Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 178:711 (Jul 2021)
Article: How Mary Was Related To David And Elizabeth And Why It Matters
Author: Monte A. Shanks

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How Mary Was Related To David And Elizabeth And Why It Matters

Monte A. Shanks

Monte A. Shanks is Assistant Professor of New Testament in the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia.

Abstract

Some doubt Jesus’s genetic descent from King David, asserting that Mary’s relationship to Elizabeth supports this conclusion, and so Jesus is not biologically a “son of David.” Others claim that the church simply conferred this title upon Jesus because of Joseph’s adoption of him. This article examines the necessity of Jesus being genetically descended directly from David through Mary, and it explains why her Levitical heritage presents no substantive barrier against this reality. Consequently, Jesus is biologically the messianic son of David.

Introduction

Tracing one’s ancestry is popular today. Commercial DNA mapping services offer information about family heritage and possible health concerns. This recent technology, however, does not reflect a new interest; throughout history many cultures have gone to great lengths to document their ancestries, and probably none more than that of the ancient Jews. Pride in their family lineages is observable throughout the Bible, since it contains many genealogies; some important, while others less so. Genealogies are found in Numbers, 1 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. The Gospel of Matthew begins with a genealogy, and the third chapter of Luke’s Gospel also contains one. A familial matrix, however, that deserves a reasonable explanation, is Mary’s relationship to King David (hereafter, David) and to Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.

This article addresses the riddle of how Mary can be related to both of these historical figures. It does not argue that the genealogy

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found in Luke’s Gospel documents Mary’s descent from David; that territory has been well covered. Rather, this article seeks to demonstrate how easy it would have been for Mary to be a direct descendant of David (of the tribe of Judah) and also a relative of Elizabeth, who was “a daughter of Aaron” (of the tribe of Levi).1 To do this it will be necessary to hypothesize about their possible familial connections. This article does not argue that its theoretical solutions are historically factual. It cannot do so because the genealogical records documenting Mary’s and Elizabeth’s ancestries, which were available in the first century BC/AD, appear to be no longer available to modern researchers. This article, therefore, attempts only to demonstrate how these family relationships can be envisioned an...