I really enjoyed the book From Shadow to Reality. It gave me a more global
perspective for the whole Bible and tied up some loose ends for me. I did
have a question though about something you wrote. At one point, you wrote
that Jesus fulfills the prophecy of coming from the lineage of Judah
through his mother Mary. I had always believed that Mary was from the
lineage of Levi since her cousin Elizabeth is from the family of Aaron and
her husband was a priest (Luke 1:5, Luke 1:36) and that the lineage of
David/Judah was through Joseph (Luke 2:4). Have I read it wrong?

About Mary, as I understand it, Matthew gives the genealogy of Jesus
through Joseph, while Luke gives the genealogy of Jesus through Mary. When
one reads Luke, this is not obvious, but that is the consensus of scholars
who have looked at the genealogies, at least. Anyway, I have assumed that
Elizabeth?s husband was a Levite, but Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary, was
from Judah. I could be wrong, but that is what I have concluded from my
research.

John Oakes, Ph.D.