We are not concerned to ask at this point whether the Genealogy ever existed independently of the Gospel, and is thus a source which the Evangelist has worked up and incorporated in his own work. The question we have to consider is whether Mt. i. 1-17 is a genuine part of the Gospel.
The case in favour of this view is overwhelmingly strong. Its [pg 096] weight lies in the fact that the peculiar characteristics of the Genealogy (p. 89 f.) are the peculiar characteristics of the rest of the Gospel.
(1) This is manifest in the strong interest taken in the Davidic Sonship. “The Gospel according to Matthew may be called The Book of Jesus Christ, the Son of David ... The special aim of Matthew, in one word, is to represent our Lord as the legitimate Heir of the royal house of David” (Burkitt, Evan. Da-Meph., ii, p. 259). We may partially illustrate this claim by the New Testament record of the term “Son of David”. There are 8 instances in Mt. other than i. 1, and 6 in the rest of the New Testament (3 in Mk. and 3 in Lk.). The regal aspect of Christ's Sonship is also illustrated in Mt. xix. 28, xxv. 34 (cf. Allen, op. cit., p. lxiv).
(2) As regards the artificial structure of the Genealogy, we may note that this too is characteristic of the First Evangelist's manner. He is fond of arranging his material in groups of threes. Allen enumerates twenty-three instances outside cc. i, ii (ib., p. lxv). Similarly the double seven reflects “the author's penchant for that sacred number” (Moffatt, INT., p. 250, who notes four other examples (p. 257)).
(3) We are unable to illustrate from the rest of the Gospel the legal use of γεννάω, but where else save in the Genealogy could we expect to find it? It is the unique character of the Genealogy which requires that usage. On the other hand, the point of view which determines the usage is the point of view of cc. i, ii as a whole. As in i. 1-17, so in i. 18-ii. 23, the standpoint is that of a writer who desires to combine two diverse beliefs, the Virgin Birth and the Messiahship of Jesus.
(4) The apologetic motive manifest in the Genealogy is also characteristic of the First Gospel. Not only is the same motive present in every section of cc. i, ii, but in other connexions and in every part of the Gospel, the desire to defend and to interpret is evident; notably this is the case in the story of the Baptism, the account of the Guard at the Tomb and the Resurrection narratives.[90]
(5) The nature of the Genealogy leaves little room for the linguistic test. “Yet even here we have the characteristic λεγόμενος in v. 16, and the objective way that the writer speaks of ‘the Christ’ in v. 17 is quite in the manner of Mt. xi. 2” (Burkitt, op. cit., p. 259).
Taken together these arguments justify us in concluding that Mt. i. 1-17 comes from the Evangelist's pen.