Editing Matthew 1:11

{{See also|Genealogy of Jesus}}
{{Bible chapter|letname= Matthew 1:11 |previouslink= Matthew 1:10 |previousletter= 1:10 |nextlink= Matthew 1:12 |nextletter= 1:12 |book=[[Gospel of Matthew]] |biblepart=[[New Testament]] | filename= Michelangelo, lunetta, Josiah - Jechoniah - Shealtiel 03.jpg |size=240px | caption=<div style="width: 240px; text-align: center; line-height: 1em">[[Michelangelo]]'s ''Josiah-Jechoniah-Sheatiel''.  Josiah is with Jechoniah being the child on his knee.</div>}}
'''Matthew 1:11''' is the eleventh [[Chapters and verses of the Bible|verse]] of [[Matthew 1|the first chapter]] of the [[Gospel of Matthew]] in the [[New Testament]].  The verse is part of the section where the [[genealogy]] of [[Saint Joseph|Joseph]], the father of [[Jesus]], is listed.  It is the last verse of the middle third of the listing.

==Content==
In the [[King James Version]] of the Bible the text reads:
:And [[Josiah|Josias]] begat [[Jeconiah|Jechonias]] and 
:his brethren, about the time 
:they were carried away to [[Babylon]]:

The [[World English Bible]] translates the passage as:
:Josiah became the father of 
:Jechoniah and his brothers, at 
:the time of the exile to Babylon.

==Textual variants==
Some manuscripts have additional reading in this verse — {{lang|grc|τον Ιωακιμ, Ιωακιμ δε εγεννησεν}} (''Joakim, Joakim begot'') — [[Codex Campianus|M]] [[Codex Nanianus|U]] [[Codex Koridethi|Θ]] [[Rossano Gospels|Σ]] [[Family 1|''f''<sup>1</sup>]] [[Minuscule 33|33]] [[Minuscule 258|258]] [[Minuscule 478|478]] [[Minuscule 661|661]] 954 1216 1230 1354 1604 [[Lectionary 54|ℓ54]] [[Harklean Version|syr{{sup|h}}]] [[Bible translations into Georgian|geo]].<ref>[[United Bible Societies|UBS]]3, p. 2.</ref>

==Analysis==
This portion is part of the listing of the [[Kingdom of Judah|Kings of Judah]] and covers the period from the mid-7th century BC to the beginning of the [[Babylonian captivity]].  [[Josiah]] was a prominent monarch who reigned from 641 BC or 640 BC until 609 BC.  [[Jeconiah]] came two monarchs later and is best known for being defeated and brought with his people in captivity in Babylon around 598 BC. {{Citation needed|date=September 2015}}

The main question about this passage is what it means by the word ''brothers''.  According to the [[Books of Chronicles]], [[Jeconiah]] only had one brother, so the plural does not make sense.  A common view is to see Jeconiah's name in this section as an error.  Jeconiah, who is already listed in [[Matthew 1:12]], sometimes has his name written as ''Jehoiachin'' making it possible that the author of Matthew or a later scribe confused him with his father [[Jehoiakim]].  In [[Irenaeus]]' Latin version of this text Jehoiakim's name appears, but this is the only piece of textual evidence for this theory. All other ancient versions leave him out.  Also in Iraneus, the brothers are still associated with Jeconiah. This theory would also address a number of other problems.  Josiah is believed to be Jeconiah's grandfather rather than father, and having the listing of Jeconiah as two separate people would correct the seeming error in [[Matthew 1:17]].  Jehoiakim had a number of brothers and these are mentioned in {{bibleverse|1 Chronicles|3:15|KJV}}. [[William F. Albright]] and C.S. Mann believe the author of Matthew mentioned the brothers, despite their having nothing to do with Jesus' genealogy, because they are prominently mentioned in Chronicles.<ref>[[William F. Albright|Albright, W.F.]] and C.S. Mann. "Matthew." ''[[The Anchor Bible Series]].'' New York: Doubleday & Company, 1971.</ref>

[[Robert H. Gundry]] disagrees with this view.  The [[Septuagint]], from which Matthew seems to have got his spelling, uses the spellings Jeconiah, making it less likely that the name would be confused with Jehoiakim.  Moreover the repeating of Jeconiah's name in the next verse matches the repeating of names that occurs throughout the genealogy. Gundry believes that ''brothers'' refers to the Jewish people in general who were brought to Babylon with their king, not the biological brothers of Jeconiah.<ref>[[Robert H. Gundry|Gundry, Robert H.]] ''Matthew a Commentary on his Literary and Theological Art.'' Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982.</ref> Harold Fowler suggests that brothers might have simply meant ''family'', and the word was included since Jeconiah's family did have an important role in the Old Testament reports.<ref>Fowler, Harold. ''The Gospel of Matthew: Volume One.'' Joplin: College Press, 1968</ref>

Fowler believes that the omission was explicitly intended. He argues that the "at the time of the exile to Babylon" makes it clear that this is not simply a genealogy, but also a quick summary of Jewish history. As such leaving out names would simply be part of the attempt to compress thousands of years of history into seventeen verses. The story of the Babylonian captivity is a long and complicated one, with many figures involved. Fowler argues that the word ''brothers'' was included to allow Matthew to simply skip over this tangled period without being diverted from his task by mentioning the actual names.<ref>Fowler, Harold. ''The Gospel of Matthew: Volume One.'' Joplin: College Press, 1968</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{sequence
| prev = [[Matthew 1:10]]
| list = [[Gospel of Matthew]]<br />[[Matthew 1|Chapter 1]]
| next = [[Matthew 1:12]]
}}
{{Matthew 1}}
[[Category:Matthew 1|01:11]]
[[Category:Kings of ancient Judah]]