Remember King Jechoniah of Judah ? Most of us do not. Yet, The LORD remembered him . . . but not for good.
Jechoniah is listed in the genealogy records of the first chapter of Matthew, in verse 11.
Most of us do not recall much about Jechoniah even though he was a king of Judah from the line of David. For one thing, Jeconiah’s name appears in different forms as Coniah, Jeconiah, Jechonias, and Jechoniah.
From Wikipedia ~
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeconiah
Jeconiah (Hebrew: יְכָנְיָה Yekonya [jəxɔnjaː], meaning "Yah has established";[2] Greek: Ιεχονιας; Latin: Iechonias, Jechonias), also known as Coniah[3] and as Jehoiachin (Hebrew: יְהֹויָכִין [jəhoːjaːˈxiːn];
Latin: Ioachin, Joachin), was the nineteenth and penultimate king of Judah who was dethroned by the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar II in the 6th century BCE and was taken into captivity.
He was the son and successor of King Jehoiakim, and the grandson of King Josiah. Most of what is known about Jeconiah is found in the Hebrew Bible.
Records of Jeconiah's existence have been found in Iraq, such as the Jehoiachin's Rations Tablets.
These tablets were excavated near the Ishtar Gate in Babylon and have been dated to c. 592 BCE. Written in cuneiform, they mention Jeconiah (Akkadian: 𒅀𒀪𒌑𒆠𒉡, "Ia-'-ú-kinu") and his five sons as recipients of food rations in Babylon.[4]
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Here is Jechoniah in Matthew 1:11 ~
11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:
Jeconiah was king of Judah when it was taken captive by Babylon. Jeremiah the Prophet spoke a curse upon Jeconiah because of his sins, in Jeremiah 22:28-30 ~
28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?
29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.
30 Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.
[ See Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Matthew 1:11, page 2, column 1, notes; Reprint 1976, Eerdmans Printing Company, Grand Rapids, MI]
Thus Joseph who came through the line of David through Jeconiah could not pass on the ROYAL lineage to The LORD JESUS Who+ is to sit upon the Throne of David.
Joseph could only be the LEGAL father. . . legal under the “law” but not actual, as to the physical.
The classic, Bible commentary of Jamieson, Fausset , and Brown, published in 1871, is online and free to read at:
https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/jamieson-fausset-brown/matthew/matthew-1.html
Here is the JFB explanation of Matthew 1:11 which records “Jechonias” in the genealogy of JESUS CHRIST.
[ Verse ] 11. And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren--Jeconiah was Josiah's grandson, being the son of Jehoiakim, Josiah's second son ( 1 Chronicles 3:15 ); but Jehoiakim might well be sunk in such a catalogue, being a mere puppet in the hands of the king of Egypt ( 2 Chronicles 36:4 ).
The "brethren" of Jechonias here evidently mean his uncles--the chief of whom, Mattaniah or Zedekiah, who came to the throne ( 2 Kings 24:17 ), is, in 2 Chronicles 36:10 , as well as here, called "his brother."
about the time they were carried away to Babylon—literally, "of their migration," for the Jews avoided the word "captivity" as too bitter a recollection, and our Evangelist studiously respects the national feeling.
[ Verse ] 12. And after they were brought to Babylon—
after the migration of Babylon.
Jechonias begat Salathiel-- So 1 Chronicles 3:17 .
Nor does this contradict Jeremiah 22:30 ,
"Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man (Coniah, or Jeconiah) childless"; for what follows explains in what sense this was meant--"for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David." He was to have seed, but no reigning child.
and Salathiel--or Shealtiel. begat Zorobabel--So Ezra 3:2 , Nehemiah 12:1 , Haggai 1:1 . But it would appear from 1 Chronicles 3:19 that Zerubbabel was Salathiel's grandson, being the son of Pedaiah, whose name, for some reason unknown, is omitted.[ Verses ] 13-15. And Zorobabel begat Abiud, &c.--None of these names are found in the Old Testament; but they were doubtless taken from the public or family registers, which the Jews carefully kept, and their accuracy was never challenged.
[ Verse ] 16. And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus—
From this it is clear that the genealogy here given is not that of Mary, but of Joseph; nor has this ever been questioned.
And yet it is here studiously proclaimed that Joseph was not the natural, but only the legal father of our Lord.
His birth of a virgin was known only to a few; but the acknowledged descent of his legal father from David secured that the descent of Jesus Himself from David should never be
who is called Christ—
signifying "anointed." It is applied in the Old Testament to the kings ( 1 Samuel 24:6 1 Samuel 24:10 ); to the priests ( Leviticus 4:5 Leviticus 4:16 , &c.); and to the prophets ( 1 Kings 19:16 )--these all being anointed will oil, the symbol of the needful spiritual gifts to consecrate them to their respective offices;
and it was applied, in its most sublime and comprehensive sense, to the promised Deliverer, inasmuch as He was to be consecrated to an office embracing all three by the immeasurable anointing of the Holy Ghost ( Isaiah 61:1 ; compare John 3:34 ).
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Now it is able to be seen WHY the Matthew lineage must belong to Joseph. Not one gene nor DNA nor any kind of substance came from Joseph to form the flesh of The LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Joseph’s line was prohibited from producing a man to sit upon the Throne of David.
Here again, we see that the Prophecies from The LORD come true.
HE gives the Word to His Prophets of old for a reason: so that all may see that HE performs His Word . . . even to the minutest of detail.
LET US PRAY:
O LORD, YOU alone know the end from the beginning. YOU alone know how Your Prophecies, spoken by the holy prophets of old, will be worked out .
YOU, O MOST HIGH, will perform the Word YOU gave to them. Every Word of Yours is TRUE from the beginning.
Help me never to doubt Your Word for the turmoils of this world or Your Word for me, one little servant in Your Kingdom. Let “. . . according to Your Word” rule my life.
YES. Let “ . . . according to Your Word” reign in my heart, over my thoughts, and indeed, over every fear that I face, O LORD.
This I pray in the Life-Giving Name of JESUS CHRIST, The WORD+ Made Flesh, Who+ dwelt among us. Amen.
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