“And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;”
My Notes
What Does Matthew 1:3 Mean?
"And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram." Matthew's genealogy of Jesus includes Tamar — a woman who dressed as a prostitute to conceive a child with her father-in-law Judah after he failed to provide her the husband he owed her (Genesis 38). She's the first of five women named in the genealogy (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, Mary), each with an unconventional story that challenges expectations about who belongs in the Messiah's family tree.
The inclusion of Tamar — and her twins Perez and Zerah, born from a scandalous encounter — declares from the first page of the New Testament that God's plan includes the messy, the unconventional, and the morally complicated.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does Tamar's inclusion in Jesus' genealogy teach about who God includes in his plans?
- 2.Why does Matthew highlight the unconventional women rather than editing them out?
- 3.How does the messiness of Jesus' family tree challenge the assumption that God only works through 'clean' people?
- 4.What part of your own story feels too messy for God's plan — and does this genealogy change that?
Devotional
Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar. The Messiah's genealogy includes a woman who posed as a prostitute to get what she was owed from the man who owed it. The family tree of Jesus has scandal in its roots — and Matthew makes sure you see it.
Tamar is the first woman Matthew names. She won't be the last: Rahab (a Canaanite prostitute), Ruth (a Moabite foreigner), Bathsheba (an adultery partner), and Mary (an unwed pregnant teenager). Five women. Five unconventional stories. Five entries in the Messiah's genealogy that a reputation-conscious family would have edited out.
Matthew doesn't edit them out. He highlights them. In a culture where genealogies typically named only fathers, Matthew deliberately inserts these mothers — each one carrying a story that disrupted expectations about who belongs in the lineage of the Holy One.
Tamar's story (Genesis 38) is messy: Judah withheld the husband he owed her. She took matters into her own hands through deception. The twins she bore were technically incestuous. And one of those twins — Perez — carries the line that leads directly to David and ultimately to Jesus. The Messiah's bloodline passes through a scandal.
God's plan for redemption has never required a clean genealogy. The family tree of Jesus is populated with adulterers, foreigners, prostitutes, and the morally complicated — people whose stories would be embarrassing at a dinner party. And Matthew puts them on page one because the gospel begins with the declaration: God works through the messy. Through the unconventional. Through the people whose presence in the lineage makes the religious uncomfortable.
If your story is messy — if your past is the kind that genealogy editors would remove — the first page of the New Testament says: you're in good company. The Messiah's own family tree includes people just like you.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar,.... The genealogical account of Christ goes on from Judah in the line of…
These verses contain the genealogy of Jesus. Luke also Luke 3 gives a genealogy of the Messiah. No two passages of…
Concerning this genealogy of our Saviour, observe,
I. The title of it. It is the book (or the account, as the Hebrew…
Thamar St Matthew also differs from St Luke in naming women in the genealogy. Of the four mentioned two Rahab and Ruth…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture