Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,
Pharez
1 Chronicles 2:4 And Tamar his daughter in law bare him Pharez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five.
1 Chronicles 4:1 The sons of Judah; Pharez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal.
Matthew 1:3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
Phares, Esrom
Perez was the father of Hezron,
Perez's son, Hezron, is a key figure in the genealogical line leading to David. Hezron's inclusion highlights the fulfillment of God's covenant with Abraham, promising that his descendants would become a great nation (Genesis 12:2). This lineage is crucial for understanding the messianic prophecy, as it traces the ancestry of Jesus, affirming His rightful place as the promised Messiah. The genealogical record serves as a testament to God's faithfulness in preserving the line through which salvation would come.
• Genealogies in Scripture anchor God’s redemptive plan in real history, reminding us that faith rests on facts (cf. Genesis 5:1; 10:1).
• The identical wording appears just a few verses earlier—“They named him Obed… He is the father of Jesse, the father of David” (Ruth 4:17)—showing that the book’s closing focus is the kingly line God is preparing.
• By starting with Perez, the Holy Spirit highlights how God turns even the darkest human failures for good. Perez was born from Judah’s sin with Tamar (Genesis 38), yet that broken branch becomes the very line that leads to the Messiah (Matthew 1:3; Luke 3:33).
• For believers today, every name in a biblical genealogy testifies that God keeps covenant promises through ordinary, imperfect people (2 Samuel 7:12–16; Isaiah 11:1).
• This simple statement moves the story one link forward. Scripture often introduces each generation with a similar rhythm—“X was the father of Y” (cf. Exodus 6:14–25; 1 Chronicles 2:5).
• Hezron’s appearance signals growth: “These were the clans of Perez: the Hezronite clan and the Hamulite clan” (Numbers 26:21). God is multiplying the line that will bless the nations (Genesis 22:17–18).
• The verse also anticipates the next steps in the chain—Hezron fathers Ram, Ram fathers Amminadab… until David (Ruth 4:19–22; Matthew 1:3–6). Each generation keeps alive the promise that “a star will come forth from Jacob” (Numbers 24:17).
• In Christ, the ultimate Son of David, the lineage of Perez finds its fulfillment. The reliability of this one genealogical link assures us that every promise in God’s Word will likewise come to pass (2 Corinthians 1:20; Revelation 22:16).
Ruth 4:18 isn’t filler. By tracing the family of Perez to Hezron, God underscores that His sovereign, unbroken plan is advancing one generation at a time. The verse assures us that even through flawed people, the Lord faithfully builds the line leading to David—and ultimately to Jesus—so we can trust Him with our own place in His unfolding story.
(18) Hezron.--See Genesis 46:12.Verses 18-22. - And these are the lineal descendants of Pharez. Pharez begat Hezron, and Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, and Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David. This is the genealogy of King David, and it is therefore an integral part of the genealogy of King David's great descendant, his "Lord" and ours. As such it is incorporated entire in the two tables that are contained respectively in the first chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew, and the third of the Gospel according to Luke. Some of the names are somewhat Grecised and otherwise modified in those New Testament tables. Instead of Hezron we have Esrom; instead of Ram we have Aram; instead of Nahshon we have Naason; instead of Boaz we have Boos; in 1 Chronicles 2:11 we have Salma instead of Salmon. It has been keenly debated by chronologists and genealogists whether we should regard the list of David's lineal ancestors, given here and in 1 Chronicles 2:10-12, as also in Matthew 1:3-5, and Luke 3:31-33, as complete. It is a thorny question to handle, and one not ready to be finally settled till the whole Old Testament chronology be adjusted. It is certain that in the larger tables of our Lord's genealogy there was, apparently for mnemonic purposes (Matthew 1:17), the mergence of certain inconspicuous links (see Matthew 1:8); and it would not need to be matter of wonder or concern if in that section of these tables which contains the genealogy of King David there should be a similar lifting up into the light, on the one hand, of the more prominent ancestors, and a shading off into the dark, on the other, of some who were less conspicuous. It lies on the surface of the genealogy that the loving-kindness and tender mercies of Yahveh stretch far beyond the confines of the Hebrews, highly favored though that people was. "Is he," asks St. Paul, "the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes," the same apostle answers, "of the Gentiles also" (Romans 3:29).