In this genealogy, there are 4 women mentioned. Now, it is unusual enough to find women listed in a Jewish genealogy, but if you were to look for matriarchs listed in ancestors of Jesus, you would expect to find godly women; women like Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah. These 4 women stand out because they are missing. Instead, Matthew lists 4 other women. He lists, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and “her who had been the wife of Uriah.” Now, what was it that made these 4 women stand out?
*v3 Tamar – If you remember, Tamar was Judah’s daughter-in-law. Her first 2 husbands died, and she was childless. So, she dressed like a prostitute, slept with her father-in-law Judah, and gave birth to his son. She was guilty of incest.
*v5 Rahab – If you remember, Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho. She hid the Israelite spies and so they spared her when they destroyed the city.
*v5 Ruth – The Bible records nothing truly sinful about Ruth, other than the fact that she was a Moabitess. She came from a nation of people who did not believe in the one true God, but who worshipped idols instead.
*v6 Bathsheba – In Verse 6 we find mentioned “she who had been the wife of Uriah.” That is Bathsheba. Her sin was so terrible that Matthew blushed at the thought of even mentioning her name. Bathsheba is the woman who cheated on her husband with king David. She became pregnant by him, so David had her husband killed. She then married the man who killed
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