Comparative Theology · Internal Contradictions
The Two Genealogies of Jesus
Handle with care. Expect the Mary's-line answer immediately. Respond that Luke names Joseph in every manuscript, and that the reading is a later proposal — do not claim Christians invented it dishonestly.
In short
- 1.Matthew: Joseph son of Jacob. Luke: Joseph son of Heli
- 2.Matthew runs through Solomon; Luke through Nathan
- 3.Matthew explicitly counts three sets of fourteen — and one set has only thirteen
The claim being examined
Matthew and Luke each trace Jesus' descent through Joseph. From David onwards the two lists share almost no names, and they even disagree on Joseph's father.
The Islamic position
Islam locates Jesus' honour in his miraculous birth and his prophethood, not in a legal pedigree — a pedigree the Gospels themselves cannot fix.
Analysis
Between David and Joseph the two genealogies diverge almost completely, and Matthew's own structuring device does not add up as stated. The common harmonisation is that Luke gives Mary's line, but Luke's text says Joseph, not Mary, and no manuscript reads otherwise. A second harmonisation appeals to levirate marriage, which would require an unbroken chain of such marriages across generations. Both are proposals to rescue the text, not readings of it. Both writers also trace descent through a man they simultaneously say was not the biological father.
Side by side
| Matthew | 1:6-16 | David → Solomon → … → Jacob → Joseph. Twenty-six generations from David. |
|---|---|---|
| Luke | 3:23-31 | David → Nathan → … → Heli → Joseph. Forty-one generations from David. |
From the Qur'an
Qur'an 3:59
إِنَّ مَثَلَ عِيسَىٰ عِندَ اللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ آدَمَ
The likeness of Jesus before God is as that of Adam: He created him from dust.
From the Bible
Matthew 1:16
Ἰακὼβ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰωσὴφ
And Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Read it in their BibleLuke 3:23
ὢν υἱός, ὡς ἐνομίζετο, Ἰωσὴφ τοῦ Ἠλί
Being the son, as was supposed, of Joseph, the son of Heli.
Read it in their BibleSources
Raymond E. Brown, The Birth of the Messiah · Bart D. Ehrman, Jesus, Interrupted
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