I think you guys are actually on to something big.
I don't believe that he did. I believe that, unlike the other books in the NT, Matthew was originally written in the Aramaic and then translated into Greek and then translated into English. Somewhere along the way one of the names of Jesus' Grandfathers got lost.
Why would he not just cross out what he had just written or tear up the scroll and start again, (as it's only the 1st chapter)? Why would he deliberately leave it in to bear false witness against the Lord, and why did the compilers of the Bible not realize that this was a misleading verse?
The compilers knew that they had a problem. I just checked my ESV and the problem's still there.
"So all the generations from Abraham to David were
fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon
fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ
fourteen generations"
There's supposed to be 3 sets of fourteen generations. I understand that some versions attempt to compensate by repeating the name of David at the top of group # 2 or that of Jeconiah at the top of group # 3.
Matthew 1
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
1.Abraham was the father of
2.Isaac, and Isaac the father of
3.Jacob, and Jacob the father of
4.Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of
5.Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of
6.Hezron, and Hezron the father of
7.Ram, and Ram the father of
8.Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of
9.Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of
10.Salmon, and Salmon the father of
11.Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of
12.Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of
13.Jesse, and Jesse the father of
14.David the king.
And David was the father of
1.Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of
2.Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of
3.Abijah, and Abijah the father of
4.Asaph, and Asaph the father of
5.Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of
6.Joram, and Joram the father of
7.Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of
8.Jotham, and Jotham the father of
9.Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of
10.Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of
11.Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of
12.Amos, and Amos the father of
13.Josiah, and Josiah the father of
14.Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of
1.Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of
2.Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of
3.Abiud, and Abiud the father of
4.Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of
5.Azor, and Azor the father of
6.Zadok, and Zadok the father of
7.Achim, and Achim the father of
8.Eliud, and Eliud the father of
9.Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of
10.Matthan, and Matthan the father of
11.Jacob, and Jacob the father of
12.Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom
13.Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
"So all the generations from Abraham to David were
fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon
fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ
fourteen generations"
.
Sorry, the 3rd group is missing a name. Jesus is not supposed to be # 13.
So all these generations have now passed away
now we're talkin' bout my generation.