Matthew 1:18 γένεσις

[jkgayle]

This Greek word, γένεσις, seems so clearly to refer to the birth of Jesus. And so does γεννηθέντος, in 2:1.

it puts it in the context of the "genealogy" that comes before it (from the January 1 reading yesterday). Why the semantic shift? Aren't Mt 1:1 and then Mt 1:18 and 2:1 all focused on the genetics, the genes, the physicality of the origin of Jesus?

 

Aren't these nods to the LXX "Genesis"? It seems that Βίβλος γενέσεως Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ is a riff off of, or some reference to, αὕτη ἡ βίβλος γενέσεως ἀνθρώπων of Gen 5:1 and αὕτη ἡ βίβλος γενέσεως οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς of Gen 2:4. It's sort of weird to think of how human beings came to be "born" and how the sky and the earth happened to have a "birth." And yet aren't readers of Matthew here able to make these connections? (A further one out is what the LXX translators seem to be riffing off of, the ancient Greek obsession with procreation. Here, for example, is how Aristotle's "Generation of Animals" gets into some of this. Did the LXX translators read that? Did Matthew? How are readers of the LXX and of Matthew's gospel supposed to read in light of this biological birth stuff? Τὸ δὲ θῆλυ καὶ τὸ ἄρρεν ὅτι μέν εἰσιν ἀρχαὶ γενέσεως εἴρηται πρότερον, καὶ τίς ἡ δύναμις καὶ ὁ λόγος τῆς οὐσίας αὐτῶν· .... ἐπεὶ δὲ τούτων ἀρχὴ τὸ θῆλυ καὶ τὸ ἄρρεν, ἕνεκα τῆς γενέσεως ἂν εἴη τὸ θῆλυ καὶ τὸ ἄρρεν ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν ἑκάτερον τούτων .... συνέρχεται δὲ καὶ μίγνυται πρὸς τὴν ἐργασίαν τῆς γενέσεως τῷ θήλει τὸ ἄρρεν· αὕτη γὰρ κοινὴ ἀμφοτέροις. Matthew's inclusion of females in chapter 1 seems salient to this notion of births requiring them, no?)

I guess what I'm trying to ask is how everyone else reads the semantic ranges of Matthew's γένεσις.

Edited January 2, 2018 by jkgayle

[Abram K-J]

I really enjoy reading these ruminations. I noticed the word repetition, but didn't think it through at this level.

BDAG has, for #3 in the γένεσις entry, "an account of someone’s life, history, life," and then cites Matt. 1:1 specifically. Could the sense of the word, understood in this way, be the same between 1:1 and 1:18?

 

Is it reading too much onto Matthew to say that the genealogy is part of the origin of Jesus, in the sense that all of human/Israel's history was leading up to his birth/incarnation? Certainly 1:22, 2:6, and Matthew's other prophecy fulfillment verses could support this idea.

[jkgayle]

I like your reply, Abram. I clicked, then, on the little button under your comment, "Like This." And this is what follows: a message window pops up with this message in it:
 

An error occurred

You have reached your quota of positive votes for the day

 

What's up with that?

[Abram K-J]

Hmmm... weird. Maybe one of the forum admins can help, if they see this. May our "likes" be generous and plentiful in 2018! 

[jkgayle]

That seemed to work that time! Maybe one saw and did something. Yes, May our "likes" be generous and plentiful in 2018!