Question
Dear Gramps,
Contained in Matthew 1:4-6 is the following genealogy… Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse…, My question is: Is this Rahab spoken of in this genealogy which leads to the stem of Jesse, the same Rahab mentioned in the destruction of Jericho and the same Rahab that assisted the two spies? The question more precisely: Is Rahab (the harlot) mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus? What is the Church’s position on this question. It came up in a discussion recently and some felt that could never happen. I felt it was interesting that the Savior could relate to (understand) all people in all circumstances (as I believe he does).Thanks in advance and regards.
Jim
Answer
Dear Jim,
Indeed, the harlot Rahab, who was the wife of Salmon, was an ancestor of Jesse, who was a progenitor of Jesus. Your question states that some of the participants in the discussion on this subject felt that such a thing as one of the progenitors of Jesus being a harlot could never happen–the implication being that no such unrighteousness could exist in the Savior’s ancestry.
Are the members of your discussion not aware that there was not a single progenitor of Jesus who was without sin, the Savior being the only person who ever lived on the earth who committed no sin? Are the members of your discussion group not aware, for instance, that King David, a prominent progenitor of Jesus, was both a murderer and an adulterer? Are the members of your discussion group not aware that by means of the great atoning sacrifice of the Savior he paid the full price demanded by the laws of justice for all of the sins committed, not only by his own progenitors, but by every person who ever lived or who will ever live in mortality on any and all of the worlds that are inhabited by our Father’s children?
Gramps
