Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Matthew 1:3 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 3. 3And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Names Tamar within the Judah-to-Pharez generation and continues through Esrom.
Read It With
- Matthew 1:1–1:17
Matthew 1:3 names Tamar within the Judah-to-Pharez generation and continues through Esrom; within Matthew 1:1–1:17, it contributes to this controlling movement: Matthew opens by naming Jesus as Messiah, son of David and Abraham, and arranges Israel's ancestry in three remembered sequences that include women, kings, exile, and Joseph.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Names Tamar within the Judah-to-Pharez generation and continues through Esrom. This precise contribution belongs inside “Jesus' genealogy names a covenant history” because Matthew opens by naming Jesus as Messiah, son of David and Abraham, and arranges Israel's ancestry in three remembered sequences that include women, kings, exile, and Joseph.
Read Matthew 1:2–17 together
Why these verses belong together: The ancestry names form one crafted genealogical sequence whose omissions, women, exile, and three-fourteen summary must be interpreted together.
Verse 2. 2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
Verse 3. 3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
Verse 4. 4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;
Verse 5. 5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
Verse 6. 6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
Verse 7. 7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;
Verse 8. 8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;
Verse 9. 9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;
Verse 10. 10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;
Verse 11. 11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:
Verse 12. 12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;
Verse 13. 13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;
Verse 14. 14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;
Verse 15. 15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;
Verse 16. 16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Verse 17. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
What Remains True
Because Matthew 1:3 names Tamar within the Judah-to-Pharez generation and continues through Esrom, faithful readers should preserve this verse's exact role, first setting, affected people, and the complete movement of Matthew 1:1–1:17 before naming an enduring conclusion.
How It Can Shape Life
- For Matthew 1:3, first state this verse-specific contribution—names Tamar within the Judah-to-Pharez generation and continues through Esrom; then explain it inside Matthew 1:1–1:17; preserve the source-controlled uncertainty—The genealogy is a crafted theological genealogy; its arrangement, omissions, women, and numerical pattern should not be forced into modern biological completeness or harmonized silently with Luke.; and refuse this misuse: This genealogy does not rank ethnic worth, erase the named women, excuse patriarchal harm, or make Jewish ancestry a disposable preface.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Matthew 1:1–1:17 — Jesus' genealogy names a covenant historySources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Matthew 1:1–1:17, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control without treating one edition as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file data/sblgnt/text/Matt.txt, Matthew 1:1–1:17
Open the Matthew Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for the expressions actually discussed in this thought unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data TAGNT rows for Matthew 1:1–1:17
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Matthew with Translators' and Textual Notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, historical, Jewish-background, and Synoptic notes for this unit.
Exact location: NET Bible Matthew PDF, printed pp. 1808-1867, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 1:1–1:17
Open source ↗