Women in Matthew's Genealogy

One of the interesting issues in Matthew 1 is the women named in the genealogy. Matthew chooses four women (out of the potential 42 generations) to share with his readers. They are:

1. Tamar (Genesis 38), who tricks her is father-in-law, Judah, into impregnating her after her husband dies and his brother refuses his familial duty. She does this by dressing as a prostitute and veiling herself along the road Judah is traveling upon. When he discovers she pregnant he puts her "on trial" and will have her executed until she proves that he is in fact the father.

2. Ruth (Ruth 1-4), who is a Moabite servant-woman who follows her Israelite mistress to Israel and gains a husband by being far more forward than would be generally acceptable. Note that the Israelites are forbidden in parts of the Old Testament from marrying foreign women, yet Ruth became King David's great grandmother.

3. Uriah's wife (2 Samuel 11), Bathsheba, who is taken as a lover by King David, who then subsequently has her husband transferred to the front lines and abandoned by his commander to ensure his death. Bathsheba goes on to become Solomon's mother.

Matthew's including of these women raises several questions for us:

1. What do they have in common with Mary, the fourth woman listed in the genealogy?
2. What questions would naturally arise regarding Mary and Joseph in light of Jesus' claims?
3. How does including these women rebut criticisms that may have been directed at Mary?
4. How does Matthew's inclusion of these women inform the way we think about our families and God's work in and through our family? (Hint: it should give us hope!)