23“Behold, the virgin shall be with child,
and shall give birth to a son.
They shall call his name Immanuel,”
which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”
24Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself; 25and didn’t know her sexually until she had given birth to her firstborn son. He named him Jesus.There is a problem with Jesus' heirship through Joseph because of a curse of God on one of the kings of Israel. Consequently, his legal lineage provided for Jesus' right to the Davidic throne, but not by flesh. Mary, however, came from the physical line of David.
THE CURSE OF JEHOIAKIM
An unusual curse in Jeremiah 36:1-32 gives new insight into the virgin birth of Jesus. Jehoiakim was a king of Israel. He angered God by burning a scroll that Jeremiah the prophet wrote. God cursed Jehoiakim by indicating that none of his children would sit on the throne of David (Jeremiah 36:29-31). And although Jehoiakim had children, scripture shows that none of them ever reigned as King David had.
THE PROBLEM
Joseph, the father of Jesus, was one of Jehoiakim's descendants (through Jeconiah).
Joseph's offspring could not claim David's throne because of the curse. Jesus laid claim to the throne of David (Luke 1:32, Acts 2:30, Hebrews 12:2). If Jesus had been born of Joseph, the curse would have been contradicted.
Also, God had promised David that one of his physical descendants would reign on the throne of his kingdom forever (2 Samuel 7:12-13).
One man had to be both heir to and offspring of David, without being the genetic descendant of Jehoiakim.
THE REJECTION OF JEHOIACHIN (Coniah, Jeconiah)
24-27 Verses 24-30 deal with the condemnation of Jehoiachin (Coniah).
Coniah (the name occurs only in Jer 22:24, 28; 37:1) is the abbreviated form of Jeconiah and alternate form of Jehoiachin, which is probably his throne name (cf. Jehoahaz-Shallum [v. 11]).
The son and successor of Jehoiakim (v.24), Jehoiachin was exiled in 597 B.C. (cf. 2 Kings 24:8-17; 25:27-30). After a reign of three months over Judea, he was imprisoned for thirty-seven years in Babylon.
Coniah’s full name (Jeconiah) means “the LORD will establish,” but permanence and stability were not his portion because of his wickedness.
Although Jesus was a legal descendant to Joseph, he was not a physical descendant. Luke's genealogy directly addressed this issue by stating Jesus was "supposedly the son of Joseph" (Luke 3:23). Clearly, people had assumed that Joseph was the biological father of Jesus, when in fact he was not (Matthew 13:55).
At first glance, Matthew and Luke appear to be in disagreement as to who Joseph's father was. Matthew states he was the son of Jacob, while Luke states he was the son of Heli.
Fortunately, an unlikely source has aided scholars in unraveling this mystery. The Jerusalem Talmud indicates that Mary was the daughter of Heli (Haggigah, Book 77, 4). Joseph was the son-in-law of Heli. Luke could rightfully call Joseph the "son of Heli" because this was in compliance with use of the word "son" at that time. Moreover, designating a son-in-law as a son had scriptural precedent. Refer to Son in Jewish Genealogies for more on this topic. Thus, Joseph was the son of Jacob, and the son-in-law of Heli.