The royal family line

From King David to Jesus

God promised King David that one of his descendants would reign forever. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke trace Jesus' family back to David — and further back to Abraham and Adam.

The promise to David

“Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.” — 2 Samuel 7:16

King David (reigned c. 1010–970 BC) was a shepherd boy from Bethlehem, the youngest son of Jesse. He defeated the giant Goliath, became Israel's second king, made Jerusalem his capital, and wrote many of the Psalms. The prophets said the Messiah would be a “shoot from the stump of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:1). That is why Jesus was called “Son of David”, and why he was born in David's town, Bethlehem.

The line in short

Abraham→Isaac→Jacob (Israel)→Judah→…→Boaz + Ruth→Obed→Jesse→King David→Solomon→… kings of Judah …→Jeconiah→(Exile in Babylon)→Zerubbabel→…→Jacob→Joseph, husband of Mary→JESUS

Matthew arranges the line in three groups of 14 generations: Abraham to David, David to the Exile in Babylon, and the Exile to Jesus (Matthew 1:17).

Matthew's full genealogy (Matthew 1:1–16)

Matthew, writing for Jewish readers, starts with Abraham and follows the royal line through Solomon.

1. Abraham to David (14)

AbrahamIsaacJacobJudah (and Tamar)PerezHezronRamAmminadabNahshonSalmon (and Rahab)Boaz (and Ruth)ObedJesseDavid

2. David to the Exile (14)

Solomon (son of Bathsheba)RehoboamAbijahAsaJehoshaphatJoramUzziahJothamAhazHezekiahManassehAmonJosiahJeconiah

3. The Exile to Christ (14)

ShealtielZerubbabelAbiudEliakimAzorZadokAchimEliudEleazarMatthanJacobJosephJesus, called the Christ

Four women in the list. Unusually for the time, Matthew names four women: Tamar, Rahab (a Canaanite of Jericho), Ruth (a Moabite) and “the wife of Uriah” (Bathsheba). Many teachers see this as a sign that God's plan includes outsiders and sinners — and prepares for the fifth woman, Mary, “of whom Jesus was born”.

Luke's genealogy (Luke 3:23–38)

Luke, writing for all nations, goes backwards from Jesus all the way to Adam, son of God, and follows David's son Nathan rather than Solomon.

From David to Jesus (via Nathan)

DavidNathanMattathaMennaMeleaEliakimJonamJosephJudahSimeonLeviMatthatJorimEliezerJoshuaErElmadamCosamAddiMelchiNeriShealtielZerubbabelRhesaJoananJodaJosechSemeinMattathiasMaathNaggaiEsliNahumAmosMattathiasJosephJannaiMelchiLeviMatthatHeliJosephJesus

From Adam to David

AdamSethEnosKenanMahalalelJaredEnochMethuselahLamechNoahShemArphaxadCainanShelahEberPelegReuSerugNahorTerahAbrahamIsaacJacobJudahPerezHezronArniAdminAmminadabNahshonSalaBoazObedJesseDavid

Why are the two lists different?

Christians have long discussed this. The main explanations are:

Matthew gives Joseph's legal/royal line, Luke gives Mary's natural line. In this view “Heli” was Mary's father, and Joseph is named as his son-in-law. (Christian tradition, from the 2nd-century Protoevangelium of James, names Mary's parents as Saints Joachim and Anne.)
Levirate marriage (explained by Julius Africanus, c. AD 220): Jacob and Heli were half-brothers; when one died childless, the other married his widow, so Joseph had a natural father and a legal father.
Different purposes: Matthew shows Jesus as the rightful King of the Jews; Luke shows him as Saviour of all humanity, a son of Adam.

Either way, both Gospels agree that Jesus is a true “Son of David” and that he was born of the Virgin Mary, not by natural descent from Joseph (Matthew 1:16, 18–25; Luke 3:23 “as was supposed”). Many Church Fathers also held that Mary herself was of David's house (Luke 1:32; Romans 1:3).

Open the Detailed version to see every name in Matthew's and Luke's genealogies and why they differ.

Key people in the line

Sources & further reading

Matthew 1:1–17 and Luke 3:23–38 — Matthew 1 (USCCB), Luke 3 (USCCB); 2 Samuel 7; Ruth 4:18–22
Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent), Genealogy of Christ
Wikipedia, Genealogy of Jesus, David
Encyclopaedia Britannica, David, king of Israel