THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS PROF. M. M. NINAN TABLE OF INDEX PREFACE PART I BIBLICAL TRADITIONS CHAPTER ONE:THE TWO GENEALOGIES ...................................................................................................................... 2 CHAPTER TWO: MATTHEW'S GENEALOGY .............................................................................................................. 10 CHAPTER THREE: LUKE'S GENEALOGY ADAM TO DAVID ................................................................................... 43 CHAPTER FOUR: THE KING OF THE JEWS ............................................................................................................... 48 CHAPTER FIVE: THE BROTHERS OF JESUS ............................................................................................................. 71 CHAPTER SIX: LEVITICAL HERITAGE OF JESUS ..................................................................................................... 80 CHAPTER SEVEN: MATTHEW’S FOUR WOMEN ................................................................................................... 92 PART II ALTERNATE TRADITIONS PART II: ALTERNATE TRADITIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 97 CHAPTER EIGHT THE GENEALOGY DURING THE EXILE ........................................................................................ 98 CHAPTER NINE PARTHIA AND THE MAGI .................................................................................................................. 105 CHAPTER TEN EPISTLE TO ARISTIDES ..................................................................................................................... 111 CHAPTER ELEVEN THE EPISTLE OF NICODEMUS ................................................................................................. 117 CHAPTER TWELVE PROTO-EVANGELIUM OF JAMES .......................................................................................... 119 CHAPTER THIRTEEN JOHN OF DAMASCUS ......................................................................................................... 131 CHAPTER FOURTEEN THE BOOK OF THE CAVE OF TREASURES. ................................................................... 133 CHAPTER FIFTEEN THE BOOK OF THE BEE ........................................................................................................ 138 CHAPTER SIXTEEN ANNA .............................................................................................................................................. 142 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN MATRIARCHAL GENEALOGY OF JESUS ....................................................................... 149 PREFACE This article was written in response to an Islamic onslaught on the validity and accuracy of the Bible quoting the problem of genealogy as an error. This was in 1985 while I was in the University of Juba, Sudan, Africa. The problem is dealt with in this article to show that the Bible is the inspired word of God. In spite of its transmission through the ages through generations to generations and in their varying media and translations it still is the most reliable document mankind has ever possessed. Its accuracy speaks for its divine origins. The South Sudanese are probably the descendants of the Children of Moses through the Cushite wife as is confirmed by the similarity of the culture and laws of the land in comparison with the Biblical commandments. At that time my guide was the local culture in which I was immersed in. Not only that all these had been validated by scholars at every age, there is little to add to the findings This article was first published as a booklet by the Sudan Theological College, Juba, Sudan, and Africa in 1985. It was widely distributed in the Southern Sudan and neighboring countries. The main body of the book and the argument has not changed since then. The only addition is the possible alternate explanations and the later research results of many scholars in the field. Many of these alternate explanation sources are not completely trustworthy as they are from Pseudo-epigraphs and Apocryphal works. These sources are unreliable yet I thought it would be good to be aware of these possibilities and explanations. Prof. M.M.Ninan San Jose, CA Jan, 2012 Revised Normal, IL Dec., 2019 Prof. M.M.Ninan is a Professor of Physics and have served in colleges and universities in India, Ethiopia, Ghana, Sudan, Jamaica, Yemen and United States of America. In all these countries he has been involved in church planting, missions and Christian Education. GENEALOGY OF JESUS : PROF.M. M. NINAN 1 PART I BIBLICAL TRADITIONS GENEALOGY OF JESUS : PROF.M. M. NINAN 2 CHAPTER ONE THE TWO GENEALOGIES People are often misled by a cursory look on the two widely, different genealogies of Jesus in the books of Matthew (1:1-11) and of Luke (3:23-38). “The difference between the two evangelists in the genealogy of Christ, has been a stumbling block to infidels that cavil at the word”. Matthew Henry, An Exposition of the Old and New Testaments. Vol. V. “Skeptics have looked at these differences and have arrived at a simple solution to the problem: the genealogies are, in essence, pious fiction. They are not really genealogies of Christ, but have been composed, perhaps from other sources, so as to try to legitimize Jesus' claim to Messiahship”. Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke I-IX. Anchor Bible.; Michael Arnheim. Is Christianity True? “The most critical need was for a genealogy proving that Jesus was of the lineage of David, since it was widely believed that the Messiah would be a descendant of the lascivious king. So the genealogies were the first additions to be forged and added to the Markan account. Although both Matthew and Luke had copies of Mark's gospel, they did not know of each others efforts. Fortunately for those of us who value truth, they were unable to conspire with each other to invent a consistent genealogy, and the genealogies they forged contradict each other almost totally -- making it now obvious that both authors were liars.” Nativity by Frank R. Zindler American Atheists - http://www.atheists.org/Nativity_The_origins_of_the_Birth_of_Je sus A plain look at these two genealogies will give us the immediate impression that someone has made a serious error. Clearly there is a difference between these two genealogies. They both start with David and they both end with Jesus, but the names in between are completely different. There aren't even the same number of names in the two lists. They don't even agree on who Joseph's father is. If indeed there is an error it will cast serious doubt on the validity of the author’s inspiration, message and hence on the validity of the Bible as a whole. After all, most of us almost stake our whole life on the truthfulness and reliability of the Bible as given by God himself. Both these books - Matthew and John - were written well within the first century. During this period a large number of witnesses, who actually walked, talked and known Jesus as a savior, friend or as an enemy were still alive. Hence we GENEALOGY OF JESUS : PROF.M. M. NINAN 3 could very well surmise that there will be no conflict in these citations. But there is serious disparity evident. As in almost all other problems in the biblical criticism and historic accuracy, an in depth study will reveal the extreme accuracy to details of the biblical narratives. It most often turns out that the attributed error is the accuracy. Some of these marvelous findings were established by archeologist as they unearthed new documents and facts. Others were established merely by studying the Word in detail by cross references and with knowledge of the culture and traditions of the period. Most of our problem arises out of our ignorance of the people, place and the times with which we are dealing. Fortunately in South Sudan, we have a culture which is very much similar to the Jewish culture. The historical situation is also very similar to the period of Judges, Kingdom and to the period of captivity of Israel and Judah. My earlier studies in the culture of Kuku and other similar cultures (These studies are found in the archives of the University of Juba, Sudan) have established the near identity of South Sudanese cultures as to that of the Jewish cultures as though they were fossilized for us. Bible has been the subject of study by scholars in science, art and language for over centuries. Every letter, word and statement was put under scrutiny with the latest knowledge and tools and discoveries. The Bible does withstand the severest test. These men were not Christians, but academicians and they studied the bible objectively. Christian Theology is a secular field of study today. We are glad about it as it opened up new visions of glory through it. No religion other than Christianity has ever dared to go anywhere near such a state. (It was Jesus who said ‘Truth shall make you free’) What most opponents of Christianity do is to borrow what the theologians have studied as a problem and parade them as though these have never been noticed. They simply take advantage of the ignorance of the average man. This particular study was prompted by such an attempt made by the opponents of Christian faith in the University of Juba Campus (1985) So far I have never been able to come across one single original problem from among the writers of the opponents of Christian faith. This is not surprising as they themselves have never taken