Who’s Missing In Matthew 1?
It’s been a while since I posted about the Moabites. Sorry about that! I’ve been a little busy with the coloring book, but we’re back with another story, this time about Lot’s other son/grandson, Ben-ammi, father of the Ammonites.
The more I dig into these stories of the Old Testament, the more I find richness I didn’t know was there, despite reading and studying and teaching the Bible for many years. The depth of Scripture is unsearchable—but I hope you stick with me as I try anyway.
Here’s something I had to leave out: in Deuteronomy, Moses tells the story of King Og of Bashan, the last of the Rephaim. The Rephaim were the giants who lived in the land the Ammonites settled. Moses says his bed was nine cubits (13.5 feet) long and 4 cubits (6 feet) wide, or about the size of two modern king-size beds placed end-to-end. Even Goliath was only 6 cubits (9 feet) tall! Moses claims the bed is still in Rabbah, the Ammonite capital.
Anyway, while I was researching the Ammonites, I realized for the first time that Matthew left someone out of his genealogy. Of course, Matthew left lots of people out, but this person seems to belong. You’ll have to read the article to see who it is, and why I think Matthew skipped them.
