Matthew 1:6 is a short link in the family tree that opens Matthew’s Gospel. It names Jesse as the father of King David, and David as the father of Solomon, while noting that Solomon’s mother had earlier been married to a man named Uriah. Matthew, the Gospel writer, is recording the ancestry of Jesus Christ, tracing it from Abraham forward so that Jewish readers could see how Jesus fits into the story of their nation and its promises.
Jesse became the father of King David. David became the father of Solomon by her who had been Uriah’s wife.
Matthew 1:6 (WEB)
What Matthew 1:6 Means
The verse moves through three generations in a few words. “Jesse became the father of King David” places David in his family line, a shepherd’s son from Bethlehem who later became Israel’s king. “David became the father of Solomon” moves the line to the next king, the one who would build the temple in Jerusalem. The phrase “by her who had been Uriah’s wife” is Matthew’s way of pointing back to David’s sin with Bathsheba, which is recorded in 2 Samuel 11 and 12.
Matthew does not explain the phrase in this verse, and he does not soften it. He includes the detail because the family tree is more than a list of names. It shows that God worked through a family marked by failure, and that the royal line continued anyway. The verse does not promise that God approves of every choice in a family history. It shows that God’s purposes can move forward through imperfect people.
The Context of Matthew 1:6
Matthew opens his Gospel with a genealogy, a list of ancestors that Jewish readers would have recognized and valued. Matthew wrote for an audience familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures, so the names carried weight. Tradition attributes the Gospel to Matthew, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, and it was written to present Jesus as the promised son of David and the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham.
The verses just before and after Matthew 1:6 keep the same pattern. Verses 3 through 5 include Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth, women whose stories are unusual or difficult, and verses 7 through 9 continue the kings of Judah down to Hezekiah. Read in that setting, Matthew 1:6 is one step in a long line of kings, and its mention of Bathsheba is part of a family record that is honest about its brokenness.
Key Phrases in Matthew 1:6
2 Samuel 12:24
David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her, and lay with her. She bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. The LORD loved him…
(WEB)
This verse describes David and Bathsheba’s second son, Solomon, being born after the prophet Nathan confronted David about his sin. It shows the same mix of judgment and mercy that Matthew 1:6 holds quietly in its mention of Bathsheba and Solomon.
Romans 8:28
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.
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Paul writes here that God works all things together for good for those who love him. Read alongside Matthew 1:6, this verse helps explain how a family line marked by sin could still become part of God’s larger redemptive purpose.
A Short Prayer From Matthew 1:6
Lord, thank you for the honest way your Word tells the story of the families that came before Jesus. Thank you that you did not hide the failures of David and the people around him, and that you worked through them to bring about your promises. Help me to be honest about my own past and the family I come from, and to trust that you can still write something good through them. Teach me to rest in your faithfulness when my story feels messy. Amen.
