Genealogy of Jesus
accounts of the ancestry of Jesus found in the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospel of Luke
The New Testament provides two accounts of the genealogy of Jesus, one in the Gospel of Matthew and another in the Gospel of Luke. Matthew starts with Abraham and works forwards, while Luke works back in time from Jesus to Adam. The lists of names are identical between Abraham and David (whose inclusion affirms Jesus' messianic title Son of David), but differ radically in the rest. Matthew has twenty-seven generations from David to Joseph (the legal father of Jesus), whereas Luke has forty-two, with almost no overlap between them or with other known genealogies. They also disagree on Joseph's father: Matthew names Jacob, while Luke names Heli.
Early Christian scholars (starting with Africanus and Eusebius) accept both lineages and various explanations for their divergence have been offered. For instance, one (usually Matthew's) may be taken as the lineage of Joseph and the other (usually Luke's) of Mary; or one may be Jesus' customary legal lineage and the other his biological blood lineage. By taking both Joseph and Mary to be David's descendant, these accounts fit with the Gospels affirmation of Jesus' virgin birth of Mary alone, with Joseph considered merely his legal adoptive father. Levirate marriage, through which an individual (such as Joseph) may have two legal fathers, has also been used in such explanations.
Some modern critical scholars, such as Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, have argued that both genealogies are inventions, constructed to bring Jesus' messianic claim into conformity with Jewish criteria.
Matthew's genealogy
Matthew 1:1–17 begins the Gospel with "A record of the origin of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac, ..." and continues on until "...
The public source identifies “Genealogy of Jesus” as accounts of the ancestry of Jesus found in the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospel of Luke. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Genealogy, Jesus and accounts.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Genealogy of Jesus”, the useful work is to connect “accounts of the ancestry of Jesus found in the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospel of Luke” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q51630. The Library of Congress control number is sh85070027. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Genealogy of Jesus”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Genealogy of Jesus primary sources, Genealogy of Jesus archive and Genealogy research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Genealogy of Jesus”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Genealogy of Jesus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.