For a little while now I've been looking for a side by side comparison of the various genealogies in the Bible specifically the line from Adam through to Jesus. Unable to find one, I undertook to make it myself. Here is a link to the entire document here.
An explanation of my formatting. From left to right is: Genesis, 1 Chronicles, Matthew, and Luke. I didn't include every name in the various genealogies only the direct line (brothers and cousins weren't relevant for this exercise). The yellow highlighted names (Adam, Abraham, David, and Joseph) were highlighted do to their significance in the Bible. They act as anchors for everything on the timeline. The green names are names that perfectly line up with the other text. The purple names are those which match the other text(s) but are in a different location. The red highlight is for names that are obvious contradictions with the other texts. Finally, the plane black is for names which do not have a direct correlation with the other genealogies presented. I used the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition for research, but I quote King James Version in the blog to avoid copyright issues. I retained the original spellings of the names as found in the NRSVU (any spelling variation is due to Luke, Matthew, and Chronicles spelling them differently).
Matthew
Matthew cuts out five names found in Chronicles (Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah, Azariah, and Jehoiakim). The reason is found in Matthew 1:17
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. KJV
Matthew wanted to have this 14, 14, 14 parallel, and had to cut out names to make it happen. After Zerubbabel Matthew completely diverges from Chronicles and even ends his with less generations than Chronicles despite Chronicles being written some 250-400 years before Jesus was born. Just to be clear, Chronicles has more decedents of Zerubbabel listed in a smaller time frame. It seems this too was compressed for the sake of 14.
Matthew also added the name Uzziah (not sure why).
Luke
Luke adds Cainan and Admin. I'm assuming this was a clerical error. Luke diverges from Chronicles and Matthew after King David to follow David's other son Nathan (who is also listed in Chronicles). Possibly this was done to avoid the curse on Jeconiah
none of his offspring shall succeed in sitting on the throne of David and ruling again in Judah. Jeremiah 22:30 KJV
Luke didn't have records of Nathan leading to Joseph, he just made it up. At least he had a more realistic amount of generations leading to Joseph.
Joseph
In case it isn't obvious Joseph has a different father depending whether you're reading Matthew or Luke. Theologists will try to tell you one of the genealogies is Mary's and the other Joseph's. This ignores the fact that both books deliberately say Joseph.
And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Matthew 1:16 KJV
Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work. He was the son (as was thought) of Joseph son of Heli
Luke 3:23
Having one of the genealogies belong to Mary is a transparent attempt to paste over the glaring contradiction of Joseph having two different dads. It ignores the fact that both Matthew and Luke have other contradictions with the lineage given in the old testament.
Who is Joseph's father? We don't know and neither did Luke or Matthew. Matthew was written 85 years after Jesus was born and Luke was written after that. Matthew and Luke didn't have access to Joseph's ancestors, but they wanted to show Jesus could be the rightful king of Israel. So, they used what they could from the Jewish Bible and made up the rest. It's just too bad Luke didn't copy Matthew.
Shealtiel and Zerubbabel
The most fascinating thing about this whole genealogy is Shealtiel and Zerubbabel (highlighted in blue). They both show up in Chronicles (kind of), Matthew and Luke. Luke has them listed in a totally different lineage, and each version has Zerubbabel with a different kid. Chronicles was kind enough to list all of Zerubbabel's kids (Meshullam, Hananiah, and Shelomith). None of them match with the names given in Matthew and Luke.
In Chronicles Shealtiel is Zerubbabel's uncle and Pedaiah is his father, but in the Greek Septuagint translation of the Bible (the version Matthew had access to) Shealtiel is listed as Zerubbabel's father (also in Ezra, Nehemiah, and Haggi) Most likely the original version of Chronicles did list Shealtiel as Zerubbabel's father, but it got corrupted, at some point, while being copied. It's also fun to note how in each book Shealtiel and Zerubbabel are in a totally different generation.
I think this serves as a beautiful microcosm of the entire project. Names in different places with different sons, scribal errors leading to changes. The care and attention given to these two names is the same care and attention given to all of them.
Why Does Any of This Matter
Most people will go their entire lives without paying much attention to the genealogies in the Bible, and those that do will most likely not have read them in parallel. Even then the formatting and punctuation make them difficult to compare. Only when written like this can we begin to appreciate the differences among them.
But why does it really matter if they got a few names wrong? A majority of people in America live their lives as if the Bible is inerrant. People use these genealogies to (inaccurately) determine the age of the Earth and disregard more accurate scientific estimates. If you've made it this far and are a Christian, I implore you "Trust but Verify". Don't ever just take your pastor's word on something (his paycheck depends on your beliefs). Don't take my word for it, crack open your Bible and see for yourself. While you're at it take your time to verify what's in the Bible too.
