So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the exile to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the carrying away to Babylon to the Christ, fourteen generations.
World English Bible
Matthew 1:17
This verse is examined in more than one Scripture Analysis section. Each lens is shown on its own terms, in the section's own words; GEBible reaches no verdict of its own.
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Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (3)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
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What were the generations from David to the Babylonian Captivity?
1 Chronicles 3:1-16 lists eighteen generations of Judahite kings between David and Jeconiah, the king carried off to Babylon. Matthew 1:6-11 lists fourteen, and Matthew 1:17 explicitly insists there were fourteen "generations from David until the carrying away into Babylon."
Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.
Genealogy
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
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How many generations from Jesus to Abraham?
Matthew 1:17 states explicitly: 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 from David to the deportation, 14 from the deportation to Christ — 42 total. Count the actual names in Matthew 1:1-17 and you get 41.
Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.
Numbers
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
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How many generations were between the Babylonian captivity and Jesus?
Matthew 1:17 states there are 14 generations from the deportation to Babylon to Christ. Matthew 1:12-16 actually lists Jechonias, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim, Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, Joseph, Jesus — that's 13 begettings if Jechonias is the last pre-exilic figure, or 13 distinct individuals after Jechonias.
Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.
Numbers
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
Each section sets the viewpoints side by side; you weigh the evidence. Here, "critical scholarship" means academic study, not a value judgment. How this is built →
Other verses examined for the same kind of question or claim
Within each section, grouped by shared field or question type — not a cross-section comparison.
Cite this page
This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.
"Matthew 1:17 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/matthew/1/17?version=WEB (retrieved 27 August 2026).