Matthew's genealogy traces the ancestors of Joseph, the legal father of Jesus. Matthew's structure descends from father to son, beginning with Abraham. The names in each division appear below. David Jeconiah Jesus Christ Matthew abridged the genealogy by omitting some names that appear in earlier records. Some speculate that the abridged arrangement was intended to aid in memorization.
Genealogical abridgement has biblical precedent, as was disussed earlier.
The names of David and Jeconiah are repeated in the genealogy. David's name was repeated because he was alive when the first division ended, and when the second division began. Jeconiah's name may have been repeated because of a transcription error. Jeconiah's father was Jehoiakim. The names had similar spellings.