A lesson about St. Joseph & reading the Bible

Some people complain that there is nothing to learn or be inspired about in parts of the Bible where there is "just a list of names" and so forth. That's wrong! And I'm pleased to show you a wonderful example of how much there is to appreciate in the Bible "word by word." After you read this blog post you'll wonder why you never were told this before. Well, part of it is because it is forgotten knowledge as people through the ages understand less and less the information that families routinely conveyed in their native languages in the simplest way. The example I will teach here is about the lineage of St. Joseph. Many people wish that the Bible reported more about St. Joseph the man. However they miss a wonderful vastness of insight that is right there in the black and white in the beginning of Matthew when Matthew records the ancestry of Jesus through Joseph who, of course, was the stepfather to Jesus.

By background, think about how you come up with a name for a baby in our modern society. While sometimes parents still name their child after a member of the family or a saint or historic figure, more often parents try to come up with "funky" and "unique" names. During Biblical times, however, this was very different. A child tended to be named in a manner that reflects how the child's father feels about the child and God. The Bible explains this over and over but I think people nowadays forget this. An obvious example is if you prayed to God for a child and were blessed with a child, you would tend to name the child a name that expressed your thanks to God. But I think people today think those were the exceptions, like special circumstances where a child is named in gratitude toward God, or that's what "the holy people did." Actually virtually everyone, rich or poor, priestly or secular family, named their child to reference their mindset toward the child and God. Knowing that and knowing some Hebrew (you can use a Bible glossary) you can discover a wealth of knowledge about Joseph by reading his family tree. I use the spellings from my St. Joseph edition childhood Bible since those are the ones I am most comfortable with.

Starting with the first ancestor who is born of the last King of Israel at the time the Israelites are captured and exiled to Babylon:

Jechonias "God will establish"
Salathiel "Request from God"
Zorobabel "Begotten in Babylon"
Abiud "Father of praise"
Eliachim "God is raising"
Azor "Helpful"
Sadoc "Righteous" (also the name of an ancient priest under David)
Achim "Whom God makes firm"
Eliud "God of majesty"
Eleazar "God is helper"
Matthan "Gift"
Jacob "Supplanter"
Joseph "He shall add"
Jesus "God Saves"

The key to reading this, and it is a great meditation exercise, is to read the meaning of a name and understand that this is how the father of the named child viewed his son at birth. The easy example is Salathiel naming his son Zorobabel "Begotten in Babylon" because obviously the little infant boy was conceived during the captivity in Babylon. Another example is St. Joseph's great great grandfather Eliud named his son Eleazar to honor or acknowledge that "God is [his] helper." So you can see that St. Joseph came from a pious family, you don't have to surmise or assume it, because it is assured in the names as they were given in those days. Joseph's great grandfather viewed his son Matthan as a "gift." Joseph 's grandfather named his son after the patriarch Jacob. The meaning of Jacob also is "supplanter," which can indicate a substitute or an improvement or an appeal (as in supplicate) for betterment. Joseph would have likely have known not only his father Jacob, but also his grandfather Matthan and possibly even his great grandfather Eleazar. Jacob named his son Joseph which means "He will add." One has to wonder if Jacob had some holy foresight because indeed did Joseph "add" by becoming the stepfather of the Savior and Messiah Jesus. But as part of understanding the mindset of a proud father back then, understand that Jacob would have been hearkening back to the ancestral Joseph of Egypt and also expressing faith that his little boy Joseph would grow up to be a father who "shall add" to the family. The careful keeping of these ancestral records informs the careful Bible reader that this secret and quiet offshoot of David's family recognized and enjoyed a personal relationship with God. Even though these generations were poor and powerless the names that they gave their sons right up to Joseph is vivid proof of their relationship with God as they praise God's "making firm," "majesty," "helper," "gift" right to the venerable names of Jacob and Joseph. They had a sense of destiny and personal involvement with God even as they were in anonymous poverty.

There are some other things you can surmise about the family of Joseph. Joseph is known to be poor, but also of the house of David. Here's some history you need to know. When the Babylonians destroyed the Temple and captured the Israelites, taking them away to Babylon in captivity, they took them in several waves, starting with the rich and working down to the "middle class." The very poor were able to remain in Israel and many did so. One of the great prophets of the Bible remained poor and with the poor to evade captivity. So by looking at this lineage you can learn that Joseph's ancestors of the house of David were of enough material importance that they were captives in Babylon "Begotten in Babylon" but you can surmise that Joseph's ancestors intermarried with the poor Israelites who were not captive in Babylon. You can surmise this from the names "Father of praise," "God is raising," "Helpful," "Righteous," and "Whom God makes firm" because these five generational names have the tone of humility and faith but not riches.

Also you must understand that Joseph descends from the last King of Israel before the captivity, Josias, but Joseph's lineage is from Josias' son Jechonias, who is not a political or royal player at all. Joseph is from the invisible lineage of David. Joseph's family continued to trace their lineage through the captivity even though they had no part in the royal or political process. This is why there is no mention of the men from Jechonias to Joseph in the Bible. Therefore this lineage in Matthew is the revelation of the secret lineage to David that was maintained but not lived openly in the times of captivity and since then (since there were no longer kings of Israel anyway. With the last king, the son of Josias, the kingship was eliminated and the Jewish priests ruled the groups of captives and communities of poor but free Israelites). Matthew was given, probably directly by Mary's information, the lineage of Joseph that was preserved throughout the captivity and the elimination of the house of David from political or royal public standing.

I hope you find this interesting. I know people love "secret King" fictions and fantasies about the lineage of Jesus, yet they ignore the most obvious and wonderful story that is right there in truth in black and white, which is the lineage of Joseph. I can imagine some wonderful historical fiction movies about some of Joseph's ancestors and how life was during captivity and after, and their keeping of the faith in poverty and oppression. Now THAT would be fine film making instead of DaVinchicrap.