Which kings of Judah did Matthew omit from the legal genealogy of Jesus? How did one king, declared by God to be "childless," end up being one of Christ's descendants?
Son of David
Matthew's genealogy tackles the question, especially among the Jews in his day, regarding whether Jesus could legally claim he was the "King of the Jews" (Matthew 2:2, 27:11) through his connection to King David.
Jesus' legal right of rulership over God's people (and ultimately the entire world) was asserted by the angel who visited Mary announcing she would give birth to a King!
Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, because you have found grace with God; And behold, you shall conceive in your womb and give birth to a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give Him the throne of David, His forefather" (Luke 1:30 - 32, HBFV).
Matthew's tracing of Jesus' genealogy, in his first chapter, proves Joseph was a descendant of David through the Kings of Judah (Matthew 1:20). As Christ's legal father, he passed on to him the right, when he returns to earth at his second coming (Jeremiah 23:5, Revelation 17:14, 19:16), to sit on David's throne. His glorious reign into the ages of eternity will fulfill several Biblical prophecies (2Samuel 7:16, Isaiah 9:6 - 7, Jeremiah 33:15 - 17, etc.).
Jesus and the Number Fourteen
Matthew makes a rather unique statement regarding the genealogy of Jesus and the number 14.
So then, all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the carrying away to Babylon to the Christ, fourteen generations (Matthew 1:17, HBFV).
The problem is there are not 42 literal generations (3 x 14) from Abraham to Jesus.
Matthew correctly lists fourteen generations from Abraham to David (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Pharez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse and David) (Matthew 1:2 - 6). This group encompasses a time span from 1960 B.C. (the birth of Abraham) to the death of David and the ascension of Solomon in 970 (990 years).
It is Matthew's second and third groupings of fourteen, however, that offers us a puzzle. Technically speaking, the use of three groups of fourteen in Jesus' legal genealogy is incomplete or incorrect due to either duplicate or omitted information.
The Second Fourteen
Matthew's second list of fourteen generations in Jesus' legal genealogy begins with the start of Solomon's reign in 970 B.C. The men in this set of kings, after Solomon, are Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Azariah (Uzziah, called Ozias in the KJV), Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah and Jehoiachin (Jechonias in KJV) (Matthew 1:7 - 11). This set spans a time period of 373 years, from Solomon's reign to the last year Jehoiachin ruled (597 B.C.).
The problem with this second grouping is that there are four kings missing in this legal genealogy of Jesus! King Jehoram's (called Joram in KJV) son, which the list leads one to assume was Azariah, was actually his great great grandson.
King Jehoram's son, who succeeded his rule, was King Ahaziah who reigned for only part of a year (841 B.C.)(2Kings 8:25 - 26, 2Chronicles 22:1 - 2). He is the first omission in Matthew's list. Matthew then rightfully does not list Judah's Queen Athaliah (841 to 835 B.C.) since she was not a descendant of David.
Ahaziah's son King Joash (2Chronicles 24) then ruled Judah from 835 - 796 B.C. followed by his own son Amaziah (2Chronicles 25). Both Joash and Amaziah are also omitted from Matthew's genealogy. Amaziah's son Azariah, which the gospel writer does list, then assumed the throne of his father (2Chronicles 26).
Matthew's list of Jesus' descendants also leads one to believe that Josiah's son was Jehoiachin. This assumption is incorrect. Josiah's second son Jehoiakim (originally named Eliakim, 2Chronicles 36:4) reigned from 609 to 598 B.C. (verses 5 - 8). He is the fourth king omitted from the genealogy. He was then followed by his son Jehoiachin (Josiah's grandson), whom Matthew mentions, who ruled from 598 to 597 (2Kings 24:8 - 17, 2Chronicles 36:9 - 10).
The Last Set
The third set of fourteen descendants Matthew lists in most Bibles are Jehoiachin, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim, Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, Joseph and Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:12 - 16). Note that Jehoiachin, found in the second set, is repeated in the third set. This means only 13 unique generations actually existed.
Matthew listed 42 generations in Jesus' legal genealogy but, as shown above, the actual number is 45. This is arrived at by subtracting 1 from 42 for the repeated generation (Jehoiachin) in sets two and three, and adding four generations for those kings of Judah not mentioned (Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah and Jehoiakim).
Why?
The omissions in Matthew seem rather arbitrary as King Joash was one of only seven fairly good or righteous rulers over Judah. The gospel evangelist, in lieu of Joash however, lists King Ahaz who was a wicked ruler. He also records in his genealogy Kings Manasseh and Amon, who were among the very worst of Judah's sovereigns.
Bible commentaries do not have a solid answer as to why Matthew felt it necessary to make his genealogy of Jesus fit a pattern of three sets of fourteen. One speculation states it may have something to do with the fact that David's name, in the Hebrew (Strong's Concordance #H1732), adds up to 14 in Gematria (4 + 6 + 4). Fourteen can symbolized a double measure of spiritual perfection or salvation as it is 2 x 7.
Matthew's use of sets of 14 might also be linked to the fact that there are 14 verses in the King James New Testament gospels that reveal or link Jesus as being a son of David. These verses are Matthew 1:1, 9:27, 12:23, 15:22, 20:30 - 31, 21:9, 15, Mark 10:47 - 48, Luke 1:32, 3:31 and 18:38 - 39.
How Can It Be?
King Jehoiachin, who at eighteen ruled Judah for only three months, was taken captive by Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar in the spring of 597 B.C. (2Kings 24:8 - 15). He was then unwillingly moved to Babylon where he would spend the rest of his days. God was angry with the king as he "did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord" (2Kings 24:9) which led him to declare the following against Jehoiachin.
"As I live," says the Lord, "though Coniah (Jehoiachin) the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet on My right hand, yet I would pull you out of there! . . ."
Thus says the Lord, "Write this man down as childless, a man who will not be blessed in his days. For no man of his seed shall be blessed, sitting on the throne of David and ruling any more in Judah." (Jeremiah 22:24, 30, HBFV).
How could Jehoiachin be in the lineage of Jesus if he was childless?
A Solution
God's punishment did not mean he would render Jehoiachin unable to produce children. We know this is the case as the Bible informs us Jehoiachin produced eight sons during his Babylonian captivity. Matthew lists one of these sons, Shealtiel (Salathiel in the KJV), in Jesus' legal genealogy (Matthew 1:12)!
And the sons of Jeconiah (Jehoiachin): Assir, and Shealtiel his son, and Malchiram, and Pedaiah, and Shenazzar, Jecamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah (1Chronicles 3:17 - 18, HBFV).
God's pronouncement involved preventing any of Jehoiachin's sons from ruling over the kingdom of Judah, as their father did, through King David's throne. Jehoiachin, in this sense, was just like a king who was childless. This penalty did not nullify, however, the legal right to rule Shealtiel passed down to Jesus Christ.
Jehoiachin's sons lived their entire lives in Babylon. Jehoiachin himself spent more than three decades as a prisoner until, in 561 B.C., he was allowed to leave prison and was treated kindly by Babylon's king.
And it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah . . . Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison. And he spoke kindly to him . . . (2Kings 25:27 - 28, HBFV).