What is the significance of the name "Matthat" in Luke 3:25? Etymlogy And Meaning Matthat (Greek Μαθθάτ, transliterated “Mattat”) is a contracted form of the Hebrew מַתַּת (mattath) or מַתַּתְיָה (mattathyāh), built on the root נָתַן (nāthan, “to give”). The name therefore carries the thought “Gift,” “Gift of Yah,” or “Yahweh has given.” In Scripture, names built on this root (e.g., Mattathias, Mattaniah, Mattan) often surround crucial covenant moments, underscoring God’s gracious initiative. Within Luke’s genealogy—whose climax is the incarnate Son—“Gift of Yahweh” signals divine grace moving through otherwise obscure generations toward the ultimate Gift (John 3:16). Occurrences In Scripture Matthat appears only in Luke’s genealogy and, in fact, twice: • Luke 3:24 : “…the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph.” • Luke 3:25 : “…the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos…” (different but cognate form). The duplication reflects how common the “gift” root was among Second-Temple Jews. Other OT echoes include Matthan (2 Kings 11:1), Mattithiah (1 Chronicles 9:31), and Mattathias, the Hasmonean patriarch recorded in 1 Maccabees 2:1. Placement Within Luke’S Genealogy Luke’s genealogy (3:23-38) traces Jesus “backward” from His public ministry to Adam, highlighting universal salvation. Unlike Matthew, Luke follows the Davidic line through Nathan rather than Solomon. Matthat stands between Heli and Levi (v. 24), roughly the great-grandfather of Joseph if Luke lists Joseph’s legal line, or an ancestor of Mary if, as patristic writers (e.g., Eusebius quoting Africanus, Eccl. Hist. 1.7) explain, Luke gives the biological line through Heli who died childless and whose widow married Jacob. Either way, Matthat anchors the post-exilic portion of the pedigree, part of the bridge from Zerubbabel (v. 27) to the first-century Messiah. Counting inclusively, he falls 16 generations after Zerubbabel and about 15 before Jesus, fitting a tight c. 400-year window that harmonizes with a conservative Ussher-style chronology (cf. Ezra-Nehemiah dating c. 445 BC; Jesus’ birth c. 4 BC). Historical And Cultural Context First-century Jews kept genealogies in temple archives (Josephus, Contra Apion 1.7; cf. Ezra 2; Nehemiah 7). Early Christian apologist Julius Africanus (c. AD 180-250) notes that relatives of Jesus, the desposynoi, produced family registers to Roman authorities, indicating these records survived the temple’s AD 70 destruction. The presence of otherwise unknown names such as Matthat argues for historical reminiscence, not legendary embellishment: legends favor famous figures, but Luke preserves the mundane. Archaeological Corroboration Dozens of ossuaries from the late Second-Temple period bear cognate names—e.g., “Mattathias son of Judah” (Israel Antiquities Authority, Acc. 80-503)—confirming popularity of the root and situating Luke’s list in real, on-the-ground naming conventions. Such finds, coupled with the Bar-Kokhba letters that likewise use the root, dispel the notion that Matthat is a literary fabrication. Theological Significance 1. Covenant Continuity: Genealogies knit Genesis to Gospel, Abrahamic promise to its Christological fulfilment. Matthat functioning as “gift” highlights grace propelling the covenant line despite exile, foreign domination, and intertestamental silence. 2. Typology of Grace: Every ancestor anticipates Christ; Matthat’s very name foreshadows “the indescribable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15). 3. Universality and Particularity: Luke frames salvation as both historically grounded (specific ancestry) and universally offered (ending with Adam and thus all humanity). Matthat fits the “ordinary” rung, reminding readers God’s redemptive plan uses common people. Practical Application Believers often skip genealogies, yet every line testifies that God “remembers the humble” (Luke 1:52). Like Matthat—unknown outside a single verse—most disciples will labor in obscurity, yet their faithfulness is etched into God’s book (Malachi 3:16). His sovereign grace turns ordinary “gifts” into instruments of eternal purpose, culminating in Christ and continuing in every regenerated life that now exists “to the praise of His glorious grace” (Ephesians 1:6). In summary, Matthat’s inclusion is a Spirit-breathed reminder that the God who “gives” (James 1:17) orchestrates history down to each hidden ancestor so that, in the fullness of time, the greatest Gift—Jesus Christ—would be born, die, rise, and offer salvation to all who believe. |
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