In | Workbook: The Women of Jesus’ Genealogy

Each of these women has a controversial past, including Jesus’ mother who conceived before she was married. These are not the kind of women we might expect to share a bloodline with the Son of God:

Tamar: After her husband died, her brother-in-law refused to impregnate her. In order to keep her line (or husband’s line) alive, she posed as a prostitute and lured her father-in-law, Judah, into impregnating her under false pretenses.

Rahab: Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho.

Ruth: Ruth was a Moabitess, from a people with a complicated reputation and contentious past with Israel.

Uriah’s wife: This is a reference to Bathsheba. The
description of her as “Uriah’s wife” emphasizes the scandal in her past. While she was Uriah’s wife, David slept with her, and she became pregnant with his child. She would later give birth to Solomon.