The Meaning of Matthew 1:6 Explained

Matthew 1:6

KJV: And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;

YLT: and Jesse begat David the king. And David the king begat Solomon, of her who had been Uriah's,

Darby: and Jesse begat David the king. And David begat Solomon, of her that had been the wife of Urias;

ASV: and Jesse begat David the king. And David begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  Jesse  begat  David  the king;  and  David  the king  begat  Solomon  of  her  [that had been the wife] of Urias; 

What does Matthew 1:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 1:1-17 - The Line By Which Messiah Came
The enumeration of our Lord's ancestors, with its threefold division into fourteen generations and evident gaps, was probably so arranged to aid the memory. Notice that, in unison with the general purpose of the writer, the line is traced to Abraham through David the king. Of course we know that Joseph was only the reputed father of Jesus, Matthew 1:18; but in any case this genealogy conformed to Hebrew usage and explained how the birth took place in David's city.
In this list of names the patriarchs, Gentiles, women of doubtful character, good men and bad men, the wise, the illustrious, the unknown-all supply important links. It is as though to teach us that in the Son of man there is a blending of all classes, that He might be the representative and helper of all. Each of us may find some point of contact in this genealogy. Jesus Christ belongs to our race. He knew what was in man by that subtle and intimate knowledge which comes of kinship. In Him, therefore, is neither Jew nor Greek exclusively, but all are one in Him. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 1

1  The genealogy of Jesus from Abraham to Joseph
18  He is miraculously conceived of the Holy Spirit by the Virgin Mary
19  The angel satisfies the doubts of Joseph,
21  and declares the names and office of Jesus;
25  Jesus is born

Greek Commentary for Matthew 1:6

David the king [τὸν Δαυεὶδ τὸν βασιλέα , “ the David, the king”)]
Both words are thus emphasized:the David from whom Christ, if he were the Messiah, must have descended; the king with whom the Messiah's genealogy entered upon the kingly dignity. In this genealogy, where the generations are divided symmetrically into three sets of fourteen, the evangelist seems to connect the last of each set with a critical epoch in the history of Israel: the first reaching from the origin of the race to the commencement of the monarchy (“David the king ”)the second, from the commencement of the monarchy to the captivity in Babylon; the third and last, from the captivity to the coming of “the Christ.” The same emphatic or demonstrative use of the article occurs with the name of Joseph (Matthew 1:16), marking his peculiar relation to Jesus as the husband of Mary: the Joseph, the husband of Mary. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 1:6

Matthew 2:1 Bethlehem []
Hebrew, House of Bread, probably from its fertility. The birthplace of him who calls himself the Bread of Life (John 6:35), and identified with the history of his human ancestry through Ruth, who was here married to Boaz, and was the ancestress of David (Matthew 1:5, Matthew 1:6), and through David himself, who was born there, and anointed king by Samuel (compare Luke 2:11, city of David )Wise men, or Magi ( μάγοι )Wycliffe renders kings. A priestly caste among the Persians and Medes, which occupied itself principally with the secrets of nature, astrology, and medicine. Daniel became president of such an order in Babylon (Daniel 2:48). The word became transferred, without distinction of country, to all who had devoted themselves to those sciences, which were, however, frequently accompanied with the practice of magic and jugglery; and, under the form magician, it has come to be naturalized in many of the languages of Europe. Many absurd traditions and guesses respecting these visitors to our Lord's cradle have found their way into popular belief and into Christian art. They were said to be kings, and three in number; they were said to be representatives of the three families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and therefore one of them is pictured as an Ethiopian; their names are given as Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior, and their three skulls, said to have been discovered in the twelfth century by Bishop Reinald of Cologne, are exhibited in a priceless casket in the great cathedral of that city. [source]
Matthew 1:1 Jesus Christ []
. Both words are used. The first is the name It was used often in the Septuagint as an adjective like “the anointed priest” (1 Kings 2:10) and then as a substantive to translate the Hebrew word “Messiah” So Andrew said to Simon: “We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, Christ” (John 1:41). In the Gospels it is sometimes “the Anointed One,” “the Messiah,” but finally just a proper name as here, Jesus Christ. Paul in his later Epistles usually has it “Christ Jesus.”The Son of David, the son of Abraham (υιου Δαυειδ υιου Αβρααμ — huiou Daueid huiou Abraam). Matthew proposes to show that Jesus Christ is on the human side the son of David, as the Messiah was to be, and the son of Abraham, not merely a real Jew and the heir of the promises, but the promise made to Abraham. So Matthew begins his line with Abraham while Luke traces his line back to Adam. The Hebrew and Aramaic often used the word son (βην — bēn) for the quality or character, but here the idea is descent. Christians are called sons of God because Christ has bestowed this dignity upon us (Romans 8:14; Romans 9:26; Galatians 3:26; Galatians 4:5-7). Matthew 1:1 is the description of the list in verses 2-17. The names are given in three groups, Abraham to David (Matthew 1:2-6), David to Babylon Removal (Matthew 1:6-11), Jechoniah to Jesus (Matthew 1:12-16). The removal to Babylon (μετοικεσιας αβυλωνος — metoikesias Babulōnos) occurs at the end of Matthew 1:11, the beginning of Matthew 1:12, and twice in the resume in Matthew 1:17. This great event is used to mark off the two last divisions from each other. It is a good illustration of the genitive as the case of genus or kind. The Babylon removal could mean either to Babylon or from Babylon or, indeed, the removal of Babylon. But the readers would know the facts from the Old Testament, the removal of the Jews to Babylon. Then Matthew 1:17 makes a summary of the three lists, fourteen in each by counting David twice and omitting several, a sort of mnemonic device that is common enough. Matthew does not mean to say that there were only fourteen in actual genealogy. The names of the women (Thamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba the wife of Uriah) are likewise not counted. But it is a most interesting list. [source]
Matthew 1:1 The Son of David, the son of Abraham [υιου Δαυειδ υιου Αβρααμ]
Matthew proposes to show that Jesus Christ is on the human side the son of David, as the Messiah was to be, and the son of Abraham, not merely a real Jew and the heir of the promises, but the promise made to Abraham. So Matthew begins his line with Abraham while Luke traces his line back to Adam. The Hebrew and Aramaic often used the word son Matthew 1:1 is the description of the list in verses 2-17. The names are given in three groups, Abraham to David (Matthew 1:2-6), David to Babylon Removal (Matthew 1:6-11), Jechoniah to Jesus (Matthew 1:12-16). The removal to Babylon (μετοικεσιας αβυλωνος — metoikesias Babulōnos) occurs at the end of Matthew 1:11, the beginning of Matthew 1:12, and twice in the resume in Matthew 1:17. This great event is used to mark off the two last divisions from each other. It is a good illustration of the genitive as the case of genus or kind. The Babylon removal could mean either to Babylon or from Babylon or, indeed, the removal of Babylon. But the readers would know the facts from the Old Testament, the removal of the Jews to Babylon. Then Matthew 1:17 makes a summary of the three lists, fourteen in each by counting David twice and omitting several, a sort of mnemonic device that is common enough. Matthew does not mean to say that there were only fourteen in actual genealogy. The names of the women (Thamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba the wife of Uriah) are likewise not counted. But it is a most interesting list. [source]
Matthew 1:2 Begat [εγεννησεν]
This word comes, like some of the early chapters of Genesis, with regularity through Matthew 1:16, until the birth of Jesus is reached when there is a sudden change. The word itself does not always mean immediate parentage, but merely direct descent. In Matthew 1:16 we have “Joseph the husband of Mary, from whom was begotten Jesus who is called Christ” The article occurs here each time with the object of “begat,” but not with the subject of the verb to distinguish sharply the proper names. In the case of David the King (Matthew 1:6) and Joseph the husband of Mary (Matthew 1:16) the article is repeated. The mention of the brethren of Judah (Matthew 1:2) and of both Phares and Zara (Matthew 1:3) may show that Matthew was not copying a family pedigree but making his own table. All the Greek manuscripts give Matthew 1:16 as above save the Ferrar Group of minuscules which are supported by the Sinaitic Syriac Version. Because of this fact Von Soden, whose text Moffatt translates, deliberately prints his text “Jacob begat Jesus ” But the Sinaitic Syriac gives the Virgin Birth of Jesus in Matthew 1:18-25. Hence it is clear that “begat” here in Matthew 1:16 must merely mean line of descent or the text has been tampered with in order to get rid of the Virgin Birth idea, but it was left untouched in Matthew 1:18-25. I have a full discussion of the problem in chapter XIV of Studies in the Text of the New Testament. The evidence as it now stands does not justify changing the text of the Greek uncials to suit the Sinaitic Syriac. The Virgin Birth of Jesus remains in Matthew 1:16. The spelling of these Hebrew names in English is usually according to the Hebrew form, not the Greek. In the Greek itself the Hebrew spelling is often observed in violation of the Greek rules for the ending of words with no consonants save n, r, s. But the list is not spelled consistently in the Greek, now like the Hebrew as in Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, now like the Greek as in Judah, Solomon, Hezekiah, though the Hebrew style prevails. [source]
Romans 1:3 According to the flesh [κατα σαρκα]
His real humanity alongside of his real deity. For the descent from David see Matthew 1:1, Matthew 1:6, Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:27; John 7:42; Acts 13:23, etc. [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 1:6 mean?

Jesse then begat - David the king David Solomon out of the [wife] - of Uriah
Ἰεσσαὶ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Δαυὶδ τὸν βασιλέα Δαυὶδ Σολομῶνα ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Οὐρίου

Ἰεσσαὶ  Jesse 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰεσσαί  
Sense: the father of David the king.
ἐγέννησεν  begat 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γεννάω  
Sense: of men who fathered children.
τὸν  - 
Parse: Article, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Δαυὶδ  David 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: Δαβίδ 
Sense: second king of Israel, and ancestor of Jesus Christ.
βασιλέα  king 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: βασιλεύς  
Sense: leader of the people, prince, commander, lord of the land, king.
Δαυὶδ  David 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Δαβίδ 
Sense: second king of Israel, and ancestor of Jesus Christ.
Σολομῶνα  Solomon 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: Σαλωμών 
Sense: the son of David and was the wisest and richest king that ever lived.
ἐκ  out  of 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐκ 
Sense: out of, from, by, away from.
τῆς  the  [wife] 
Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
τοῦ  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Οὐρίου  of  Uriah 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Οὐρίας  
Sense: the husband of Bathsheba, one of David’s mighty men.