What is the meaning of Matthew 1:15? Eliud was the father of Eleazar “Eliud was the father of Eleazar” (Matthew 1:15). • Matthew positions Eliud in the post-exilic list that begins with Jeconiah (Matthew 1:12-13). By recording each name without commentary, the Spirit is showing that every generation counts in God’s plan, even those who lived in obscurity after the Babylonian exile (compare Haggai 1:1; Zechariah 4:10). • This single line assures us that the covenant promises to Abraham and David (Genesis 12:3; 2 Samuel 7:12-16) did not lapse during Israel’s lowest seasons. Isaiah foresaw “a shoot from the stump of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:1); Eliud’s link to Eleazar is one more ring in that living stump. • Because Scripture is both accurate and literal, we can be certain that Eliud really passed physical life to Eleazar, anchoring Jesus’ legal lineage in verifiable history (Matthew 1:1). Eleazar the father of Matthan “Eleazar the father of Matthan” (Matthew 1:15). • Eleazar’s name, tucked between exile and Messiah, reminds readers that God’s help never disappeared, even when the nation lacked a king (Jeremiah 29:10-14). • From Eleazar to Matthan we see the quiet rhythm of ordinary families who still belonged to extraordinary purpose. This mirrors the pattern in Ruth 4:18-22, where God works through commonplace births to move redemptive history forward. • Their unnoticed decades fulfill the time Daniel foresaw between exile and the coming Anointed One (Daniel 9:25). Matthew’s record confirms that God kept every prophetic interval precisely. Matthan the father of Jacob “Matthan the father of Jacob” (Matthew 1:15). • Matthan’s son Jacob becomes the grandfather of Jesus (Matthew 1:16), making this the final handoff before the generation of Joseph, Mary’s husband. The line is intact right up to the Incarnation (Galatians 4:4). • Jacob’s very name recalls the patriarch Jacob, whose family became Israel (Genesis 28:13-14). Matthew subtly links the nation’s founding to its Redeemer’s arrival, showing how God brings promises full circle (Luke 1:54-55). • The faithfulness that carried the line from Abraham to David, through exile, and into the modest home of Matthan and Jacob underscores Romans 9:5—“from them is the Messiah, who is God over all.” summary Matthew 1:15 highlights three ordinary fathers—Eliud, Eleazar, and Matthan—quietly passing life to the next generation until Jacob, the father of Joseph, stands on history’s threshold. Each name is a testament to God’s uninterrupted covenant faithfulness, proving that even in seasons of exile, obscurity, and silence, the Lord actively preserves His promise to bring the Savior into the world. |
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