It might be prudent at this juncture to explain that the word begat means became the father of. We find a 17-verse passage in Matthew chapter one that uses that same word over and over and over again as the writer gives us a rundown of Jesus ancestors all the way back to Abraham. It may be just a list of hard-to-pronounce names to some people, but I believe if you have an understanding of the begats, it will give you a solid outline of Biblical history from the Beginning all the way through to the Birth of Christ. Let me show you.
We enter the life of Abraham in Genesis 12, when he was a seventy-five year old idol worshiper in Ur of the Chaldees. God calls Abraham out of that place to a land that God Himself will show him and give him as an inheritance for his children and theirs forever. At that point, Abraham had no children, but that's an important part of the wonderful story. If you are familiar with the Bible, you know the stories that the name of Abraham will evoke in your memory.
Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Verse 2 gives us the entire book of Genesis, and the origin of the Jewish people.
Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, Hezron begot Ram, Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, Nahshon begot Salmon. Verses 3 & 4 give us the entire story of Israel's wilderness journey from Egypt to Canaan, as many of these men were tribal leaders who assisted Moses and Joshua during the 40 year wandering around Mount Sinai. Their story is told in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king. Verse 5 covers the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, bridging the historical period from the Conquest to the Kingdom.
David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. David is arguably one of the most prominent and memorable figures in the Old Testament, and this brief mention in Verse 6 of his name, his position, and the mother of his son reminds us all of the failure that nearly destroyed him. But it also shows how God can take a bad situation and turn it around for good!
Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon. Eleven verses and the names of fourteen kings cover most of the rest of the historical Old Testament--the Kings and Chronicles--as well as most of the prophets. When you know who these kings were, you know what happened during Israel's kingdom period.
And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. Here in Verse 12 we have one of the main characters of the return from Babylon covered by Ezra and Nehemiah and their contemporary prophets. Zerubbabel is a unifying personage in the narrative, and also in the genealogies, especially when we look at Luke 3. He is also the last person on this list whose story is actually told until Joseph, Mary and Jesus.
The obscurity of the next list of names is the perfect picture of that 400 year dark period from the closing verse of Malachi to the opening verse of the Gospels in which there was no prophetic Word from God to His people. Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot eliud. Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
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