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Matthew

About this book
Chapter 1

1 This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, 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 the father of Perez and Zerah (by Tamar), Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz (by Rahab), Boaz the father of Obed (by Ruth), Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon (by the wife of Uriah), 7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, 8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 After the deportation to Babylon, Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, 15 Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to Christ, fourteen generations. 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.⁠ 19 Because Joseph, her husband to be, was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her privately.⁠ 20 When he had contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.⁠ 21 She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.”⁠ 22 This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: 23 “Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will name him Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.”⁠ 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep he did what the angel of the Lord told him. He took his wife, 25 but did not have marital relations with her until she gave birth to a son, whom he named Jesus.

Texts in conversation

The Protoevangelium of James Rewrites Joseph's Dream in Matthew to Protect Mary's Virginity

New Testament · Early Christian

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Summary

The Protoevangelium of James reproduces Matthew’s account of Joseph’s dream almost word for word, but the Greek changes “your wife Mary” to “this maiden,” deliberately avoiding any hint that Joseph and Mary had a marital relationship.

Passages

Matthew 1:20

New Testament
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph, her husband to be, was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her privately. 20 When he had contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled:
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

Protoevangelium of James 14

Early Christian · Gospel of James
14 Joseph was deeply afraid and withdrew from Mary, thinking about what he should do. He said to himself, “If I cover up her sin, I will be going against the law of the Lord; but if I expose her to the people of Israel, I fear that what’s inside her might be from an angel, and I’ll be responsible for condemning innocent blood to death. What should I do? I’ll quietly divorce her.” As night fell, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Don’t be afraid because of this girl, for what’s conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you will name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Joseph woke from his dream, glorifying the God of Israel for the grace he had been given, and he watched over her.
150–200 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Protoevangelium of James

References

“... In the Composer’s Trial story in Protoevangelium of James 13-16, only chapter 14 contains obvious evidence of redaction. Among these narratives Protoevangelium of James 14 alone contains canonical influences, displaying significant parallels with the account of the Nativity in the Gospel of Matthew 1:18-25. Protoevangelium of James 14:04-08 contains texts that appear to have been taken directly, some verbatim, from the Matthean account. The critical question to be addressed is whether these Matthean elements were included in the text by the Composer or by the Redactor. It is at this point, Protoevangelium of James 14:04b, that the text begins to display close parallels with the Nativity story in Matthew 1:18-25. The similarities between the two passages, including a number of verbatim equivalents, warrant the conclusion that the text of Joseph’s angelic visitation in the Protoevangelium of James was derived directly from Matthew ...”
George Zervos, The Protevangelium of James: Greek Text and English Translation with a Critical Introduction (Volume 1) (London: T&T Clark, 2019), 60–62.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Matthew 1:20 and Protoevangelium of James 14

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