“So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations” (Matthew 1:17). Even the number fourteen is a Davidic hallmark. In Hebrew script, numbers are rendered with letters of the alphabet, and the number for fourteen spells out the name David. Matthew has designed his entire opening section to herald Jesus’s royal identity.
