does not, however, name Mary in his genealogy ; for it would have sounded ill, especially to Jewish ears, had he written " Jesus was the Son of Mary, the daughter of Heli, the son of Matthat," etc. — on which account he names the husband of Mary, but that in such a manner that all may be able to understand (from the whole of his first and second chap ters), that the name of Mary's husband stands for that of Mary herself.
XII. That in St Luke is the primary, that in St Matthew the secondary genealogy.
When a genealogy is traced through female as well as male ancestors, any descent may be deduced in many ways from one root ; whereas a pedigree, traced simply from father to son, must of necessity consist only of a single line. In the genealogy, however, of Jesus Christ, Mary, His mother, is reckoned with His male ancestors, by a claim of incomparable precedence. In an ordinary pedigree ancestors are far more important than ancestresses. Maiy, however, enters this genealogy with a peculiar and unrivalled claim, above that of every ancestor whatever of the whole human race ; for whatever Jesus derived from the stock of man — of Abraham, or of David — that He derived entirely from His mother. This is the One Seed of Woman without Man. Other children owe their birth partly to their father, partly to their mother. The genealogy of Mary, therefore, which is given in St Luke, is the primary one. Nor can that of Joseph, in St Matthew, be considered otherwise than secondary, and merely employed for the time, until all should become fully convinced, that Jesus was the Son of Mary, but not of Joseph. St Matthew mentions Jechoniah, although he is passed by in the primary genealogy. — See Jer. xxii. 30; and cf. Luke i. 32, 33.
XIH. Whatever difficulty yet remains regarding this whole matter, so far from weakening, should even confirm our faith.
The stock of David had, in the time of Jesus of Nazareth, dwindled down to so small a number (see Rev. xxii. 16), that on this ground also the appellation " Son of David" was used by
fessor of Oriental Languages at Hamburgh. Born 1683. Died 1739. Author of Bibliotheca Hebrsea, Curse Philologicaa et Criticse in Novum Testaraentum. — (I. B.)