Paragraph 1:2–6a

This paragraph contains the first group of fourteen names of men in the family line of Jesus. It starts with the oldest ancestor, Abraham, and ends with David. It is important that you make clear that the list goes in the order of ancestor (or “father”) to descendant (or “son”).

1:2a

Abraham was the father of Isaac: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as was the father of means “caused to be born” or “brought into being.” This Greek verb can also be translated in English by the verb “fathered.”

Isaac the father of Jacob: The same Greek verb that was in the previous clause occurs here and in each clause until the end of this genealogy at 1:16a. However, in this clause, and in many of the claues in this genealogy, the Berean Standard Bible does not translate the clauses with a verb. In many languages, it will be more natural to repeat the verb in each clause. For example:

Isaac was the father of Jacob. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Isaac fathered Jacob

1:2b

Judah and his brothers: Some of Judah’s brothers were older than he was and some were younger. If your language has different words for “older brother” and “younger brother,” you should use these two words here. For example:

Judah and his older-brothers and younger-brothers

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