The Bible, the Talmud, and the New Testament. Elijah Zvi Soloveitchik

hearts the oneness of God—may his name be blessed—in order that each man would abandon his idols and worship YHWH alone, the one and only God.⁶

       2 Avraham fathered Yiṣḥak, and Yiṣḥak fathered Ya’akov, and Ya’akov fathered Yehudah and his brothers,

       3 and Yehudah fathered Pereṣ and Zeraḥ by Tamar, and Pereṣ fathered Chetzron, and Chetzron fathered Ram,

       4 and Ram fathered Amminadav, and Amminadav fathered Naḥshon, and Naḥshon fathered Salmon,

       5 and Salmon fathered Boaz by Raḥav, and Boaz fathered ‘Oved by Rut, and ‘Oved fathered Yishai.7

      From Raḥav—I do not know his source for this, for it is neither in the Torah nor the Talmud. However, in BT Megillah 14b, it is said that eight prophets came from Rahab, who became a proselyte, and then Joshua married her. It could be that Salmon married a woman from Rahab’s family and she gave birth to Boaz.

       6 And Yishai fathered David the king, and King David fathered Shlomoh by the wife of Uriah,

      By the wife of Uriah—“From she who was the wife of Uriah,” for Uriah was already dead when Solomon was born. Nevertheless, the name of Uriah is mentioned, just as we find, And his second son, Chileab, son of Abigail, the wife of Nabal the Carmelite (2 Samuel 3:3), for at the same time that Chileab was born, Nabal died. However, it is clear from what is written (1 Samuel 25) that prior to this, Abigail was the wife of Nabal.

      Why is it that in every generation, the name of the mother is not mentioned except for these four: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Abigail? Here is the meaning: Isaiah said: My thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not my ways, declares YHWH (Isaiah 55:8). When we examine the action of Judah and Tamar, according to our natural, weak opinion, it stands to reason that they would have illegitimate children, for she was his daughter-in-law. And do not say, “This was before the giving of the Torah.” Did not Judah himself say, Bring her out and let her be burned (Genesis 38:24)? Even here, which was before the giving of the Torah, they thought of prostitution as a great abomination.⁸

      Nevertheless, all the kings of Israel are descended from her, and God forbid that we should question the conduct of YHWH. Concerning Judah saying, She is more righteous than I (Genesis 38:26), the Talmud says: “A voice came from heaven and said, ‘These secret things issued from me’” (BT Makkot 23b), which is to say, it is not for you to question the ways of YHWH, for these things are bound and secret, belonging only to him.

      Rahab was a prostitute,⁹ and after she became a proselyte, eight prophets issued from her. Ruth was a Moabite, and the Torah warns: No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the congregation of YHWH; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall ever enter the congregation of YHWH (Deuteronomy 23:4). Nevertheless, we say: “The Holy One, blessed be he, said to Abraham: ‘I have two good blessings with which to bless you by: Ruth the Moabite and Naamah the Ammonite’” (BT Yevamot 63a). And regarding the wife of Uriah, is it not explicitly said that David would be punished for the offense he committed (2 Samuel 12:10)?¹⁰ Nevertheless, when Solomon was born, it is written (ibid., 12:24): YHWH loved him.

      In all these matters, we can see that our intellect is limited in understanding the ways of YHWH. The writer of this book knew that it would come into the hands of men who would investigate to find out who Yeshua’s father and mother were, one person saying one thing, another person saying something else. Therefore he mentions four women from whom, according to our limited intellect, should have birthed illegitimate children; yet the opposite is true. All the kings of Israel came from them. And so even now, do not investigate who his father or mother is; rather only let his teaching and guidance concerning the Master of Truth be impressed upon you, and accept truth from anyone who speaks it.¹¹

       7 and Shlomoh fathered Raḥav‘am, and Raḥav‘am fathered Aviyah, and Aviyah fathered Asa,

       8 and Asa fathered Yehoshafaṭ, and Yehoshafaṭ fathered Yoram, and Yoram fathered Uzziyahu,

      Yehoshafaṭ… Yoram …Uzziyahu—this appears in 1 Chronicles 3:10–11. However, according to verses 11–12, this is the order of the generations: Yoram, Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah, and Azariah. We find that three generations are omitted here, and “Uzziah” is written here instead of “Azariah.”

       9 and Uzziyahu fathered Yotam, and Yotam fathered Aḥaz, and Aḥaz fathered Yeḥizkiyahu,

       10 and Yeḥizkiyahu fathered Menasheh, and Menasheh fathered Amon, and Amon fathered Yoshiyahu.

       11 And Yoshiyahu fathered Yehonyahu and his brothers at the time of the exile of Bavel.

      Yehonyahu—according to 1 Chronicles 3:14, Josiah fathered Jehoiakim, and Jehoiakim fathered Jeconiah. We can see that yet another generation is omitted here.

       12 After the exile to Bavel, Yehonyahu fathered She’altiel, and She’altiel fathered Zerubbavel,

      She’altiel… Zerubbavel—according to 1 Chronicles 3:19, Zerubbavel was the son of Pedaiah, and Pedaiah was the son of She’altiel. We can see that yet another generation is omitted.

       13 and Zerubbavel fathered Avihud, and Avihud fathered Elyakim, and Elyakim fathered Azzur,

      Avihud—we do not find in scripture that Abihud was the son of Zerubbavel. Even all of the ten generations from Avihud to Joseph, the husband of Miriam, are not found anywhere in scripture.

       14 and Azzur fathered Sadok, and Sadok fathered Yakhin, and Yakhin fathered Elihud,

       15 and Elihud fathered Elazar, and Elazar fathered Mattan, and Mattan fathered Ya’akov,

       16 and Ya’akov fathered Yosef, the husband of Miriam, from whom was born Yeshua, who is called mashiaḥ.

       17 Thus, all of the generations from Avraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the exile of Bavel were fourteen generations, and from the exile of Bavel to the mashiaḥ were fourteen generations.

      18 And this was the manner of the birth of Yeshua the mashiaḥ: Miriam his mother was betrothed to Yosef, but before he came to her she was found pregnant from the Holy Spirit.

      From Avraham—from Abraham to David is fourteen generations. The total is forty-two generations. However, in reality you only find forty-one generations. From the words of the author, it seems that he counts Jeconiah twice because Jeconiah is not specifically mentioned when he says: from Avraham to David, from David to the exile in Bavel, and from the exile in Bavel to the mashiaḥ; [instead of saying: “from David to Jeconiah, and from Jeconiah,” etc.]…. As I argued in verse 8, and in verses 11 and 12, five generations are omitted and not included in the three series of the fourteen generations. In my commentary on Luke 3:24, I explain this more clearly.

      Before he came to her (or, before they became one)—it used to be the custom for the groom to become engaged to the virgin and consecrate her to himself in accordance with the faith of Moses and Israel. She would then be his wife in every way. Until the time of the marriage, he remains in his own house, or his father’s house, and she is in her father’s house. After this, he marries her and becomes one with her. This is the meaning of “before he came to her,” that is, before the wedding.¹²

      From the Holy Spirit—among our Christian brothers, there are two schools of thought. One group believes in accordance with their writings, namely, that Yeshua was born without the strength of a man, for they say, “Is anything too wondrous for YHWH?” Those who do not believe this are thought of as children with no faith in them. Those who belong to the second group quote King