Is Yeshua from the tribe of Yehudah? (UPDATED)

Updates are at the bottom of the article. 

One of the requirements of the Messiah is that he be from the “House of Judah” (Hebrew: Beit Yehudah).

“…you may appoint a king over you, whom the L-rd your G-d shall choose: one from among your brethren shall you set as king over you.” (Deuteronomy 17:15)
 
“The staff shall not depart from Judah, nor the sceptre from between his feet…” (Genesis 49:10)
 
“And when your days (David) are fulfilled, and you shall sleep with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who shall issue from your bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will make firm the throne of his kingdom forever…” (2 Samuel 7:12-13)

But when you examine Yeshua’s genealogy, things just don’t add up.

The book of the generation of Yeshua the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Avraham. Avraham became the father of Yitzchak. Yitzchak became the father of Ya`akov. Ya`akov became the father of Yehudah and his brothers. Yehudah became the father of Peretz and Zerach by Tamar. Peretz became the father of Hetzron. Hetzron became the father of Ram. Ram became the father of `Amminadav. `Amminadav became the father of Nachshon. Nachshon became the father of Salmon. Salmon became the father of Bo`az by Rachav. Bo`az became the father of `Oved by Rut. `Oved became the father of Yishai. Yishai became the father of David the king. David became the father of Shlomo by her who had been the wife of Uriyah. Shlomo became the father of Rechav`am. Rechav`am became the father of Aviyah. Aviyah became the father of Asa. Asa became the father of Yehoshafat. Yehoshafat became the father of Yoram. Yoram became the father of `Uzziyah. `Uzziyah became the father of Yotam. Yotam became the father of Achaz. Achaz became the father of Hizkiyahu. Hizkiyahu became the father of Menashsheh. Menashsheh became the father of Amon. Amon became the father of Yoshiyahu. Yoshiyahu became the father of Yekhonyah and his brothers, at the time of the exile to Bavel. After the exile to Bavel, Yekhonyah became the father of She’alti’el. She’alti’el became the father of Zerubbavel. Zerubbavel became the father of Avichud. Avichud became the father of Elyakim. Elyakim became the father of Azur. Azur became the father of Tzadok. Tzadok became the father of Yakhin. Yakhin became the father of Eliud. Eliud became the father of El`azar. El`azar became the father of Mattan. Mattan became the father of Ya`akov. Ya`akov became the father of Yosef, the husband of Miryam, from whom was born Yeshua, who is called Messiah. – Matthew 1:1-16 (Emphasis Mine)

Yoseph (or Yosef) was not the father of Yeshua. He was the husband of Mirriam (or Miryam). That’s a big difference; Especially since Mirriam is still a virgin. Or is it?

Halakhah (Jewish law) states that the first born son has the right of inheritance. Halakhah is exceptionally detailed in virtually all areas that it touches. But halakhah does not specify if the right of inheritance is only for the natural son or if an adopted son also qualifies. Since halakhah is so detailed, it would appear that it does not matter if the son is natural or adopted. Since Yoseph accepted Mirriam and married her, even though she was with child, then it can be assumed (especially based upon his later actions) that he adopted Yeshua as his own son. Therefore Yeshua would have had the right of inheritance and would have inherited Yoseph’s tribal affiliation as well.*

(*Author’s NOTE: I am awaiting word from my Rabbi regarding the right of inheritance and whether tribal affiliation would be considered an inheritance or not. I will update the post when I get a reply. Until then, we will assume that tribal affiliation is NOT passed through the right of inheritance.)

Yoseph is obviously from Beit Yehudah, but based on this genealogy, if the tribal affiliation is not passed by right of inheritance, then Yeshua is not. So we are left with two questions:
 
1) If Yoseph is not Yeshua’s biological father, then why make Yoseph’s lineage so clear and important? (Could this be partial proof that tribal affiliation is passed via right of inheritance?)
 
2) If Yeshua is not of the tribe of Yehudah, doesn’t that mean that either the above prophecies are wrong or Yeshua does not fulfill this requirement of Messiah? (Either of which means that Yeshua is not the Messiah.)

Moving on, Luke 3:23-38, gives a different account of Yeshua’s genealogy.

Yeshua himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Yosef, the son of Eli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Malki, the son of Yannai, the son of Yosef, the son of Mattityahu, the son of `Amos, the son of Nachum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai, the son of Machat, the son of Mattityahu, the son of Shim`i, the son of Yosef, the son of Yehudah, the son of Yochanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbavel, the son of She’alti’el, the son of Neri, the son of Malki, the son of Addi, the son of Kosam, the son of Elmadan, the son of `Er, the son of Yeshua, the son of Eli`ezer, the son of Yoram, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Shim`on, the son of Yehudah, the son of Yosef, the son of Yonam, the son of Elyakim, the son of Mal’ah, the son of Manah, the son of Mattatah, the son of Natan, the son of David, the son of Yishai, the son of `Oved, the son of Bo`az, the son of Salmon, the son of Nachshon, the son of `Amminadav, the son of Aram, the son of Yoram, the son of Hetzron, the son of Peretz, the son of Yehudah, the son of Ya`akov, the son of Yitzchak, the son of Avraham, the son of Terach, the son of Nachor, the son of Serug, the son of Re`u, the son of Peleg, the son of `Ever, the son of Shelach the son of Kenan, the son of Arpakhshad, the son of Shem, the son of Noach, the son of Lamekh, the son of Metushelach, the son of Hanokh, the son of Yered, the son of Mahalal’el, the son of Kenan, the son of Enosh, the son of Shet, the son of Adam, the son of God. – Luke 3:23-38 (Emphasis Mine)

Huh? Didn’t Matthew 1:1-16 just say that Yoesph was the son of Ya’akov? So why does Luke 3:23-38 say that Yoseph was the son of Eli? Does Yoseph have two fathers? Well, actually, yes he does. Rather, he has a father and a father-in-law (aka – Mirriam’s father). Notice that the genealogies given are different from the point of Yoseph on down. Obviously they aren’t the same genealogy. So why the difference.

Believe it or not, the answer lies partly in the Talmud. Chagigah (or Haggigah) 77:4 in the Yerushalami (Jerusalem Talmud) names Eli (Greek: Heli) as Mirriam’s father. So the genealogy in Luke 3 would be that of Yeshua, through His mother’s family.

However, in Jewish tradition and custom, “Jewishness” comes through the mother while the tribal affiliation comes through the father. There is only one exception to this:

“Therefore, tell the Israelites; If a man dies without leaving a son, you shall let his heritage pass on to his daughter.” – Numbers 27:8

“This is what the Lord commands with regard to the daughters of Salphahad: They may marry anyone they please, provided they marry into a clan of their ancestral tribe, so that no heritage of the Israelites will pass from one tribe to another, but all the Israelites will retain their own ancestral heritage.” – Numbers 36:6-7

Could it be that Mirriam fulfilled these requirements and, thereby, passed her “Jewishness” and tribal affiliation to her son, Yeshua?

I couldn’t find any mention of Mirriam having brothers, but I did find mention of her having a sister in John 19:25. 

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. – John 19:25 (Emphasis mine)

As males are the head of the house and family, I would assume that some mention would be made of them had they existed. Since no mention is made of any brothers, but special mention is made of a sister, is it safe to assume that Mirriam had no brothers and so fulfilled the requirements of Numbers 27:8? I believe it to be so.

If the genealogy in Luke is Yeshua’s lineage to David through Mirriam, then He (Yeshua) would be of the tribe of Yehuda as required by Deuteronomy 17:15, Genesis 49:10, and 2 Samuel 7:12-13. But if Mirriam is of a different tribe, then Yeshua couldn’t be Messiah.

Now consider that Chagigah 77:4 of the Yerushalami states that Eli is the name of Mirriam’s father, and we have proven that Mirriam was of the tribe of Yehudah and married into the tribe of Yehudah (Matthew 1:1-16 proves Yoseph’s genealogy). If Mirriam did fulfill the obligations set forth in both Num 27:8 and Num 36:6-7, then she proves to be Yeshua’s link to King David and the tribe of Yehudah as required by Deuteronomy 17:15, Genesis 49:10, and 2 Samuel 7:12-13.

And, if tribal affiliation does pass through right of inheritance (as I believe it does), then Yeshua has a double link to King David and the tribe of Yehudah.

To sum up, I believe that the genealogy in Matthew is Yoseph’s and the genealogy in Luke is Mirriam’s. Both are from the tribe of Yehudah, which gives Yeshua a biological link to Yehudah through Mirriam and an adoptive link to Yehudah through Yoseph.

So, is Yeshua from the tribe of Yehudah? Yes, Yeshua is from the tribe of Yehuda either through His mother, or through His adoptive father, or through both.

I will post an update on Rabbi’s answer regarding the tribal affiliation and right of inheritance when I get it. He may (read: will probably) have some insight into something(s) I missed.

Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalayim,

Jason

UPDATE I: Prior to the return of the Hebrews from Babylon, the “Jewishness” of a person passed through the patrilineal line (i.e. – the father). However, so many Hebrew women were raped by the Babylonians that it became impossible to determine who a child’s father was and whether that child was a Jew or not. So the rabbis determined that a change was needed and switched to the matrilineal line for determining if a person was Hebrew or not. This makes sense because, while the father may have been Hebrew or Babylonian, the mother would definately be Hebrew. However, this rabbinic decision actually conflicts with Torah which always places the Hebrew lineage through the males.

EXAMPLE: Adonai is the G-d of Avraham, Yitzhak, and Ya’akov.

Update II: Rabbi Levy also confirmed that under Jewish law, there is no differance between adopted and natural born children. When a child is adopted, they become that person’s child. Period. End of story. So Yoseph’s adoption of Yeshua would place Him in the line of Yehudah.

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Tags: Bible Study, Genealogy, Mirriam, Yeshua, Yoseph

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