1:3a

Perez and Zerah: Both Perez and Zerah are male names.

by Tamar: The phrase by Tamar indicates that Tamar was the mother of both Perez and Zerah.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

whose mother was Tamar (New International Version)
-or-
(their mother was Tamar) (Good News Translation)
-or-
The mother of these two men was Tamar

Matthew mentioned mothers four times in this list of ancestors: 1:3a, 1:5a, 1:5b, 1:6b. All the rest of the names in this genealogy are names of the fathers or male ancestors.

1:3b

Ram: Most English versions spell this name Ram. A few versions (New Revised Standard Version and King James Version) spell it Aram. You should follow the spelling of the national language version, but spell it according to the rules of your language.

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