King James Version · Under Rome
Matthew 1
Touch any underlined name to see who or where it is. Tap a verse number to see where it is taken up elsewhere.
The book of the generation of , , the son of . begat ; and begat ; and begat and his brethren; And begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat ; And begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; And Salmon begat of ; and begat of ; and begat ; And begat the king; and the king begat of her that had been the wife of Urias; And begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat ; And begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat ; and begat ; And begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; And Ezekias begat ; and begat Amon; and Amon begat ; And begat and his brethren, about the time they were to : And after they were brought to , begat ; and begat ; 13And begat Abiud; and Abiud begat ; and begat Azor; 14And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; 15And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat ; And begat the husband of , of whom was born , who is called . So all the generations from to are fourteen generations; and from until the carrying away into are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into unto are fourteen generations. Now the birth of was on this : When as his mother was espoused to , before they came together, she was found with child of the Ghost. Then her husband, being a man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, appeared unto him in a , saying, , thou , fear not to take unto thee thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name : for he shall his people from their . Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of by the , saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, with us. Then being from sleep did as had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her son: and he called his name .
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.