Matthew Poole and continuators on Matthew 1:6

6. And Jesse begat David the King—▪

This agreeth with Ruth 4.22. and 1 Sam. 16.2.2.15. Here now ariseth the first Difficulty we meet with in this Genealogy, and it is rather an appearance of a Difficulty than a real one. Salmon being the Son of Aminadab, who was the Prince of the Children of Iudah in Moses time, Salmon cannot be imagined to have lived later than in the times of Ioshua. Booz seemeth to have lived in Elies time, which (if Chronologers count right) was 300 years after, here are but four men named to take up these years. Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Iesse. Ans. The World according to Chronologers wanted but five of 2500 years old, when the Israelites (under the Conduct of Ioshua) entred into Canaan: We will suppose Salmon, to have then been a young man. Eli is by them said to have lived about the 2810th. So that the distance is 315 years. David is said to have been born in the 2860th. So as from Salmon to David are 365 years Admit Salmon, Boaz, Obed and Iesse to have each of them lived an hundred years, or upward and this is no Difficulty. Nor can be any absurdity in admitting this, if we consider the Age, and Vigor of Persons in that age of the World. Moses (tho a man spent with Travels and Battels) lived 120 years, Deut. 34.7. Caleb at 85 years was strong, and as fit for War, as ever Ios. 14.11.12. If we allow these four men the Life of Moses they might live 480 years, which might allow to each of them 15 or 16 years apiece for the Concurrency of their Lives with their Parents, yet 365 years might be well allowed for all their time: Nor is it unreasonable for us to suppose that God might allow those whom he intended thus to dignifie a something longer Life, then the ordinary sort of men lived in that age of the World. So as the thing being neither naturally impo[illegible: 1 letter]sible (for in our Age we see particular Persons live upward of an hundred years) nor morally improbable, and directly affirmed in three or four Texts, they must have a great mind to quarrel with a Divine Revelation who quarrel the Truth of it upon such a pretence: Especially considering that the Lives of men in our declining, and Debaucht age of the World, are no measures by which we can guess at the Lives of extraordinary Persons who lived near three thousand years ago. [David the King] possibly that term is added to distinguish the David here intended, from others of the same name, or because he was the first King of the Tribe of Iudah to whom the Scepter of Israel was promised, Gen. 49 10. Or the first King not given to the Israelites in wrath, as Saul was upon their murmuring against Samuel, or to shew that Christ descended from that Family, to whom the Promise of the Messias was made, Ier. 23.5. and a Kingdom established for ever. Psal. 89.36, 37. Thus our Evangelist hath given us the Names in his first Period, or fourteen Generations. Abraham, Isaac, Iacob, Iudas, Pharez, Ezrom, Aram, Aminadab, Naasson, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Iesse, David.

Marginal references: 1 [illegible: 1 span] 12.