St Jerome suggested that all
the women were sinners, Martin Luther made popular the theory that they were
all foreigners, while more recent scholars have argued that it is a ploy used
by Matthew in his debate with the Jewish argument that Jesus had no claims on
the Davidic dynasty. While each of these suggestions give some guidance, they
fail to satisfy totally, especially when all five women in the genealogy,
including Mary, of whom Jesus was born (v. 16), must be accounted for. They are
not all sinners, they are not all foreigners, and the debate over the
legitimacy of Jesus’ Davidic lineage seems to be a later question.
There are three features
which can be attributed to all five women:
1. Teach
of the women mentioned plays a fundamental role at major turning points in the history
of God’s people. Tamar continues God’s line after the death of Er and Onan (see
Gen 46:12). Rahab is the heroine at Jericho, where Israel enters the promised
land (see Josh 2:1-21; 6:17—25). Ruth is the mother of Obed, the grandfather of
David (see Ruth 4:18-22). Bathsheba conceives Solomon by David, and with the
guidance of the prophet Nathan establishes her son as the continuation of the
Davidic line (see I Kings 1:11-2:9). Mary was the woman ‘of whom Jesus was
born, who is called Christ’ (Mt 1:16).
2. In
every case there is something irregular in the sexual situation. It was a
scandal to those who were outside the mystery of God’s plan working through
them. That this was the case with Mary is clearly indicated by vv. 18b-19: ‘When
his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was
found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just
man, and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly’.
3. Despite
the irregularities, all of these women, including Mary, showed initiative and
courage when they were called by God to preserve the God-willed line of his
Messiah. They are all seen by Matthew as integral to God’s plan, shown through
the strangeness of his ways through the unfolding of history. (Francis J. Moloney,
Mary: Woman and Mother [West St. Paul, Minn.: St. Paul Publications,
1988, Repr., Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2009], 10-11)