Matthew Chapter 1

Christogenea, Matthew Chapter 1, Program Notes

The Jews love to insist that the New Testament books were written originally in Aramaic, as does George Lamsa, who is himself an Arab. And they insist that Yahshua and His disciples spoke Aramaic primarily, and all this helps them to conceal their identity to the general public, and to perpetuate their lies. There is a preponderance of evidence in the New Testament itself that every book of it, including the gospel of Matthew and Paul's epistle to the Hebrews, was originally penned in Greek. There is also a preponderance of evidence in Archaeology that – while Hebrew was spoken in Jerusalem at the time of Christ – Greek was the common language of Palestine. Even all of the coins of Herod and his successors contained Greek inscriptions, and not Hebrew or Aramaic (Literacy In The Time of Jesus, in Biblical Archaeology Review, July-August 2003, p. 36), and most of the inscriptions of the period are in Greek, and no other language (ibid., and also p. 25 of the same issue). Dozens of second and third century papyri have been found in Archaeology containing copies of the New Testament books in Greek, yet no such manuscripts have been found in Aramaic. The earliest Aramaic (also called Syriac) versions date to the 3rd to 4th centuries and are proven to have been translated from Greek. (See the Introduction to Nestle-Aland’s Novum Testamentum Graece, 27th edition, pages 65-68). Aside from this, there is also a preponderance of evidence in the Greek language itself, and the variations which occur across all known ancient Greek copies, that Greek was the original language of the Gospel (and so surely Isaiah 28:11 was fulfilled) and there is no other which these Greek manuscripts could have been translated from. There is also the fact that so many of the quotes made from the Old Testament are from the Greek of the Septuagint. This note I have adopted from my notes for Clifton written several years ago, for his presentation of the Revelation series of Bertrand Comparet. It surprises me that Comparet had fallen for this Jewish deception. We must not. The Gospel of Matthew was originally penned by Matthew, in Greek.

I 1 A book of descent of Yahshua Christ son of David son of Abraham:

Of the descent, γενέσεως, the word means race. The very first use of this word in the New Testament proves the usage of this and the related words, genos and genea, throughout the rest of the Scripture. The Greeks had a narrower meaning of the word – a race for them was a subdivision of a nation. We see the word in a wider since, because we have seen the Saxon race grow into many nations. This passage alone proves that the word generation, not even in the plural here in the King James version, means race as it was originally used in English. Or we imagine that all of the ancestors of Christ lived at the same time.

2 Abraham begot Isaak, and Isaak begot Jakob, and Jakob begot Iouda and his brothers. 3 Then Iouda begot Phares and Zara [Pharez and Zarah, but no Er, Onan, or Selah] from of Thamar , and Phares begot Hesrom, and Hesrom [Hezron] begot Aram [Ram], 4 and Aram begot Aminadab [Amminadab], and Aminadab begot Naasson [Nahshon], and Naasson begot Salmon [Salma]. 5 Then Salmon begot Boes [Boaz] from of Rachab , and Boes begot Iobed form of Routh , and Iobed [Obed] begot Iessai [Jesse], 6 and Iessai begot David the king.

[See the end of this document for the notes on the women in the genealogy of Christ.]

The apostles were not handed the genealogies of the Christ by an angel. Neither were they recited to them by Yahweh Himself. The gospels were written by human eyewitnesses, in the case of Matthew and John, or the recorders of eyewitnesses, in the case of Luke and Mark. They themselves had to rely on very incomplete records in order to chronicle the events surrounding the coming of Christ in perspective with Hebrew history. These records were pieced together as best as their writers could do so. They were probably pieced together at least in part from unofficial sources, since Herod had long before destroyed the genealogies in the temple (which is reported by Eusebius at 1.7.13 of his Ecclesiastical History from earlier sources and which even the Talmud admits, Kiddushin 75a ), and since the Christian gospel writers were – as it is apparent - not welcome around the public offices anyway, even if they could investigate the records. There are many marvels about Scripture that prove that God is true. But the Gospels – and the ancient chronicles which the gospel writers relied upon – are far from complete. Here is an example of that. 

From the time of Jacob there is Pharez, Hezron, Aram, Amminadab, and then Nahshon, who was the captain of the men of Judah in the days of the Exodus (for example, see Numbers 1:7). The Bible records only about 8 generations of the children of Israel in Egypt. This is also evident in the genealogy of Moses, where we see the descent recorded from Levi to Kohath to Amram to Moses, who was about 80 years old at the Exodus and therefore a few generations were born after him by that time. But Paul tells us – and it seems to be accurate – that it was 430 years from the call of Abraham to the giving of the law at Sinai, as attested at Galatians 3:17. Much of this 430 years is taken up in the life of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – who was very old when going down to Egypt. Abraham being 75 at the time of the calling to go to Canaan (Genesis 12:4), he was 100 when Isaac was born. Isaac was 60 when Jacob was born (Gen. 25:26), and Jacob was 130 years old when he went before the pharaoh (Genesis 47:9). Kohath, the grandfather of Moses, was listed among those who were with Jacob upon his entering Egypt (Genesis 46:11). This accounts for 215 of the 430 years between the call of Abraham and the giving of the law at Sinai.

At the time of the Exodus, Nahshon is an elder, a chief of Judah, so if we have an estimated 7 generations from the sons of Jacob to the Exodus, we see that encompassed no more than 215 years, the entire time of the sojourn in Egypt. Yet the gospel of Matthew records only 5 generations from Nahshon to David – a span of over 400 years! It gives us Nahshon, who was a chief of the children of Judah in the Exodus, and then it goes to Salmon, to Boaz, to Jobed, to Jesse and to David. The Book of Ruth does not give us any more than this. The lifespan of men as gleaned from Scripture at the time of the Judges period does not allow that there were only so few generations from Nahshon to David. The internal evidence of the Book of Judges and a general understanding of the history of the period prove that it had to be over 400 years from the time of the Exodus to the time of David, and the testimony at Acts 13:20 gives us the span as 450 years. It is perfectly clear that there must be generations missing from the records in the genealogy of David, and they were missing long before the time of Christ.

Many people errantly think that the sojourn in Egypt alone was 400 years, but we have just seen it proven that it was only 215 years. As an aside, many may scoff that the Children of Israel could have grown from 76 people into so many hundreds of thousands of people in only a little over two hundred years. Do the math. If you start with 35 couples, and each couple has but 7 children in a 20-year reproductive period, the end result after 160 years and 8 generations is over 1.5 million people. After 200 years and 10 generations it is over 19.3 million people!Imagine how many White people would be in the world today, if half of us were not sexual miscreants.for the past 4 or 5 generations.

Then David begot Solomon from of the wife of Ourios, 7 and Solomon begot Roboam, and Roboam begot Abia, and Abia begot Asaph, 8 and Asaph begot Iosaphat, and Iosaphat begot Ioram, and Ioram begot Ozias 9 and Ozias begot Ioatham, and Ioatham begot Achaz, and Achaz begot Hezekias. 

Here we have several missing generations, the first of which is Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, the Ioram of this list in verse 8. His mother was Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab. Many claim that Athaliah was a daughter of Ahab by Jezebel, but that is simply not true. While there is no explicit mention of Athaliah's mother, a close inspection of Scripture reveals that Athaliah was certainly the daughter of Ahab by a wife other than Jezebel. For Jezebel became Ahab's wife rather late in his life, and Ahab had 70 sons, and many daughters, by many different wives. Two of Ahab's sons by Jezebel did become kings in Israel, but they did not rule long – only a couple of years between them. However Athaliah was wicked nonetheless, and she tried to destroy all of the sons of the royal household of Judah upon Ahaziah's death – but Joash was preserved. Athaliah tried to reign herself as a queen, but she was slain and Joash took the throne by the age of seven. Joash, and his son Amaziah, are also missing in this genealogy, which picks up again with the son of Amaziah, which was Uzziah – the Ozias of verse 8 here in Matthew. So we see that while Matthew goes from Joram to Uzziah, the Old Testament takes us from Joram to Ahaziah to Joash to Amaziah to Uzziah, and three generations are wanting in Matthew's listing. Joram is Uzziah's great-great-grandfather!

10 Then Hezekias begot Manassa, and Manassa begot Amos, and Amos begot Iosias, 11 and Iosias begot Iechonias and his brothers at the time of the sojourn in Babylon.

Jehoiakim is also missing, who by all Old Testament accounts is the father of Jeconiah. An interesting fact about Jehoiakim is that he was anointed king upon the death of Josiah his father by the Egyptian pharaoh Nechoh, after Nechoh captured his older brother Jehoahaz, for which see 2 Kings chapter 23. Yet here again we see that the Scripture has no problem reckoning a grandson as a son, for Josiah was the grandfather of Jeconiah. 

Out of all of the kings of Judah, only Josiah did well. All of the others after David did “evil in the sight of the Lord”, as the King James Version puts it. Of Josiah it was said that “he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the ways of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.” Yet Josiah was only 8 years old when he began to reign, and lived only 31 years as King. He died in battle against Pharaoh Nechoh of Egypt, perhaps appropriately at Megiddo.

There is a lesson, I believe, in the story of Josiah. First, he may be contrasted to his evil ancestor, Hezekiah. While Josiah did well he was taken at a young age. Hezekiah did evil, got sick, and he was given a space of 15 years longer to live after he turned to Yahweh. I think the evil, when and if they repent, are given time to be tested of their repentance. Then again Josiah doing well, may have been taken by Yahweh because the people did not deserve an excellent ruler. Josiah forced them to clean their act up. Look at America today, do our people not get the government they deserve?

Now Jeconiah, the man who was king when he with the remnant of Jerusalem had all been taken to Babylon, he was cursed. In Jeremiah 22:28 we read: “Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? 29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. 30 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.” While the sons of Jeconiah obviously survived to return to Judaea, none of them ever ruled again. The Maccabees were Levites, a family of the high priests, who became the civil rulers of the nation until they were usurped by Herod and his Edomite kin. Yet Matthew provides sufficient genealogical evidence to show that Yahshua Christ indeed stood in line and inherited the rightful claim to rule from Joseph – his lawful father. If one thinks about it, this is exactly the way in which the children of Cain came to claim the inheritance of Adam, long beforetime in the Garden of Eden. In fact all of the circumstances of the birth of the Christ mirror those of the birth of Cain which caused a need for the Christ! When Adam accepted Eve, he accepted Cain in her womb and Cain became his first-born heir. When Joseph acceded to the instructions of the angel and accepted Mary, he accepted Christ in her womb as his first-born heir!

From The Lost Books of The Bible and The Forgotten Books of Eden, “The Protevangelion” 10:1-10: “1 And when her sixth month was come, Joseph returned from his building houses abroad, which was his trade, and entering into the house, found the Virgin grown big: 2 Then smiting upon his face, he said, With what face can I look up to the Lord my God? or, what shall I say concerning this young woman? 3 For I received her a Virgin out of the temple of the Lord my God! and have not preserved her such! 4 Who has thus deceived me? Who has committed this evil in my house, and seducing the Virgin from me, hath defiled her? 5 Is not the history of Adam exactly accomplished in me? 6 For in the very instant of his glory, the serpent came and found Eve alone, and seduced her. 7 Just after the same manner it has happened to me. 8 Then Joseph arising from the ground, called her, and said, O thou who hast been so much favoured by God, why hast thou done this? 9 Why hast thou thus debased thy soul, who wast educated in the Holy of Holies, and received thy food from the hand of angels? 10 But she, with a flood of tears, replied, I am innocent, and have known no man.” No matter what we think about this apocryphal book, it can surely be demonstrated to be of great antiquity, and its author knew the story of the Bible.

12 Then after the sojourn in Babylon Iechonias begot Salathiel, and Salathiel begot Zorobabel [Zorobabel rebuilt the temple at Jerusalem circa 516 BC], 13 and Zorobabel begot Abioud, and Abioud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor, 14 and Azor begot Sadok, and Sadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Elioud, 15 and Elioud begot Eleazar, and Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Iakob, 16 and Iakob begot Ioseph the husband of Maria, from whom was born Yahshua, who is called Christ.

Here we have 13 generations after Jeconiah to the Christ. Little is known of the history of Judaea from the days of Ezra and the prophets Zechariah and Malachi, to the time of the Maccabees and the accounts illuminated in the history of Josephus which began circa 160 BC. Josephus himself says very little about that 300-year period from Ezra to the Maccabees, aside from a brief account of Alexander's entry into Jerusalem and his conquest of Tyre.

17 Therefore all the generations from Abraham unto David are fourteen generations, and from David unto the sojourn in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the sojourn in Babylon unto the Christ are fourteen generations.

There are 41 men mentioned in Matthew's listing of the genealogy from Abraham to Yahshua Christ. While in the Gospel of Luke, in the genealogy he gives in his third chapter, there are many variations in the lists of names amongst the oldest manuscripts, it is not so in Matthew where the manuscripts are, except for some minor differences., fairly consistent. I do not believe that Matthew meant to state that there were only 40 men in the ancestry of Christ back to Abraham, but only that he was recording 40 men, and the 3 groups of 14 are a poetical device employed by Matthew for literary purposes.

Abraham - Isaak - Jakob - Iouda - Phares - Hesrom - Aram - Aminadab - Naasson - Salmon - Boes - Iobed - Iessai – David (14)

Solomon - Roboam - Abia - Asaph - Iosaphat - Ioram - Ozias - Ioatham - Achaz - Hezekias - Manassa - Amos - Iosias – Iechonias (14)

Salathiel - Zorobabel - Abioud - Eliakim - Azor - Sadok - Achim - Elioud - Eleazar - Matthan - Iakob - Ioseph - Yahshua Christ (13)

18 Now the manner of the birth of Yahshua Christ was thusly: Maria His mother being betrothed [promised in marriage, engaged] to Ioseph, before their consummation [sexual act] had been found having conceived in the womb by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Ioseph her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make an example of her [thinking she had been impregnated by another man], desired to put her away secretly. [The phrase “put away” is a literal rendering of the Greek term for what we would divorce, and here Joseph was not even really married yet, and Mary must still be living in the home of her own family, so we see that the term is used in a legal sense!] 20 Then upon his considering these things, behold! A messenger of Yahweh appeared to him in a dream, saying “Ioseph son of David, you should not be afraid to take Maria your wife. For that which is in her is engendered from of the Holy Spirit! 21 And she shall bear a son, and you shall call His name ‘Yahshua’, for He shall save His people from their errors!”

Here it is possible to see the Greek Ἰησοῦς derived from Hebrew words meaning simply “He Saves”, however I believe this is only a play on words. Of the successor to Moses, Joshua of the Biblical book by that name, Yahweh says at Exodus 23:21 “Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.” The name Ἰησοῦς being in the Greek Septuagint that same name which was translated from the Hebrew into English as Joshua, therefore the name of Christ is Yahshua – which means Yahweh Saves.

22 Now all this happened in order that that which had been spoken by Yahweh through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying: 23 “Behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb and she shall bear a son, and they shall call Him ‘Emmanouel’!” which is interpreted “God is with us”. 24 And Ioseph arising from sleep did as the messenger of Yahweh commanded him and took his wife, 25 yet did not know her until she bore a son, and he called His name ‘Yahshua’.

God is with us – Yahshua Christ is certainly Yahweh Himself come in the flesh, as so many other Scriptures attest! This is where Leviticus 26 is fulfilled, where it says “12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.” Also, Ezekiel 37, speaking of His second advent, “27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 And the heathen [or properly nations] shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” His tabernacle is the physical body of the Christ.

The women in the genealogy of Christ:

Matthew 1:1-6: “1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; 3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; 4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; 5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; 6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias”

All of these women are in one way or another slandered by many of the mainstream theologians and commentators, and even many in Christian Israel Identity do likewise. I believe that Yahweh, the author of life, history and language even before all things come to pass, certainly allowed the scribes to set traps for us, to see whether or not we would believe that He is true to His Word. Thamar is called a whore by many, and so is Rachab. Ruth is called a Moabite, and likewise Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah who is called the Hittite, is esteemed to be a Hittite herself, or if not, then a race-mixer! Everything is not what it seems, and these traps are indeed laid to separate those who truly study the Word of Yahweh with an open heart, and the surface readers of Scripture who are quick to make accusations, thereby justifying their own fornicating immorality and alien-embracing tendencies.

Genesis 38:6-30 6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. 7 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. 8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. 9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also. 11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house. 12 And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep. 14 And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face. 16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me? 17 And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? 18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. 19 And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. 20 And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not. 21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place. 22 And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place. 23 And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her. 24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. 25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff. 26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more. 27 And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. 28 And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. 29 And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. 30 And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.

Many esteem Tamar to have been a whore. If that were truly the case, the last person she may have chosen to be her first customer was Judah! Thamar simply wanted what she was entitled to: women relied upon having children – especially male children - in order that, having raised them, the children would in turn look after them in their old age. If Thamar didn’t stand up for her own interests, there would be no tribe of Judah today! Evidence supporting this interpretation of Thamar’s motivation is gleaned from a couple of places in Scripture. In the Book of Ruth, at 4:14-15, upon Ruth’s being redeemed by Boaz, the women of the place said to Naomi: “14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. 15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him.” Likewise with Elisabeth, when she conceived John the Baptist in her old age, proclaimed as it is recorded at Luke 1:25: “Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.” It was considered a disgrace in Israel to die without issue, and thusly the daughters of Lot – who thought following the destruction of the cities of the plain that it was only them and their father remaining in the world – did what they did, as they are recorded as saying at genesis 19:32 “that we may preserve the seed of our father”. Tamar simply wanted to do what was right, and get what she was entitled to.

Joshua 2:1-24 1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there. 2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country. 3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country. 4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: 5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. 6 But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. 7 And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate. 8 And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; 9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. {faint: Heb. melt} 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. 12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token: 13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. 14 And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. {for...: Heb. instead of you to die} 15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. 16 And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way. 17 And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. 18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee. {bring: Heb. Gather} 19 And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. 20 And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. 21 And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window. 22 And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not. 23 So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them: 24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.

Rachab is called a “harlot”, as interpreters of the original Hebrew have understood the word. Clifton Emahiser wrote about this predicament at length and proves that Rahab was not a harlot, but an innkeeper, in his Watchman’s Teaching Letter #120, where he showed that the Greek word PORNE was related to other Greek words which described merchandising, and that it is in this manner that the Septuagint translators may well have understood the term, since the Hebrew word zonah surely may have that meaning. Clifton also proves that the circumstances concerning Rahab’s situation detailed in the book of Joshua certainly support the position that she was an innkeeper, and this is perfectly clear from the account as it is given by Josephus, which Clifton cites! Some people have accused Clifton of somehow “correcting” the apostles, since they described Rahab using this same word, PORNE, at Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25. Yet we only assume – as I myself did in the past - that by using that word, the apostles interpreted it in the same manner in which we do! It is just as likely – even though I did not realize this until well after Clifton wrote his Teaching Letter on the topic – that the apostles also imagined PORNE to have the alternate meaning of a woman selling something besides her body, as a Hebraism. The plain truth is this: The Yahshua Christ did NOT have a common whore for a grandmother! 

Antiquities 5.1.2. (5) Now when he had pitched his camp, the spies came to him immediately, well acquainted with the whole state of the Canaanites; for at first, before they were at all discovered, they took a full view of the city of Jericho without disturbance, and saw which parts of the walls were strong, and which parts were otherwise, and indeed insecure, and which of the gates were so weak as might afford an entrance to their army. (6) Now those that met them took no notice of them when they saw them, and supposed they were only strangers, who used to be very curious in observing everything in the city, and did not take them for enemies; (7) but at even they retired to a certain inn that was near to the wall, whither they went to eat their supper; (8) which supper when they had done, and were considering how to get away, information was given to the king as he was at supper, that there were some persons come from the Hebrews’ camp to view the city as spies, and that they were in the inn kept by Rahab, and were very solicitous that they might not be discovered. So he sent immediately some to them, and commanded to catch them, and bring them to him, that he might examine them by torture, and learn what their business was there. (9) As soon as Rahab understood that these messengers were coming, she hid the spies under stalks of flax, which were laid to dry on the top of her house; and said to the messengers that were sent by the king, that certain unknown strangers had supped with her a little before sunsetting, and were gone away, who might easily be taken, if they were any terror to the city, or likely to bring any danger to the king.1 (10) So these messengers being thus deluded by the woman,b and suspecting no imposition, went their ways, without so much as searching the inn; but they immediately pursued them along those roads which they most probably supposed them to have gone, and those particularly which led to the river, but could hear no tidings of them; so they left off the pains of any further pursuit. 1

1Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1996, c1987). The works of Josephus : Complete and unabridged. Includes index. (127). Peabody: Hendrickson.

b It plainly appears by the history of these spies, and the innkeeper Rahab’s deception of the king of Jericho’s messengers, by telling them what was false, in order to save the lives of the spies, and yet the great commendation of her faith and good works in the New Testament (Heb. 11:31; Jas. 2:25), as well as by many other parallel examples, both in the Old Testament and in Josephus, that the best men did not then scruple to deceive those public enemies who might justly be destroyed; as also might deceive ill men in order to save life, and deliver themselves from the tyranny of their unjust oppressors, and this by telling direct falsehoods; I mean, all this where no oath was demanded of them, otherwise they never durst venture on such a procedure. Nor was Josephus himself of any other opinion or practice, as I shall remark in the note on Antiq. 9.4.3. And observe, that I still call this woman Rahab, an innkeeper, not a harlot; the whole history, both in our copies, and especially in Josephus, implying no more. It was indeed so frequent a thing, that women who were innkeepers were also harlots, or maintainers of harlots, that the word commonly used for real harlots was usually given them. See Dr. Bernard’s note here, and Judg. 11:1; and Antiq. 5.7.8. 2

2Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1996, c1987). The works of Josephus : Complete and unabridged. Includes index. (127). Peabody: Hendrickson.

Ruth was clearly a Moabite by geography, and not by race. The phrase found at Ruth 1:16 which states “and thy God my God” may just as easily be interpreted “and thy judges my judges”. One thing that I think all commentators miss about the Ruth account is this: At Ruth 4:1, we see that there was another kinsman closer to Naomi in blood whose turn it was before Boaz to redeem Ruth, however his personal circumstances forbid him from doing so, and therefore the responsibility fell upon Boaz. Yet this other kinsman underwent great reproach because he could not fulfill the role of a kinsman redeemer! We see at Ruth 4:5-8 : “ 5 Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. 6 And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it. 7 Now this was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour: and this was a testimony in Israel. 8 Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe.” To fully understand this, we must go back to Deuteronomy 25:5-10: “5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her. {her husband's...: or, her next kinsman} 6 And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. 7 And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother. {brother's: or, next kinsman's} 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her; 9 Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house. 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.” So we see that it is a public and open disgrace for a man to shirk the responsibility of kinsman redeemer. Yet it is wholly evident from Ruth 4:5-8 that these men were operating under the law, and citing the law, this man could easily have avoided such disgrace if Ruth were a Moabitess by race! All he would have had to do was to cite Deuteronomy 23:3: “3 An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever” Clearly this proves that Ruth was truly an Israelite!

Many esteem Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah “the Hittite”, to have been a Hittite herself, and if not, to have been an adulteress because she was married to a Hittite. But was Uriah really a Hittite? The word “Hittite”, or Chittiy, according to Strong’s Concordance, is indeed derived from Heth, and was used to describe his descendants; however it is also identical to a form of the word chittiyth, which means fear. A person who was fearsome could indeed be described as a “hittite”! In 2 Samuel 23:1 Uriah the Hittite is listed as one of the 37 “mighty men whom David had”, even after his death! All of the Biblical testimony concerning Uriah proves that he was anything but an accursed Hittite, and a just and faithful servant. The account of his attitude and behavior given at 2 Samuel 11:9-11 is especially noteworthy. And having died on the front lines of battle, Uriah surely lived up to his epithet – once it is interpreted properly – Uriah the Terrible.

2 Samuel 11:6-11 6 And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered. 8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house. 10 And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house? 11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.