Portraits of the women of Jesus genealogy

Abstract

One of the elements of history descriptions in the Ancient Times was genealogy. They acted as a very significant function in the people identification, their rights to inherit, the succession of reigning, and last but not least in determining the chronology before the counting the time using the Olympics were imposed. The Old Testament abound in genealogies (Hebrew: toledot), especially 1Cor. 1–9, contrary to the New Testament, where apart from some residual notes, we have got only two Jesus’s genealogies – by Matthew (1:1–17) and Luke (3:23–38). The first one is ordered top-down from Abraham to Jesus (41 generations) and the second one is bottom-up from Jesus to Adam, the son of God. This kind of setup has got a very deep theological meaning. What is more; the text of the first Gospel includes five women, thanks to whom the genealogy of Jesus involves Him in the chain of people’s generations that need Redemption. The article undertakes the theological descriptions of each of these women with the special emphasis put on Mary – not only as the Mother of Jesus, Her firstborn Son (Lk. 2:7), but also as a woman initiating the genealogy of a new creation, for which Jesus is also the Firstborn, to go further and deeper, the Firstborn for the entire creation (Col. 1:15), amongst plenty of brothers (Rom. 8:29) and from the dead (Col. 1:18, Rev. 1:5).