SUMMARY
Jesus’ ancestry traced through his (adoptive) father, Joseph, extends back through King David, through Abraham, and all the way to Adam.
ANALYSIS
It is impossible to offer an endorsement of this genealogy’s historical accuracy. Because it differs so sharply from the genealogy given in Matthew 1:1-17 and includes many names that are mentioned in no other documents, it is best not to give it too much significance as a definitive record. What is important about the genealogyGenealogy involves the study and tracing of families through the generations - in short, family history. One genealogy in Genesis traces the nations descended from Noah. In the New Testament Matthew traces the ancestry of Jesus back to Abraham, while Jesus' genealogy in Luke goes..., however, is the way in which it locates Jesus firmly within the history of God’s relationships with the people of Israel. This Gospel makes its readers aware that Jesus stands within the same story as the ancestors Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David. It is important to note that Luke extends Jesus’ genealogy all the way back to Adam, God’s first human creation. (By contrast, the genealogy in Matthew’s Gospel links Jesus only as far back as Abraham.) This is consistent with Luke’s outlook on the entire world and Luke’s insistence that Jesus has relevance for all humanity, not merely for the Jewish people alone.
The genealogy traces Jesus’ lineage through his male ancestors, which was common for the time. It is a legal genealogy. Jews did not widely adopt the practice of tracing Jewish ancestry through mothers until after the first century CE. By noting that Joseph’s fatherhood of Jesus is only “as was thought,” the author seems intent to make sure that the genealogy does not contradict the previous account (1:35) that describes the power of the HolyHoly is a term that originally meant set apart for the worship or service of God. While the term may refer to people, objects, time, or places, holiness in Judaism and Christianity primarily denotes the realm of the divine Spirit in Mary’s pregnancy.
