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The Christian bible gives two conflicting lineages for Joseph (husband of Mary). One bypasses Solomon, making Joseph and any heir ineligible from being a messiah (Luke). The other (Matthew) goes through Solomon, but includes Jeconiah / יְהוֹיָכִין (Y'hoyachin) -- a Davidic king who G-d cursed and removed any of his heirs from again being kings (messiahs).
Jeconiah was arrested, deported and imprisoned by Nebuchadnezzar -- the Babylonian Exile. Many missionaries desperate to find a path for Jesus to be a messiah will claim that the "rabbis" (you know -- the people they normally ignore and despise) say that Jeconiah's curse was the lifted thus Jesus somehow had the required lineage to be a messiah. Per Christians Joseph was not Jesus' biological father, thus Jesus had no rights to any tribe -- Judah or any other tribe. So why they waste all this time trying to prove Joseph's lineage is senseless, but still they do! So what of their claim? Did the "rabbis" say that the curse that G-d gave to Jeconiah, that none of his heirs would be eligible to be kings, lifted? Maybe. This is basic Judaism 101 (we repent, G-d forgives). The Talmud (Sanhedrin 37 and 38) discuss whether or not the Babylonian Exile could atone as does repentance. For one thing, a person who might have been condemned to death prior to the exile was not killed. In the case of Jeconiah the Rabbis were divided on how much of one's sins are atoned through repentance in exile -- so there was no conclusion that Jeconiah's "curse" was lifted by his repentance in exile. Hypocrisy thy name is missionary! Missionaries do not accept the authority of the extra-biblical Jewish writings, so why are they using this Talmudic discussion as "proof" of anything while at the same time they reject other opinions that discount Christianity? My mother would have called this "having their cake and eating it, too!" Can't have it both ways! Hypocrisy aside, did Jeconiah's repentance in exile wipe away G-d's curse as the missionaries insist?
Along with the Talmud missionaries will quote from Pesikta d'Rav Kahana and Vayikra (Leviticus) Rabbah. Both are aggadic midrash (homily, stories meant to make a moral point, not literal theology). So missionaries want to point to homily -- stories -- as if it proves something... The Encyclopedia Judaica explains it well: The aggadah comprehends a great variety of forms and content. It includes narrative, legends, doctrines, admonitions to ethical conduct and good behavior, words of encouragement and comfort, and expressions of hope for future redemption. Its forms and modes of expression are as rich and colorful as its content. "Parables and allegories, metaphors and terse maxims; lyrics, dirges, and prayers, biting satire and fierce polemic, idyllic tales and tense dramatic dialogues, hyperboles and plays on words, permutations of letters, calculations of their arithmetical values (gematria) or their employment as initials of other words (notarikon) – all are found in the aggadah. . . "SYSTEMATIC PHILOSOPHIES OR THEOLOGICAL DOCTRINES ARE NOT TO BE FOUND IN THE AGGADAH." (end quote from Encyclopedia Judaica, emphasis mine). Quoting aggadic midrash including Pesikta d'Rav Kahana and Vayikra (Leviticus) Rabbah to "prove" that the curse on Jeconiah was lifted is either ignorance or deceit. Let's not forget that most of these missionaries pointing to Talmudic "proof" that the curse was lifted are "Sola Scriptura" -- stating that they only believe in the written bibles (theirs and ours). They say they only look at scripture for the answers to their questions. For them (in this instance) to try to distort the teachings of Jewish Sages, all of whom rejected Christianity, is not only hypocritical -- it is arrogant, too. Sola scriptura aside, a Christian missionary who uses the argument that the curse of Jeconiah was lifted is using a straw man argument that is immaterial to whether or not Jesus was a messiah. Joseph was not Jesus' biological father so the curse had nothing to do with Jesus one way or another. If Joseph was a descendant of Jeconiah, the curse is still on Joseph too, per the Hebrew Bible who never states it was lifted. If the curse was lifted it might mean that Joseph had the correct lineage, as would his biological sons through Mary -- but not Jesus (who was not his biological son). And "no" lineage does not transfer via adoption. And "no" the mother's lineage by birth doesn't matter either as long as she is Jewish. If the curse was actually lifted, as the Rabbinic literature discusses, then it shows that many things atone -- even for curses from G-d. This means that there was no need for a "last and final" sacrifice -- a blood sacrifice (aka Jesus). This invalidates the entire basis of Christianity -- that Jesus had to die for your sins. Bottom line? The Hebrew Bible never removes the curse from Jeconiah. The p'shat (plain reading from which all prophecy comes), there is no evidence that the curse was removed - end of story for Christians. And even if the curse was removed it has nothing to do with Jesus who was not a Davidic heir -- from Jeconiah or any other acceptable lineage. Finally -- having the right lineage is just a requirement - it is not a guarantee. In every generation there are thousands of Davidic heirs, and to date none have fulfilled the messianic prophecies...
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