name in the third section is Jesus “the Messiah.” Thus the first section culminates in the establishment of the dynasty, the second reaches its end in the downfall of the dynasty, and the third concludes with the reestablishment of the dynasty in the king who will rule forever. But one should ask why the genealogy begins with Abraham, rather than with David, the founder of the dynasty and model for his greater descendant, the Messiah. The reason is that the Messiah of David is to be not only the