Mt 1:17 – ‘So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to Christ, fourteen generations.’

The differences between Matthew’s and Luke’s genealogy of Jesus have been discussed elsewhere.

But what should we make of Matthew’s division of his genealogy into three groups of fourteen?

Matthew says that between Abraham and David were fourteen generations; between David and Exile were another fourteen generations; and between the Exile and Jesus were yet another fourteen generations.…