Christ Came Through Solomon and Bathsheba. How did David's Son Nathan Come in to It? Reconcile the Genealogies in Matthew 1 and Luke 3?
1) Direct answer
There is no contradiction. Matthew gives the royal, legal line to Joseph through David’s son Solomon. Luke gives the natural, blood line to Mary through David’s son Nathan. Joseph is named in Luke “as was supposed” because he was the husband, the legal head; but the descent there runs through Mary, whose father was Heli. So Jesus has the legal right to David’s throne through Joseph (Solomon’s line) and the blood of David through Mary (Nathan’s line), all without being Joseph’s physical son.
2) Scriptural explanation
- Matthew’s record: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1), traces from Abraham down to “Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus” (Matthew 1:16). Notice it never says Joseph begat Jesus. It’s the royal succession through Solomon (Matthew 1:6-7).
- Luke’s record: “Jesus… being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli” (Luke 3:23), then traces back through Nathan, not Solomon (Luke 3:31). “As was supposed” marks that men thought Joseph was the father, but he was not.
- The virgin birth: “A virgin shall conceive” (Isaiah 7:14). “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee… that holy thing… shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). So Jesus is not Joseph’s seed.
- Yet He must be David’s seed: “Made of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3). Mary is of David (Luke 1:27), and the Lord gives Him “the throne of His father David” (Luke 1:32).
- The Jeconiah barrier: God said of Coniah/Jeconiah, “no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David” (Jeremiah 22:30). Matthew’s legal line runs through Jeconiah (Matthew 1:11-12). If Jesus were Joseph’s physical son, He would be under that judgment. But He wasn’t Joseph’s seed; He was born of a virgin. Thus:
- Legal right comes by Joseph’s line through Solomon (Matthew).
- Blood descent comes by Mary’s line through Nathan (Luke), bypassing Jeconiah.
3) Simple clarifying logic
- Two sons of David cannot both be Joseph’s fathers. So one record is Joseph’s legal line (Matthew), and the other is Mary’s natural line (Luke), with Joseph named as “son” of Heli by marriage (a son-in-law). That fits the wording “as was supposed.”
- Matthew is about the throne—kingship—so it follows Solomon. Luke is about true humanity all the way to Adam, so it follows Mary’s bloodline through Nathan.
- God guarded the promise perfectly: Jesus is truly David’s Son by Mary, yet not under Jeconiah’s curse; and He holds the legal title through Joseph.
4) Reinforcing statement
You see, the Bible fits like a glove. The virgin birth, Davidic promises, and the two branches—Solomon and Nathan—come together in Christ without a single break in the Scripture.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Faith once delivered to the saints
57-0610 §29
And then on his road over, Philip probably instructed him and telling him, "Now, when you come up, come up believing. Go up there and just stand in the line. Watch and see what takes place." Oh, I can hear Nathanael say, "I don't know whether I could believe that or not." "Well, just go and find out. Come on, go with me." And around the mountain they came, and they found Jesus praying for the sick, or whatever His duty was to do that day. And when they found Him, Jesus seen Nathanael coming, and He said, "Behold, a...
As I was with Moses, so will I be with thee
60-0911M §45
This great harlot, Rahab, become a believer. I took her history here not long ago. After she was considered and brought into the faith (because of her belief in God, she was brought into Israelite faith, a proselyte), she courted a general in the army, of the Israelite army. Watch what God did for that woman. And they had a... They moved up in Bethlehem and they had a son. And this son, they called him Boaz. Out of Boaz ... he married Ruth, from Ruth and Boaz come Jesse; out of Jesse come David; out of David come J...
Trying to do God a service without it being His will
65-0718M §25
Notice, David got the revelation. And notice, it was not the prophet Nathanael that got the revelation; it was David the king that got the revelation. Neither was Nathanael consulted about them. He never asked Nathanael. But did you see here in I Chronicles? He consulted captains of thousands and captains of hundreds. He never consulted Nathanael. He consulted the people, and he consulted also the priests and the theologians of that day, the scribes and the theologians. David consulted first, said, "If this be of G...
My commission
51-0505 §18
came someone to Him one time. Nathanael went and got his brother. That's just where this Angel referred to. Or, Philip went and got Nathanael. And when he came, Jesus said, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile." He said, "Whence knowest Thou me, Rabbi?" He said, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the tree." And watch his heart. Now, he could've backed off and said, "There's some kind of a trick to this." He would've never received the blessing that he did. But he said, "Thou art the C...
And then Jesus came
57-1213 §44
Jesus said, "Search the Scripture, for they are they that testify of Me." Search the Scriptures. And when Nathanael came and brought him, and He performed the miracle by telling him where he was before he came to the meeting, why, he recognized. He said, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God, the King of Israel." The Samaritan woman said, "We know ... I know that You're a prophet. You must be a prophet otherwise, but we know that when the Messiah cometh that's called Christ, He will tell us these things. But I don't know...