Who was Joseph in Matthew?

[zeontes]

A while back there was a discussion concerning the geneologies of Matthew and Luke. I did not get into the middle of the discussion because it was a heated and confusing discussion, but now I felt it was time to bring it up and possibly straighten it out. This discussion is very broad and I do not know whether it should go into one thread or several I think for now though that we should stick to this one aspect. The other aspects (the use of the word Tsemach, why four gospels, which gospel relates to which Tsemach) may need to come out in other threads.

A quick search of the name "Joseph" used throughout the Bible reveals that it was a common name. Most folks can come up with at least three Josephs right away; Joseph in Egypt, Joseph Mary's husband, and Joseph of Aramathaea. There are many more Joseph's in the Old Testament, it was a common name.

Now when you look at the geneology in Luke 3 it traces back through the legal side of Jesus' geneology through Nathan to David and further back through Adam to God. This is the entire legal lineage of Jesus as a man.

LK 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was [the son] of Heli,

The geneology in Matthew says that Joseph's father was not Heli:

MT 1:16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

What do we do with this? You will see that the geneology is entirely different from David on. But if you pay attention you will see that this tracks his mother's side of the family. This is the Royal or Regal geneology. This "Joseph" is not Mary's husband it is Mary's father. The word "husband" is the Greek word "aner" which is a generic term meaning "adult male". It is translated "man" 156 times, "husband" 50, "sir" 6, "fellow" 1. So it does not have to be translated as "husband" in this verse.

The Aramaic shows a distinction between verse 16 and verse 19 that the Greek does not show. In verse 16 the word translated into Greek as aner is the Aramaic word GBRA meaning "mighty man" whereas in verse 19 the Aramaic word is BALA "husband".

MT 1:17 So all the generations from Abraham to David [are] fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon [are] fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ [are] fourteen generations.

If you want further proof that this "Joseph", verse 16, is Mary's father count the generations as given. Simply write down the numbers 1 through 14 and list the names as given in the previous verses. Abraham is 1, David is 14; Solomon is 1, Jechonias is 14; Salathiel is 1, Joseph is 12, Mary is 13 and Jesus Christ is 14.

The scriptures do not contradict each other, the errors are either in translation or in our understanding.

 

[zeontes]

To take this a step further then lets take a look at the word Tsemach used in the Old Testament as it relates to the four Gospels.

The word Tsemach (6780) "a sprout" is translated: branch 5 times, bud 3, spring 1, springing 1, that which grew upon 1, where grew 1.

To get the basic understanding of this word look at these two verses:

PS 65:10 Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof.

IS 61:11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

The basic understanding is that of a seed that begins to grow. It represents the shoot of the plant that comes out of the ground, that would be the tsemach that grows from the seed. Now when we see the word tsemach translated Branch in the KJV it represents the Christ. Each of the Gospels accentuates a certains aspect of Jesus Christ's life.

JER 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

The righteous Branch of David is the King of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew. This is why the lineage given in Matthew is the regal line. The term "kingdom of heaven" is only found in Matthew. There are other things that are specifically in Matthew that are not found in the other Gospels. One great incident right off the bat that I can think of is the visit of the wisemen from the east to honor the king.

ZECH 3:8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they [are] men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.

In the Gospel of Mark the Branch is the servant. Servants dont have lineages so no geneology is found in Mark. In Mark the specifics of how Jesus performed the miracles is found, not just that he did them. This book is where we have the verse that says "whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be servant of all."

ZECH 6:12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name [is] The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:

The man whose name is the Branch, the Gospel of Luke. In Luke you have the geneology of Joseph, the legal father of Jesus. In Luke the malefactor rebuked the other who was taunting Jesus. You don't have the record of the malefactor in Matthew because Matthew is about the King of the kingdom of heaven who was rejected. The theives rejected Jesus as well but one of the malefactors accepted Jesus. Luke is where we find Jesus growing from a child into adulthood as a man. His Circumscision and bar mitzvah are shown in this Gospel alone as are certain other things that show his life as a man.

IS 4:2 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth [shall be] excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

In John, Jesus is the branch of the Lord. The geneology is short; he is the only begotten Son of God. There is a lack of parables in John, but the record of the man born blind brings out that Jesus is the Christ unlike any other miracle. In the Gospel of John it even tell us the aspect of Christ's life that it acentuates:
JN 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

JER 33:15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

Although there are no more Gospels there is a book of the Bible that deals again with Christ as king. When he returns executing judgement in the land. You guessed it, the book of Revelation.

This gives us the reason why we have four gospels, to acentuate those areas of Jesus' life that God wanted emphasized. Though, as it says in John:

JN 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

 

[audramray]

Agreed.