Thoughts and questions on Matt 1:16 - "gowra"

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Perhaps the Joseph listed in Luke 3 isn't Mary's husband, but her uncle, Joseph of Arimathea. There are traditions which have him related to Mary. An uncle would be a natural guardian, if, for example, Mary's father had died.

So close! I think you had the right idea, but the wrong genealogy!

It appears that the 'Joseph' of Matthew 1.16 is indeed Joseph of Arimathea who is the uncle of Mary. I recently did a report breaking it down, with a companion video answering Tovia Singer, and show how this was necessary in order for Yeshua to fulfill the promise of the Davidic Messiah through Solomon despite the curse placed on the royal male line (Jer 22.30) in combination with a little-known statute in Numbers 27 that allows the inheritance to pass from the paternal to maternal line - to the Messiah Yeshua - and also remain sinless in order to fulfill the prophecy of being our "asham" offering (most holy per Lev 7.1) in Isaiah 53.10.

Here's a snippet:

The answer as to why "gebrah" was used in the Peshitta which breaks the flow of the genealogy is somewhat of a mystery but it suggests he was her caretaker and protector while also a family member of the generation previous to Mary. The simplest and most logical explanation is Mary's father was dead and had no sons just like the legal scenario in Numbers 27.1-11 (otherwise the inheritance would not have transferred to his daughter Mary in the event that he may still have a son before death) and the 'Joseph' of verse 16 is her uncle through whom Mary received the inheritance of her paternal lineage going back to Solomon in accordance with the statute outlined in the above verses of Numbers 27.

In this case, Mary would then pass the paternal inheritance, and messianic candidacy, to her son Jesus according to the flesh, in accordance with Torah law, while also satisfying other unique messianic prophesies including the indication of being sinless as a guilt-offering ("asham") per Isa 53.10, and worthy of the extraordinary and highly exalted even divine titles (cf Jer 23.5-6; Isa 11.2-3) given to the promised son in Isaiah's prophesies accompanied by signs from heaven (as mentioned below). One could even say God's comment in 1Chronicles 17.13 in the Davidic covenant, also used elsewhere, becomes literally fulfilled in this case: "I will be his father and he shall be My son." Similarly, the original messianic prophesy of the Seed of the woman in Genesis 3.15 takes on a new literal significance in retrospect. One might even say it’s as if the word of God was made flesh.

The only other two Josephs identified in the gospels, other than Mary’s husband, living during the time of Jesus and Mary include one of Mary's other sons named Joseph, and the other is Joseph of Arimathea.

In some deep and very interesting traditions (on which the later elaborations of the holy grail legends are based) Joseph of Arimathea is said to be Mary's uncle (watch this space for more info). The scriptures describe him as a good and righteous man (Lk 23.50), a secret disciple of Christ (Jn 19.38) as well as a rich and powerful member of the Sanhedrin (Mt 27.57-58, Mk 15.43) who held enough sway to meet with Pilate on short notice and request the body of Christ -- which makes sense of why Joseph was allowed to place Him in his own tomb (Mat 27.59-60, cf. Isa 53.9) which, if not mistaken, could only be done for family members as they were typically family tombs. The Jewish Encyclopedia entry on tombs confirms this idea and uses Joseph of Arimathea as an example (https://imgur.com/a/be0W0yF).

In any case, the above explanation is the simplest one that preserves the logical flow of the plain meaning of the text and the contextual framework as well as the explicit numbering of 14 generations given by Matthew, and is in accordance with Torah law, the Davidic covenant, and other prophetic considerations including from Isaiah, Jeremiah and Daniel.

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Full report:
https://openthematrix.wordpress.com/2023...-examined/

Let me know what you guys think or if you find any issues I should revisit, clarify, expand on, etc.