Rahab was the prostitute who aided the spies Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. She extracted a promise from them to spare her and her family when Israel conquered Jericho based on her faithfulness to the spies in not revealing them and lying on their behalf to her own king. She was a example of being faithful to Yahweh in the same way the midwives had been in Egypt when Pharaoh demanded they kill Hebrew male children at birth. Like them, she was rewarded for her faithfulness to a higher law, becoming part of the covenant community.

Psalm 148

Isaiah 63:7-9

Hebrews 2:10-18

Matthew 2:13-23

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Tamar was married to Judah's son, Er, whom the Lord killed due to his wickedness. Judah then gave his next son, Onan, to Tamar to provide a child, he refused and that refusal led the Lord to take him as well. Judah was afraid to lose his only remaining son and attributed the deaths of his first two sons to Tamar in some way so he kept Shelah from her. She resorted to a ruse to ensure justice and became a woman in the line of the king and the Messiah.

Tamar was married to Judah's son, Er, whom the Lord killed due to his wickedness. Judah then gave his next son, Onan, to Tamar to provide a child, he refused and that refusal led the Lord to take him as well. Judah was afraid to lose his only remaining son and attributed the deaths of his first two sons to Tamar in some way so he kept Shelah from her. She resorted to a ruse to ensure justice and became a woman in the line of the king and the Messiah.

Shem, the son of Noah, is the progenitor of the Jews, how do we get from him to Abraham.

Why does Matthew start with a genealogy and why should we not just skip the genealogies in the Bible?

Matthew has a unique perspective on the life of Jesus and we are fortunate to see things from that perspective. 

Nowhere in the Gospel are we told who wrote it. It has, however, always, from the beginning, been associated with Matthew. The reasons to doubt it aren't good enough to overcome that one piece of evidence. As to when it was written, the questions raised have only to do with a couple of things: prophecy about the destruction of the temple but that is only an issue if you don't believe it's prophetic, and the idea that Matthew is playing out his personal beefs with the establishment Judaism. Early dating seems far more likely.

Jesus is the fulfillment of all God's promises and the source of all our hopes.

What were the messianic expectations of the Jews at the time of Jesus.