Matthew begins his Gospel by demonstrating beyond any doubt at all that the Jesus about whom he is going to write is the long-expected Messiah, or ‘Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham’ (1:1). To do this he sets down his genealogy. Genealogies, or family trees, are not the most exciting parts of the Bible. They are, however, very necessary and most effective in showing that the biblical record is factual, not a mere fairy tale, as is so often claimed. The Bible deals