Five Women in the Genealogy of Jesus

Have you ever explored your genealogy?  Perhaps you thought you would find some great person among your ancestors.  But, to your chagrin, you discovered a prostitute, a horse thief, or some other person you considered to be inferior.  This is not what you wanted.  Perhaps you were tempted to give up your study of ancestry or at least to “doctor it up” a little.

The genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1 has some unexpected twists in the record that a good Jew might want to omit.

Matthew lists five women in the genealogy of Jesus, three of whom were non-Jewish.  The two Jews listed included a woman scandalized by a sexual predator and another woman who bore a child out of wedlock.  A proud Jew might not want either recorded in a published genealogy.

The story of Thamar, or Tamar (Matthew 1:3) in Genesis 38, exposes her as a Canaanite woman chosen by her father-in-law, Judah, to marry his firstborn son Er.  Er died, and the second son, Onan, married Tamar.  He also died with no heir.  By tradition, the third son should have married Tamar, but he was too young.  Judah promised him to Tamar as soon as he was of age.  When the time came, Judah didn’t keep his promise.  Tamar plotted to get a husband and eventually a son by deceiving Judah.  She disguised herself as a pagan prostitute (a common occurrence at that time) and seduced Judah.  Three months later, her pregnancy was evident, and the custom at that time within a family would be to kill the promiscuous woman.    But Tamar had taken a pledge of Judah before the one-night stand.  When the trial (and execution) date came, Tamar exhibited the pledge – Judah’s signet, bracelets, and staff.  Judah admitted his guilt, and she was spared.  Six months later, twin sons Pharez and Zarah were born.  Pharez (or Phares) became part of the lineage of Christ.

Rachab – or Rahab (Matthew 1:5) was a Canaanite harlot from Jericho.  She had heard many stories of Israel crossing the Red Sea and their military conquest of the Amorites.  While others in Jericho feared and trembled, she believed in Israel’s God.  (Joshua 2:10-14). She helps Joshua’s two spies escape, and as a result, she and her family are spared from Jericho’s destruction.  (Joshua 6:22-25).  Later, she married Salmon and bore him a son named Booz (Boaz), an ancestor of Jesus.

Ruth was a pagan Moabitess who married a Jewish immigrant into Moab, Chilion, the son of Naomi, as recorded in the book of Ruth.  Ruth’s husband died, but she was a convert to Judaism and returned with the widow, Naomi, to Bethlehem.  Ruth left her country, family, and everything else to go with Ruth.  There, she met and married Boaz.  Her firstborn son was Obed, David’s grandfather.

Bathsheba, Uriah the Hittite’s wife, was home alone while her husband was at war.  David, who should have been on the battlefield, stayed home and happened to observe Bathsheba bathing on the rooftop of her own home.  Even though David knew she was the wife of Uriah, he sent for her to have sex with him.  Sometime later, she notified David that she was pregnant.  After unsuccessfully trying to deceive and hide his sin from Uriah, David sent Uriah to battle with instructions to Joab, the general in the field, to abandon Uriah in a dangerous position and let the enemy kill him.  After the time of mourning, David took Bathsheba as his wife.  David later repented of his sin, but suffered severe consequences starting with the death of that baby.  Bathsheba became the mother of Solomon and Nathan, who was in the lineage of Christ.  Matthew does not hide the affair in the genealogy.  He states clearly that David, the king, begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias.

Finally, there is Mary, the humble, godly Jewish peasant girl that God selected as the vessel to bring Jesus into the world.  When the angel told her that she was to be the mother of the Lord, she replied humbly, “Let it be unto me according unto thy word” (Luke 1:38).  She wondered how Joseph, her espoused husband, would accept this.  But God took care of that for her.  Later, she had to endure the gossip of the people of Nazareth.  This slanderous gossip continued far into the adulthood of Jesus.  (John 8:41).  But she willingly gave herself to the blessed calling God had given her.

Are there lessons we can learn from these unique mentions in Jesus’ genealogy?

Throughout history, women have been treated as inferior, as property, or as slaves.  But this is not true in the Biblical record.  Besides the women mentioned in this article, there were many important women in Bible history: Eve, Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, the widow of Zarephath, Esther, Elizabeth – mother of John the Baptist, Anna, the women who accompanied Jesus on his preaching tours (including Mary  Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna), Mary and Martha, the woman of Samaria, Priscilla the wife of Aquila, Timothy’s mother and grandmother Eunice and Lois, and a host of others mentioned by Paul in the last chapter of some of his epistles.

These five women in the genealogy of Jesus were significant for the entire story of redemption.  God works his plan sometimes through unexpected channels.  He is sovereign.  And God does not always choose the ones we might expect to see.  But he demonstrated his love for everyone regardless of race, color, or nationality.

God was not limited to use only Jews.  He used Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth from pagan foreign countries.

Tamar and Rahab were not pure, godly people.  They resorted to harlotry to get what they thought they needed.  Then, they met God, and He changed their lives.

Ruth was a pure young lady.  But she was a foreigner alone in a strange land.

Bathsheba was a victim of David’s ungodly lust.  Perhaps she could have said “no” to David, but the risk of saying “no” to the king might have meant the end of her life.  God worked his plan through her and David even though, at that time, they were very poor vessels for God’s use.

Mary was a godly young Jewish virgin of humble origin with no claims for status or power.  Of all these five women, only Mary appeared to have the spiritual qualifications for her calling.

“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29)

Whether you are a woman or a man, a child or an adult, sick or well, handicapped or physically fit, poor or rich, red, brown, yellow, black or white, considered to be of good moral character or evil character, educated or uneducated, good-looking or homely, athletic or clumsy, God loves you.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16).  He will take you as a sinner and make you a sinner saved by grace and changed by His power.

For the Christian who feels unqualified for service, if God calls you for a specific service, he will enable you.  “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

No matter how unworthy you may feel, God can save you, transform you, and build you into a worthy servant of His.  Will you respond to His call today?