Mary, Mother of God - Genealogy

[Chris Carlson]

I have heard from several sources that both Mary and Joseph's geneology can be traced back to King David; Joseph being the descedent of one of King David's sons and the blessed Virgin Mary another.

I have looked through the Gospels, I can only find Luke 3:24-38 as an alternative geneology to Matthew 1:1-16 and in Luke there was no mention of Mary.

May I ask someone if I am missing something?

Thanks to all and praise to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

[Klod]

Doctrin of the Church is expressed in (not only) Scripture + Tradition.


(a) If by virtue of Joseph's marriage with Mary, Jesus could be called the son of Joseph, he can for the same reason be called "son of David" (St. Augustine, On the Harmony of the Gospels, II, i, 2).

(b) Tradition tells us that Mary too was a descendant of David. According to Numbers 36:6-12, an only daughter had to marry within her own family so as to secure the right of inheritance. After St. Justin (Adv. Tryph. 100) and St. Ignatius (Letter to the Ephesians 18), the Fathers generally agree in maintaining Mary's Davidic descent, whether they knew this from an oral tradition or inferred it from Scripture, e.g. Romans 1:3; II Timothy 2:8. St. John Damascene (De fid. Orth., IV, 14) states that Mary's great-grandfather, Panther, was a brother of Mathat; her grandfather, Barpanther, was Heli's cousin; and her father, Joachim, was a cousin of Joseph, Heli's levirate son. Here Mathat has been substituted for Melchi, since the text used by St. John Damascene, Julius Africanus, St. Irenaeus, St. Ambrose, and St. Gregory of Nazianzus omitted the two generations separating Heli from Melchi. At any rate, tradition presents the Blessed Virgin as descending from David through Nathan.

dfsff

[Fr Aaron Warwick]

I would recommend checking out the linked website (http://www.orthodox.net/fathers/exactiv.html#BOOK_IV_CHAPTER_XIV). It is from St. John Damascene's "The Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith."

[Kosta]

There are a few liturgical texts which confirm Mary's Davidic lineage. In my personal opinion this is what i believe Paul is saying when he refers to Jesus as ," ...concerning HIS Son Jesus Christ our Lord who was born of the seed of David accordong to the flesh..." (Rom 1.3)

That Jesus is the seed of David according to the flesh is from Mary but is the Son of the Father thru the virgin birth. It would make no sense for Jesus to call God "Abba" (daddy) and for Paul to confirm this thru many verses if the above passage refered to Joseph.