Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel...appointed the Levites ... to set forward the work of the house of the Lord‖.
(Ezra 3:2-8)
They also appear in Haggai as follows:
―In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the
Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son
of Josedech, the high priest, saying...‖ (Haggai 1:1)
―Speak now to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the
high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying... (Haggai 2:2)
In 1 Chronicles 3, there are a number of fragmented genealogies of the tribe of Judah. Jeconiah is
mentioned as the father of Shealtiel, but Zerubbabel is not listed as the son of Shealtiel. Instead, he is the
son of Shealtiel's brother Pediah.
―And the sons of Jeconiah were Assir, and Shealtiel his son, and Malchiram, and Pediah, and Shenazar,
Jecamiah, Hoshama, and Nedebiah. And the sons of Pediah: Zerubbabel and Shimei...‖ (1 Chron 3:17-19.
Green's Literal Translation)
Why does this verse appear to be at variance with Ezra, Haggai and Matthew's Gospel—suggesting that
Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel's brother Pediah? The only possible answer is that Zerubbabel was the
genetic son of one of these two brothers, but was adopted by the other. During the return from the
Babylonian captivity, there must have been many orphans who required adoption. It is very likely that either
Shealtiel or Pediah might have died and Zerubbabel was adopted by the surviving brother.
Does the Bible say anything to distinguish between genetic birth and adoption?
In true Jewish tradition, as we have already seen, the Bible does not say anything to distinguish between
genetic birth and adoption. In this case, it is not even possible to tell from the context who is the genetic
father of Zerubbabel and who is the adoptive father.
This, of course, provides the answer to the New Covenant and the Tanach (Old Covenant) contradictions.
Not only do we have two different fathers of Zerubbabel; but we have also seen how Michal, the daughter of
Saul, was childless until the day of her death; yet she bore five sons to Adriel.
It is likely that at the time of Y‘shua, many different genealogical tables existed, and none of them made any
distinction between genetic birth and adoption. Far from contradicting each other, Matthew and Luke are
actually strengthening the point that Y‘shua was descended from David by giving two different tables, and
that both have the same result.
Was Miriam a Cohen (Priestly lineage)?
Since we already know that Y‘shua was of the "seed of David according to the flesh", because of his birth
into Yoseph's household, it hardly matters which tribe Miriam came from—but for the sake of those who want
to argue about it, here we go. The two passages, already quoted earlier, are as follows:
―There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia:
and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth‖. (Luke 1:5)
―Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and
said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:
therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy
cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who
was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible‖. (Luke 1:34-37)
The term ―daughters of Aaron" means Elizabeth was a Levite, and more specifically a Cohen. The word
―cousin" is from the Greek "suggenes" which means a relative or someone of the same race (a fellow
countryman), not necessarily a cousin as it appears in the KJV. Some translations alternatively use the word
"kinswoman" (LITV).
The same word is used in Rom 9:3 to mean all the Israelites: ―For I could wish that myself were accursed
from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: who are Israelites...‖ (Rom 9:3-4)
The term ―kinsmen according to the flesh" is very interesting. If this is strictly limited to those who were
genetically born into Israel, the Proselytes would all be excluded, and this would imply that Paul is not
concerned about the salvation of the Proselytes.