The women in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew and the application of Torah.

Among the many enigmas of the genealogy of Jesus in Mt 1,1-17, the presence of four or of five women in a predominantly masculine text has been the occasion for the elaboration of numerous explanations. The present article begins with the observation that the first four women are mentioned immediately before or parallel to David the king, while the fifth woman is the mother of the purported Messiah. In addition, if the various dispositions of the Torah had been applied in the first four cases, the great king would never have been born and there would never have been a Davidic dynasty. The narrative of Joseph's dilemma in 1,18-25 reveals his effort to respect the dispositions of the Law and at the same time be attentive to the requirements of mercy with regard to his pregnant wife. In this way, the question of the observance of the Torah in light of the Prophetic pronouncements and subsequently of the teaching of Jesus himself is posed from the very beginning of Matthew's Gospel.