🧬 Lineage of Jesus

Continuous/Unbroken:

The lineage of Jesus presented in this document is unbroken. It provides a complete, continuous father-to-son record from God through Adam to David (shared by both lineages), and then continues without any gaps through the line of Nathan (Luke 3:23-38) and through the line of Solomon (Matthew 1:1-16) all the way to Jesus. Every name listed is directly supported by the biblical references given.

After David the genealogy branches: through Nathan (Luke 3:31-23) and through Solomon (Matthew 1:7-16). English names follow NIV spelling.

#1–36. From God to David (common to both Lineages)

  1. God. (Luke 3:38)
  2. Adam. (Genesis 4:25; Luke 3:38)
  3. Seth [3rd son]. (Genesis 4:25; Luke 3:38)
  4. Enosh. (Genesis 4:26; Luke 3:38)
  5. Kenan. (Genesis 5:9; Luke 3:37)
  6. Mahalalel. (Genesis 5:13; Luke 3:37)
  7. Jared. (Genesis 5:15; Luke 3:37)
  8. Enoch. (Genesis 5:18; Luke 3:37)
  9. Methuselah. (Genesis 5:21; Luke 3:37)
  10. Lamech. (Genesis 5:25; Luke 3:36)
  11. Noah. (Genesis 5:29; Luke 3:36)
  12. Shem [2nd son]. (Genesis 5:32; 9:24; 10:21; Luke 3:36)
  13. Arphaxad. (Genesis 11:10; Luke 3:36)
  14. Cainan. (?) (Luke 3:36)
  15. Shelah. (Genesis 11:12; Luke 3:35)
  16. Eber. (Genesis 11:14; Luke 3:35)
  17. Peleg. (Genesis 11:16; Luke 3:35)
  18. Reu. (Genesis 11:18; Luke 3:35)
  19. Serug. (Genesis 11:20; Luke 3:35)
  20. Nahor. (Genesis 11:22; Luke 3:34)
  21. Terah. (Genesis 11:24; Luke 3:34)
  22. Abram = Abraham [Hebrew]. (Genesis 11:26; 17:5; Luke 3:34)
  23. Isaac [2nd son; son of Sarah]. (Genesis 21:3; Matthew 1:2; Luke 3:34)
  24. Jacob [2nd son] = Israel. (Genesis 25:26; Matthew 1:2; Luke 3:34)
  25. Judah [4th son; son of Leah]. (Genesis 29:35; Matthew 1:2; Luke 3:33) [Ruler (Genesis 49:8)]
  26. Perez. (Genesis 38:29; 46:12; Numbers 26:20; Matthew 1:3; Luke 3:33)
  27. Hezron. (Genesis 46:12; Numbers 26:21; Joshua 15:25; Ruth 4:18; Matthew 1:3; Luke 3:33)
  28. Ram; Arni. (Ruth 4:19; Matthew 1:3; Luke 3:33)
  29. Admin. (?) (Luke 3:33)
  30. Amminadab. (Ruth 4:19; Matthew 1:4; Luke 3:33)
  31. Nahshon. (Ruth 4:20; Matthew 1:4; Luke 3:32)
  32. Salmon. (Ruth 4:20; Matthew 1:4; Luke 3:32)
  33. Boaz [son of Rahab]. (Ruth 4:21; Matthew 1:5; Luke 3:32)
  34. Obed [son of Ruth]. (Ruth 4:21; Matthew 1:5; Luke 3:32)
  35. Jesse. (Ruth 4:22; Matthew 1:5; Luke 3:32)
  36. David [8th son; King of Judah]. (1 Samuel 16:10-12; Ruth 4:22; Matthew 1:6; Luke 3:31)
↓ From David the two lines continue in parallel ↓

through Nathan
(Luke 3:31-23) -> Mary 👩🏻

  1. Nathan [9th son; born in Jerusalem]. (2 Samuel 3:2-5; 5:14; 1 Chronicles 3:5; Zechariah 12:12; Luke 3:31)
  2. Mattatha. (Luke 3:31)
  3. Menna. (Luke 3:31)
  4. Melea. (Luke 3:31)
  5. Eliakim. (Luke 3:30)
  6. Jonam. (Luke 3:30)
  7. Joseph. (Luke 3:30)
  8. Judah. (Luke 3:30)
  9. Simeon. (Luke 3:30)
  10. Levi. (Luke 3:29)
  11. Matthat. (Luke 3:29)
  12. Jorim. (Luke 3:29)
  13. Eliezer. (Luke 3:29)
  14. Joshua. (Luke 3:29)
  15. Er. (Luke 3:28)
  16. Elmadam. (Luke 3:28)
  17. Cosam. (Luke 3:28)
  18. Addi. (Luke 3:28)
  19. Melki. (Luke 3:28)
  20. Neri. (Luke 3:27)
  21. Shealtiel. (Matthew 1:12; Luke 3:27)
  22. Zerubbabel. (Matthew 1:12; Luke 3:27)
  23. Rhesa. (Luke 3:27)
  24. Joanan. (Luke 3:27)
  25. Joda. (Luke 3:26)
  26. Josek. (Luke 3:26)
  27. Semein. (Luke 3:26)
  28. Mattathias. (Luke 3:26)
  29. Maath. (Luke 3:26)
  30. Naggai. (Luke 3:25)
  31. Hesli. (Luke 3:25)
  32. Nahum. (Luke 3:25)
  33. Amos. (Luke 3:25)
  34. Mattathias. (Luke 3:25)
  35. Joseph. (Luke 3:24)
  36. Jannai. (Luke 3:24)
  37. Melki. (Luke 3:24)
  38. Levi. (Luke 3:24)
  39. Matthat. (Luke 3:24)
  40. Heli [Mary’s father]. (Luke 3:23)
  41. Joseph [Mary’s husband].
    (Matthew 1:16; Luke 3:23)
  42. Jesus [Mary’s firstborn son, the Messiah]. (Matthew 1:16; Luke 3:23)

through Solomon
(Matthew 1:7-16) -> Joseph 🧔🏻

  1. Solomon [10th son; son of Bathsheba, wife of Uriah; born in Jerusalem]. (2 Samuel 5:14; 1 Chronicles 3:5; Matthew 1:6)
  2. Rehoboam. (1 Kings 14:21; 1 Chronicles 3:10; Matthew 1:7)
  3. Abijah. (1 Kings 15:2; 1 Chronicles 3:10; Matthew 1:7)
  4. Asa. (1 Kings 15:9; 1 Chronicles 3:10; Matthew 1:7)
  5. Jehoshaphat. (1 Kings 22:41; 1 Chronicles 3:10; Matthew 1:8)
  6. Jehoram. (2 Kings 8:16; 1 Chronicles 3:11; Matthew 1:8)
  7. Ahaziah; Uzziah. (2 Kings 8:25; 1 Chronicles 3:11; Matthew 1:8)
  8. Joash. (2 Kings 12:1; 1 Chronicles 3:11)
  9. Amaziah. (2 Kings 14:1; 1 Chronicles 3:12)
  10. Azariah; Uzziah. (2 Kings 15:1, 32; 1 Chronicles 3:12)
  11. Jotham. (2 Kings 15:32; 1 Chronicles 3:12; Matthew 1:9)
  12. Ahaz. (2 Kings 16:1; 1 Chronicles 3:13; Matthew 1:9)
  13. Hezekiah. (2 Kings 18:1; 1 Chronicles 3:13; Matthew 1:9)
  14. Manasseh. (2 Kings 20:21; 1 Chronicles 3:13; Matthew 1:10)
  15. Amon. (2 Kings 21:18; 1 Chronicles 3:14; Matthew 1:10)
  16. Josiah. (2 Kings 21:26; 1 Chronicles 3:14; Matthew 1:10)
  17. Eliakim = Jehoiakim [2nd son]. (2 Kings 23:34; 1 Chronicles 3:15)
  18. Jehoiachin [the one deported to Babylon]. (1 Chronicles 3:16; Jeremiah 22:24; Matthew 1:11)
  19. Shealtiel. (1 Chronicles 3:17; Matthew 1:12; Luke 3:27)
  20. Zerubbabel. (Matthew 1:12; Luke 3:27)
  21. Abihud. (Matthew 1:13)
  22. Eliakim. (Matthew 1:13; Luke 3:30)
  23. Azor. (Matthew 1:13)
  24. Zadok. (Matthew 1:14)
  25. Akim. (Matthew 1:14)
  26. Elihud. (Matthew 1:14)
  27. Eleazar. (Matthew 1:15)
  28. Matthan. (Matthew 1:15)
  29. Jacob. (Matthew 1:15)
  30. Joseph [Mary’s husband].
    (Matthew 1:16; Luke 3:23)
  31. Jesus [Mary’s firstborn son, the Messiah]. (Matthew 1:16; Luke 3:23)

Apparent Discrepancy in Jesus’s Lineage:
Shealtiel and Zerubbabel

The apparent discrepancy, Shealtiel (also spelled Salathiel) listed as the son of Jehoiachin/Jeconiah/Jechoniah in Matthew’s genealogy (Joseph’s legal line) versus the son of Neri in Luke’s genealogy (traditionally Mary’s biological line)—is a well-known point in biblical scholarship on Jesus’s dual genealogies.

These are not errors or contradictions but reflect different purposes and ancient Jewish customs around legal succession, adoption, and (possibly) levirate marriage.

Quick Context: The Two Genealogies

  • ✦ Matthew 1:1-17 traces the legal/royal line through Joseph (Jesus’s legal father).
    It goes from Abraham → David → Solomon (the royal throne line) → ... → Jehoiachin (Jeconiah/Jechoniah) → Shealtiel → Zerubbabel → ... → Joseph → Jesus. Matthew emphasises Jesus’s legal right to the throne of David as the Messiah-King.
  • ✦ Luke 3:23-38 traces the natural/biological line (most scholars believe through Mary, with Joseph listed as son-in-law to her father Heli). It goes from Jesus → Joseph → Heli → ... → David → Nathan (Solomon’s brother, a non-royal branch) → ... → Neri → Shealtiel → Zerubbabel → ... → Jesus.
  • ✦ Luke emphasises Jesus’s full humanity and biological descent from David and Adam.

The genealogies diverge after David (Solomon vs. Nathan) and after Zerubbabel, but they converge exactly at Shealtiel and Zerubbabel. These are the same historical figures—the post-exilic leaders who returned from Babylon (mentioned in Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, and 1 Chronicles). They are not different people with coincidentally identical names.

The Specific Discrepancy and Resolution

  • ✦ Matthew 1:12: “After the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.”
  • ✦ Luke 3:27: “...the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri...”
  • ✦ Old Testament parallel: 1 Chronicles 3:17 lists Shealtiel as a son of Jeconiah (Jehoiachin), but also notes complications with Zerubbabel (listed as son of Pedaiah, Jeconiah’s other son and Shealtiel’s brother).

The best-supported explanation (held by early church fathers like Julius Africanus/Eusebius and most conservative scholars today) is that Shealtiel had two “fathers” in the Jewish sense: a biological one and a legal one.

  • ✦ Neri was Shealtiel’s biological (natural) father, from the uncursed line of Nathan (Luke’s genealogy). Neri was a descendant in the non-royal Davidic branch.
  • ✦ Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) was Shealtiel’s legal father (Matthew’s genealogy). This happened through adoption or a form of levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5-10, where a close relative raises up offspring for a deceased or childless man to preserve the family name and inheritance).

Why? The Curse on Jeconiah

Jeremiah 22:30 pronounced a curse on Jehoiachin (Jeconiah): none of his direct physical descendants would sit on David’s throne. If Shealtiel had been biologically Jeconiah’s son, the royal line would have been permanently disqualified. By grafting Shealtiel (from Nathan’s uncursed line) in as the legal heir through adoption or levirate, the throne rights passed legally to him without violating the curse. Jesus, descending biologically through the Neri line, inherits the throne rights legally through Joseph/Matthew.

This mirrors the situation with Zerubbabel himself (a few generations later):
1 Chronicles 3:19 calls him the son of Pedaiah (Shealtiel’s brother), but everywhere else (Ezra, Haggai, Matthew, Luke) he is “son of Shealtiel.”
The standard resolution is another levirate situation: Shealtiel died childless → Pedaiah married the widow and raised Zerubbabel as the legal son of Shealtiel.

Why This Fits Perfectly

  • ✦ It explains why the lines cross at exactly these two famous post-exile figures.
  • ✦ It upholds both genealogies as fully accurate and complementary (one legal/royal for Messiah-King credentials; one biological for true Davidic descent).
  • ✦ It resolves Jeconiah’s curse without contradiction—Jesus is the legal heir to the throne but not biologically under the curse.
  • ✦ This was common Jewish practice to preserve tribal and royal inheritance, especially during the exile when records and lines were at risk.

Alternative views exist (e.g., some suggest two entirely different Shealtiel/Zerubbabel pairs), but the legal-vs-biological (via adoption/levirate) solution is the most widely accepted and internally consistent with Scripture.

In short, the “discrepancy” is intentional and elegant: it shows how God sovereignly preserved the Davidic line through both legal right and biological descent, culminating in Jesus—the rightful King who fulfills every prophecy.

This is one of the beautiful complexities of the Bible’s genealogies.

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