2fmmempty@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (04/01/91)
Something struck me as a little odd the other day. If Jesus is God's son, and Mary's conception virginal. Is there any real point in establishing Joseph's lineage in the Gospel other than letting us know that there were fourteen generations between David and Jesus? And why is the first verse of Chapter 1 in Matthew label it as the 'book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham'? Stephen
c9037544@cc.newcastle.edu.au (David Williams) (04/08/91)
In article <Apr.1.03.33.41.1991.7864@athos.rutgers.edu>, 2fmmempty@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes: > Something struck me as a little odd the other day. If Jesus is God's son, and > Mary's conception virginal. Is there any real point in establishing Joseph's > lineage in the Gospel other than letting us know that there were fourteen > generations between David and Jesus? > > And why is the first verse of Chapter 1 in Matthew label it as the 'book of > the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham'? > > Stephen In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus' legal descent is recorded, Matthew representing Christ as King. In the book of Luke, where Jesus' humanity is portrayed, the lineage is His natural one and is through Mary. Using Bible Numerics, the lineage in Matthew is divided into three sections, and 3 x 14 (the number of generations) is 42, or 6 x 7. 6 is the number of man, and 7 the number of perfection, revealing Jesus as the perfect man. Jesus is established as the son of Abraham to show that He is the fulfillment of Genesis 17:6, and as the son of David, to show that He is the ultimate fulfillment of the Davidic covenant. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | David Williams | University of Newcastle, Australia | | c9037544@cc.newcastle.edu.au | Department of Computer Science | | c9037544@jupiter.newcastle.edu.au | | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | "The decision of Random Numbers is too important to be left to chance !" | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2fmmempty@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (04/09/91)
In article <Apr.7.23.05.29.1991.29405@athos.rutgers.edu>, c9037544@cc.newcastle.edu.au (David Williams) writes: > > In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus' legal descent is recorded, Matthew representing > Christ as King. In the book of Luke, where Jesus' humanity is portrayed, > the lineage is His natural one and is through Mary. I noticed in Luke near the end of Chapter 3, Jesus's lineage is recounted again, but also through Joseph. I do not recall ever seeing a lineage of Mary in the Bible. > Using Bible Numerics, the lineage in Matthew is divided into three sections, > and 3 x 14 (the number of generations) is 42, or 6 x 7. 6 is the number of man, > and 7 the number of perfection, revealing Jesus as the perfect man. > Jesus is established as the son of Abraham to show that He is the fulfillment > of Genesis 17:6, and as the son of David, to show that He is the ultimate > fulfillment of the Davidic covenant. This was about what I thought, that there was some occult reason for its recounting. I figured it had something to do with Kabbalah, or at least Kabbalah based numerology. 42 being one of those mystical numbers that re occurs in magical treatises over and over again. But I wondered if any other attempt had been made to explain why Joseph had anything to do with it at all, uther than being his mother's husband. I suppose that was because it was his assumed legal descent, it struck me as strage though that they would find something mystical in that. Thanks for the reply. Stephen
burt@sequent.uucp (Burton Keeble) (04/17/91)
[This is part of a discussion about the accounts of Jesus' lineage in Mat. and Lk, and why they differ. A comment had been made about the apparent division of Mat's into three sections of 14 generations, --clh] In Asimov's Guide To The Bible, there is some discussion of the division of the generations, and Matthew's rationale in doing so. I found it interesting. P773-778 (Hardback 1981 edition). .........."No, the best that can be done is to statae that, on the face of it, there are 14 generations from Abraham to David, 18 from David to the Exile, and 13 from the Exile to Jesus. Fortunately, though, Matthew's little game with numbers is not really of importance and it isn't paid much mind, except as an interesting quirk in Matthew's system of thought." -burt