New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 1:12

The King Arrives

After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Matthew 1:12 · Berean Standard Bible
What It Means

Matthew 1:12, in plain English

After exile, the family came home and rebuilt. Zerubbabel led the effort to restore the temple. The royal line was humbled but not broken.

Why it's here

Coming back from Babylon wasn't glamorous. The new temple was smaller, the nation was weaker. But the promise was still alive.

Who's speaking

Matthew traces the post-exile lineage.

Where it sits in the story

The rebuilding begins, not just of a temple, but of hope itself. The royal family is no longer on a throne, but they're still in the story.

A Closer Look

The scholar's commentary

The post-exilic genealogy begins with Shealtiel and Zerubbabel, who led the return from Babylon and rebuilt the temple (Ezra 3:2). The line continues through lesser-known figures during the intertestamental period.

Language and setting

After the exile, the Davidic line lost political power but maintained its identity. Zerubbabel served as governor, not king, under Persian authority.

Voice

Matthew, narrating the genealogical record.

Significance

The return from exile begins the long, quiet centuries of waiting for the promised Messiah, with the royal line now hidden among common people.

In context

Matthew 1:10–14

10Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah,

11and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

12After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

13Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor.

14Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud.

Read all of Matthew 1 — The New Testament opens with a genealogy — and every name carries a story. Two great promises converge in one person. This is where it all comes together.

Understand every verse, not just this one

This page covers one. BibleKey does all 31,102 — tap any verse for its meaning, any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, and keep reading without leaving the chapter.

Get BibleKey
In the App

What's in the app that isn't here.

Seven translations

NIV, NLT, NKJV, KJV and the Berean — plus the Catholic NLT-CE and Douay-Rheims, with the full deuterocanon in the reading order.

Every verse, as you read

Tap any of the 31,102 for what it means, and any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, without leaving the chapter.

Selah

Start recording at church and put your phone away. You get the transcript, the key moments, and every verse referenced.

Prayer Maker

Say what's sitting on your heart and hear it back as a real prayer, in a warm voice. Keep the ones that land.

Every Word

The whole Bible in a year — five chapters a day, five days a week, weekends off. Built to be finished.

Today's Light

A verse each morning with its meaning, how it lands today, something to sit with, and a prayer to close it.

Understand every verse.

Not just the famous ones. BibleKey is free on iPhone and iPad.

Download on the App Store

Free on iPhone & iPad