Jeremiah prophesied the Lord’s words, no descendant of Jeconiah can sit on the throne of David, yet Matthew listed Jeconiah in the genealogy of Christ. In Matthew’s genealogy, Joseph had Jeconiah’s blood in his veins. Therefore, how can Jesus be the descendant of the cursed Jeconiah? He was not qualified to sit on David’s throne based on the Old Testament prophecy that:
“Is this man, Coniah, a despised, broken idol? A vessel in which there is no pleasure? Why are they cast out, he and his descendants, and cast into a land that they do not know? O earth, earth, earth, Hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord: ‘Write this man down as childless, A man who shall not prosper in his days; For none of his descendants shall prosper, Sitting on the throne of David, And ruling anymore in Judah.’” (Jeremiah 22:28-30, NKJV)
Jeconiah (Hebrew: יְכָנְיָה Yəḵonəyā [jəxɔnjaː], meaning “Yah has established”; Greek: Ιεχονιας; Latin: Iechonias, Jechonias), also known as Coniah and as Jehoiachin (Hebrew: יְהוֹיָכִין Yəhōyāḵīn [jəhoːjaːˈxiːn]; Latin: Ioachin, Joachin).
Joseph’s disqualification
Joseph was not the heir apparent. This would also mean that no real son of Joseph would have the right to claim the throne of David. Therefore, if Jesus were the real son of Joseph, he would have been disqualified from sitting on David’s throne. Neither could he claim the right to David’s throne by his adoption by Joseph, since Joseph was not the heir apparent.
The purpose of Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus
The purpose of Matthew’s genealogy, then, is to show why Yeshua could not be king if he were really Joseph’s son and to present the miraculous virgin birth of Jesus. For this reason, Matthew starts his gospel with Jesus’ genealogy, presents the Jeconiah problem, and then proceeds with the account of the virgin birth, which, from Matthew’s viewpoint, is the solution to the Jeconiah problem. Jesus is not the blood descendant of the cursed Jeconiah.
Find the previous two articles in the series here:
Who was Jesus’ paternal grandfather – Jacob or Heli? (Jesus’ Genealogy: 1 of 3)
On Genealogy of Jesus (Part 2 of 3): Did Matthew count the number of generations incorrectly?
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