JESUS’ GENEALOGY: Q & A

Notice the signet ring motif.  The signet ring was quite a symbol of authority, and to strip the king from that position is quite a rejection!  Yet the text does not say that Jeconiah would actually be childless, only without descendants sitting on the throne with success.  Indeed this is what happened to his immediate family.  Not only does it say that none would rule with success as king, but the last phrase “or ruling again in Judah” gives clarity to the previous statement by dismissing the possibility of ruling in any other way (e.g. vassal function or puppet-leader).    But two generations later notice that his grandson [5] was indeed ruling in Judah:

Not only did Zerubbabel rule in Judah, but he also rebuilt the temple of God in Jerusalem, and so God honors him by calling him “My servant” and “chosen” one.  The signet ring which was previously removed from God’s hand two generations before is now put back into its rightful place.  The curse on Jeconiah appears to be reversed, and the Davidic line through Solomon is preserved (as 2 Sam 7:12-16 promised). 

How did this happen?  Many views misinterpret what it meant for Jeconiah to be “childless.” [7]   A common Christian view is that the curse on Jeconiah was permanent, and the only way for a descendant of Jeconiah to rule the throne of David would be through a virgin birth.  This would allow Jesus to have the legal right to the throne without inheriting the cursed seed.  Attractive as it may seem, this view is implausible.  The common person in the first century awaited the Messiah, the son of David.  Why look for someone who is disqualified from office?  If only a virgin-born man of Jeconiah’s line was eligible to be king, why did the people of Judea rally behind men like Judas Maccabee or Simon Bar-Kochba?  The answer is that people understood Jeconiah’s curse as having been reversed due to his repentance while in prison.  One only has to think of Nineveh to remember that God’s judgement can be reversed with repentance. 

The Bible tells us that, though God cursed him, God also allowed Jehoiachin/Jeconiah to rise to prominence while in exile.  Scripture says that the king of Babylon gave Jeconiah “a seat higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon” and that he “put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table.”  In addition to this he even received a daily allowance (2 Kings 25:27ff).   That Jewish people have always understood this reversal is evident within rabbinic literature [8] .  For example, Rabbi David Kimchi (1157-1236) wrote that the “Rabbins of blessed memory” (i.e. the great rabbis) say that Jeconiah repented while in prison. [9]  Once again, how could people of the day await a Messiah that couldn’t come?  If the curse was still in effect, then nobody would be looking for Messiah.

For Matthew, including Jeconiah in the genealogy was not problematic. Rather than a negative or poor image, Jeconiah actually had a noble reputation as a distinguished leader among the exhilic Jews.  Two generations later his grandson had taken up the mantle of leadership to build the Second Temple in Jerusalem.  Only Solomon and Zerubbabel had such an honor.  To be a descendent of such a noble was an honor to be pointed out, not a mistake.