Why does Matthew append 'and his brothers' to Judah and Jechoniah (1:2, 11)? Secondly, why does Matthew include the following four annotations: 'and Zerah by Tamar', 'by Rahab', 'by Ruth', and 'by the [wife] of Uriah' (1:3-6)? The title offers a look at the function of biblical genealogies, and the relationship between "Matthew" 1 and 28.
Why does Matthew append 'and his brothers' to Judah and Jechoniah (1:2, 11)? Secondly, why does Matthew include the following four annotations: 'and Zerah by Tamar', 'by Rahab', 'by Ruth', and 'by the [wife] of Uriah' (1:3-6)? Jason B. Hood uses a composition critical approach in which he examines biblical genealogies and 'summaries of Israel's story' in order to shed light on these features of Matthew's gospel.
Hood asserts that he addition of 'and his brothers' recalls Jesus' royal role. Judah and Jechoniah in Second Temple literature are both understood to have reversed their wickedness and earned royal status by self-sacrifice, perhaps pointing to the self-sacrifice of Jesus for his brothers before his full enthronement. A review of scholarly explanations of the significance of the 'four (five) women' in the genealogy, unearths an overlooked interpretation - Matthew does not name four women in 1:3-6 but four Gentiles (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Uriah) traditionally celebrated as righteous.
The book is useful for its extensive summaries of previous research, and its suggestion to shift the focus of interpretation from Bathsheba to Uriah is a welcome reminder of previous studies...The early emphasis on genealogies as having narrative functions akin to those of summaries of Israel's history is intriguing...there is some valuable material in this dissertation.
