Explanations For Divergence
The two Biblical genealogies disagree not only on the name of Joseph’s father, but on the entire lineage back to David.
This apparent contradiction has been a source of great difficulty. Augustine, for example, took great care on several occasions to refute every purported inconsistency in the gospel genealogies, not only because the Manichaeans in his day were using these inconsistencies as fodder for attacking Christianity, but also because he himself had seen them in his youth as cause for doubting the veracity of the Gospels.
Several theories have been advanced to explain the divergence of the two gospel genealogies, most notably:
- That Joseph had two fathers—one natural and one legal—as a result of a levirate marriage involving uterine brothers.
- Legal inheritance.
- That Luke’s genealogy is actually through Mary rather than her husband Joseph.
- That Matthew’s genealogy is actually through Mary rather than her husband Joseph.
- That one or both of the genealogies are invented.
Read more about this topic: Genealogy Of Jesus
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