“Zerubbabel was
The father of Abiud.
Abiud was
The father of Eliakim
Eliakim was
The father of Azor.
Azor was
The father of Zadok.
Zadok was
The father of Achim.
Achim was
The father of Eliud.
Eliud was
The father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was
The father of Matthan.
Matthan was
The father of Jacob.
Ζοροβαβὲλ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἀβιούδ, Ἀβιοὺδ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἐλιακείμ, Ἐλιακεὶμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἀζώρ, Ἀζὼρ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Σαδώκ, Σαδὼκ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἀχείμ, Ἀχεὶμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἐλιούδ, Ἐλιοὺδ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἐλεάζαρ, Ἐλεάζαρ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Μαθθάν, Μαθθὰν δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰακώβ,
Up until this point, all the people mentioned in this genealogy could be found in other works of the Old Testament. However, other than Zerubbabel, the first governor of Judah under the Persian rule, all the other names cannot be found in the Hebrew writings. It is unclear where Matthew got these 9 generations of names, but he must have had some source, since he was so meticulous following 1 Chronicles. Zerubbabel (Ζοροβαβὲλ) was Abiud’s father. Abiud (Ἀβιούδ) was the father of Eliakim (Ἐλιακείμ,), while he was the father of Azor (Ἀζώρ). He, in turn was the father of Zadok (Σαδώκ), whose son was Achim (Ἀχείμ). His son was Eliud (Ἐλιούδ). Eliud’s son was Eleazar (Ἐλεάζαρ), whose son was Matthan (Μαθθάν). Matthan was the father of Jacob (Ἰακώβ). The Greek text used the term “begat” (ἐγέννησεν) to represent the relationships between these 9 men. However, it seems perfectly acceptable to simply call them the father instead of saying “fathered them.”