Matthew Chapter 1:10-25

¹⁰ And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;

• Ezekias , also known as Hezekiah, was the 13th king of Judah. He reigned 29 years, abolished idolatry and was considered to be a good King. His reign is considered to be one of the most documented of the Kings of the Old Testament.
• Manasses was the longest known reigning King, though he was an evil one. He began to reign at 12 years old and reigned 55 years.
• Amon ,the fifteenth King of Judah, only reigned for 2 years and was known as an idolater.

¹¹ And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:

• Josias or Josiah was the sixteenth King of Judah. He was known for hi devotion to God Yahweh. Josias was one of the most important Kings because of the things that he did. He began to reign at 8 years old after his father Amon was assassinated and he reigned for 31 years. He reformed the religion and centralized worship in Jerusalem and got rid of worshiping other gods. During his 18th year as King a copy of the Law was found as they were repairing the Temple. This set off a chain of events where he destroyed the idols, high places and sacred poles from Canaanite worship and purged all the priest and others who conducted the Canaanite rituals. He also expanded the territory of Judah. For more on Josias Wikipedia has a nice article, I haven’t checked it to see if it was accurate. Josias Wiki
• Jechonias also known as Coniah and as Jehoiachin was the nineteenth and penultimate king of Judah who was dethroned by the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar II

¹² And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;

¹³ And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;

¹⁴ And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;

¹⁵ And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;

¹⁶ And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Not much is known about the forefathers who came after they were taken captive to Babylon. They’re listed to show the linage of Jesus.

¹⁷ So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

¹⁹ Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

²⁰ But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

²¹ And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

This is an honor and blessing. Still, neither Mary nor Joseph are deity…they can’t hear or answer prayers…they were blessed because God choose them…Mary to bring Jesus into the world and Joseph to act as his earthy father figure.

²² Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

²³ Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

• Isaiah 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

²⁴ Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

²⁵ And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.