Pastor Dave Ginter
 
QUESTION:
Hi Pastor Dave,
 I was going over the genealogy of Jesus in Mathew, and noticed that Rahab is married to Salmon, 4 generations from David, which is around 400 years away... Does this mean that Salmon was married to a descendant of Rahab? I was looking around and saw a website that mentioned Obed being the son of Naomi, when he was actually the grandson.

RESPONSE:
Good observation! 
Genealogies in Jesus day consistently use SON even when we would prefer they be more exact and use GRANDSON, GREAT-GRANDSON ETC. when referring to someone who is in the genealogical lineup but not necessarily a son. We do the same when referring to US citizens being the sons of our "Founding Fathers".

The same is true with Rahab and Salmon. Life Application Bible notes: There is a chronological problem in making Rahab the actual mother of Boaz, however. As with the phrase “father of,” those listed as mothers in a genealogy may be ancestors rather than actual mothers.
 


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