This episode introduces a mystery: Why does the messianic lineage include references to a few mothers?
In the first section of Matthew chapter 1 (the so-called genealogy) prior to identifying Mary as the mother of Jesus the Messiah (verse 16) it refers to four other mothers, three identified by name: Tamar (verse 3); Rahab and Ruth (verse 5); and verse 6 mentions Uriah's wife (we can identify her as Bathsheba).
Why include only a select few mothers in the Messiah's lineage? Why these mothers in particular?
None of the traditional matriarchs were mentioned (namely the first four matriarchs are not mentioned: Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah).
And why are the select messianic mothers not fully included as co-producers of the heirs (grammatically, the mothers are not presented as active participants of the verb "produced")?
There is an answer in the text, hidden in plain sight, staring us in the face.
Why haven't we noticed it before?
This episode introduces how we can find the answer in the text.
Basically it involves becoming more conscious of when we're underestimating the text (making assumptions about what is not in the text) and overestimating the text (making assumptions about what is in the text).
Episodes 006–010 continue the analysis.
(Next episode will begin with what we're assuming is in the text by examining six things we've been assuming are in the text but are not necessarily there...)
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