Religious Research

Religious Research

An Examination of the Perspective of Catholic Christian Theologians on the Presence of Women of Questionable Status in the Genealogy of Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Matthew

Document Type : Research Paper

Author
Sayid Morteza Fariani
Member of the International Research Center of Imam Reza (AS), Al-Mustafa International University, Khorasan Branch
10.22034/jrr.2025.483270.2225
Abstract
In the recording of the genealogy of Jesus Christ by Matthew, the names of mothers who had previously committed sins are mentioned, and Christian theologians, especially Catholics, have devoted attention to examining the status of these women in the genealogy. This article addresses four main approaches of Christian theologians: first, the ethnic approach, which shows that Matthew intended to highlight the role of non-Jews in the history of the emergence of Jesus the Savior; second, the theological approach, based on which, by including the names of sinful women in the genealogy, Matthew provided a divine introduction and confirmation for Mary's challenging and unexpected pregnancy; third, the gender approach, which demonstrates the importance of women's role in the divine plan for the birth of Christ; and fourth, the historical approach, which presents the eschatological Savior (i.e. the one relating to the End of the Time) as descended from various nations. Although Islamic sources have not explicitly emphasized the purity of the lineage of Jesus Christ, his lineage back to Abraham is considered free from any sexual impropriety. It seems that some of these approaches have suitable potential for comparative and religious studies, and in some cases, a common approach regarding the importance of the genealogy of the prophets in Islam and Christianity can be observed, which could be instructive for future research.
Keywords
genealogy of Christ, Gospel of Matthew, purity of prophetic lineage, mothers of Jesus (AS)
Subjects
Old Testament.
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Religious Research
Volume 13, Issue 25 - Serial Number 25
November 2025
Pages 161-182