C. Matthew applies it to the mourning for the Holy Innocents.
- Matthew 2:19 Herod died in 4 B.C. We do not know for sure to which prophecies (note the plural “Prophets”) v. 23 is alluding. Some believe Matthew is here thinking of the Old Testament declarations that the Messiah would be despised (e.g., Ps 22:6; Isa 53:3), for “Nazorean” was a synonym for “despised” (see Jn 1:45f). Or he may be saying that according to the plan of God Jesus was to live his childhood and youth in Nazareth and begin his ministry there. Some think “Nazorean” fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah (11:1): Jesus is the “shoot” (nezer in Hebrew) of the race of Abraham and David.
- Matthew 2:20 For those who sought to kill the child are dead: another subtle reference to the Moses-Christ parallel. After fleeing from Egypt because the Pharaoh sought to kill him, Moses was told to return in similar words: “for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead” (Ex 4:19).
- Matthew 2:22 Archelaus: son of Herod who ruled Judea and Samaria for ten years (4 B.C. to A.D. 6) and was deposed because of his cruelty. After him Judea became a Roman province administered by “procurators” appointed by the Emperor. Galilee: the northern part of Palestine, whose principal cities were: Capernaum, Cana, Nazareth, and Tiberias. Its people were not very highly esteemed by the Jews of Jerusalem and Judea (see Jn 1:46; 7:52) probably because of the strong Hellenization of the region and the mixed (Jew-Gentile) population there. It was the primary region of Jesus’ public ministry and is viewed as a providential indicator of his Messianic mission to the Gentiles (see Isa 66:18f; Am 9:11f).
- Matthew 2:23 Nazareth: a town that stands on the last spurs of the Galilean hills, some 87 miles north of Jerusalem.
