Matthew 1:16

I've been studying Matthew 1 the last couple of weeks in preparation for some Christmas messages. Interesting text variants are found in 1:16: "And Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, who gave birth to Jesus who is called the Messiah" [HCSB]. Commentaries always discuss this verse because it is theologically crucial.

Nearly all the Greek manuscripts as well as early versions reflect the reading that is tranlated above. In effect the translation shows Joseph as Mary's husband and that Jesus was born "through" her. Jesus then is not the natural child of Joseph.

There are two other principle variants. Some manuscripts, primarily Caesarean, read: "Jacob was the father of Joseph, to whom being engaged, the virgin Mary bore Jesus, who is called Messiah." This reading seems to read-back information from 1:18-25 into this passage, making it secondary. Also if this reading is orginal it is hard to explain the first reading. Why would a scribe change such a clear expression of Mary's virginity?

The most controversial reading comes from the Sinaitic Syriac: "Joseph to whom was betrothed Mary the virgin, begot Jesus who is called the Christ." This reading allows for a denial of the virgin birth, although Mary is still described as a virgin. It seems to me that the reading shows Joseph as the legal not physical father of Jesus. Be that as it may, the text is not found in any Greek manuscripts of the NT.

A full discussion of the readings can be found in Metzger's commentary [2-6]. In a nutshell, the external evidence for the third reading is weak. The two variants likely arose from the more well-attested reading. Obviously, as Turner points out in his commentary [62], Matthew certainly did not mean to communicate in 1:16 that Joseph was the biological father of Jesus.