Often without meaning or significance by themselves and thus considered mere coincidences or ironies are a number of other items which are pasted over. But when taken together with all the other elements of cooberative evidence, these seemingly minor items taken on an additional level of significance of foreshadowing and paralleled prophetic interest. One such item is the parallel immediate ancestry to the Messiah which does fall back into history even to that parallel parenthood of Obed son of Ruth.

Now the father of Joseph is understood by many to be Jacob as related in the first Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 1:16). And then in the Gospel of Luke the father of Joseph is again give but as Heli (Luke 3:23). The solution is a simple one but also one of discussion which will be gone into in a later item. But for now the resolve of this matter of there being two fathers given as the father of Joseph is but a simple matter to understand. One is Joseph's natural father of blood line descent and the other is Joeseph's 'adoptive' father by marriage, his father-in-law. And this bond between Joseph's adoptive father becomes even stronger by a likely fact that Mary's father had no son as heir and thus Mary's husband Joseph became heir to all of both fathers. This seems to be the very basis for having effected the marriage between Joseph and Mary for Heli and Jacob are said to be brothers and/or at least near kinsman to the effect that the marriage of Joseph did keep the family related inheritance in effect in but one family. That matter of inheritance was very likely to be none other that the right of the house of David to the throne of Israel which JESUS the firstborn son of Mary would inherit legally and lawfully. Now there are other two fathers of one son in the history of the house of Israel and that of the ancestry of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ which may be viewed in parallel. The natural father of Ephraim and Manasseh was Joseph of Egypt, the son of Jacob. But Jacob, though being the grandfather in this case, also became the legal and lawful father of Ephraim and Manasseh by the adoptive process given in Genesis 48 (see also JST Genesis 48 for additional information). And thus it ought not seem particularly peculiar that in a third instance, there were two fathers and descents within the ancestry of the Messiah. That third case is that of Boaz, a near but not the nearest kinsman, being the natural father of the firstborn son of Ruth who was Obed. As supported by Ruth 4:5 & 10 and Deuteronomy 25:10, Boaz, the second husband of Ruth was but raising seed according to the law unto Ruth's first and former kinsman husband Mahlon. Thus Obed was legally and rightfully the son of Mahlon and Boaz did purchase all that was of the inheritacne of Elimelech, Chilion and Mahlon that it might be bestowed upon the rightful heir and son of Mahlon, Obed who was rightfully accorded by the entire community as being but son of Naomi, the wife of Elimelech the Ephrathite.

That Mahlon and Boaz were of differing tribal affiliations ought not to be considered extrodinary either, because the same existed in Mary's own family, the mother of Jesus. Her cousin Elisabeth was the wife of Zacharias, the Levite priest of the temple and Elisabeth was a Levite as was the son of that marriage John the Baptist. Thus was John the Baptist both counsins and of two different 'tribal houses', the one of Levi and the other of David. And somewhere that marriage bond between the families would have been a maternal link thus to involve both families being related but of different 'tribal' associations. But now lets step back and again begin with that ancestry of Joseph the Carpenter, as well as Mary his wife being of two fatherly households, one of Jacob and one of Heli though Jacob and Heli were also related in the same house of David.

Joseph, the Son of Jacob, as the Father of Messiah

"And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ." ~ Matthew 1:16

It was Joseph the son of Jacob that was to be the ancestor to the Messiah as a result of a substitutive surrogate parentage. This statement applies both to Joseph the Carpenter and Joseph of Egypt. In parallel, both were the son of Jacob their father. Both were named Joseph themselves. And in prophetic parallelism, neither was the genetic parent of the Messiah though they were both legally and rightfully the father under the Jewish law. In the case of Joseph of Egypt, it was an ancestrial link under the Law of Moses as found in Deuteronomy 25:5-10, where by the wife (Ruth) of a first husband (Mahlon) where no child was born could have the seed of that house raised up to the dead (Mahlon) by the vicarious surrogate performance of a kinsman (Boaz). In the case of Joseph the carpenter, the Jewish law stipulated that if a man did train up a child of his wife in his trade or profession, as Joseph did Jesus, regardless of literal genetic parentage, that man was that child's legal and rightful father.

Thus Joseph, the son of Jacob, was the 'father' or 'ancestor' under the law, to the Messiah, even Jesus Christ. And this did apply to Joseph of Egypt as well as Joseph the carpenter in this prophetic parallel which rivals in life the type of poetic writing of prohecy for which the Hebrew scriptures are famous for.

But what about the ancestry of Joseph as given by the Gospel of Luke? In Luke 3:23 it states that Joseph, the supposed father of Jesus, was the son of Heli. This seems to conflict with Joseph being the son of Jacob. But if one recalls, it is Luke who gives the details of the visitation and actual parenthood of Jesus as literally being the Son of God, as Mary was a virgin until after the birth of Jesus. In this respect, many have set forth Heli as the father of Mary and that by marriage he would be the father of Joseph and the bloodline of the the Savior through Mary, but in respect to the husband was stated to be also the father of Joseph. Now as to which line held the royal right to the house of David seems of little consequence. In either case, Jesus was the rightful heir of such descent of the house of David, being the firstborn and worthy son.

Further, most make Jacob and Heli brothers as sons and heirs of Matthat or Matthan, which is deemed to be the same person. It would seem that Matthew who was more concerned with presenting to the world that Jesus was the rightful heir of the house and throne of King David. Thus Matthew would have presented the 'royal lineage of right' over the genetic lineage of actual genetice parentage. Heirs to royal rights seldom follow exact genetic lines. And this would account for the variance between Matthew's genealogy and Lukes stated Genealogy of the Savior. Matthew even goes as far as to force the royal genealogy into sets of 14 generations per considered significant sections from Abraham to David, from David to the Babylonian captivity, and from the Babylonian captivity to Christ. This seems to be the more 'official' listing of the significant royal right of passage kept by the symbolic three sets of 14 generations that any real attempt at keeping a literal line of parentage.

"What is the rod spoken of in the first verse of the 11th chapter of Isaiah, that should come of the stem of Jesse?
"Behold, thus saith the Lord: It is a servant in the hands of Christ, who is partly a descendant of Jesse as well as of Ephraim, or the house of Joseph, on whom there is laid much power." D&C 113:3-4

Some say of this verse that is speaks of other than Jesus Christ and even suggest that it speaks of Joseph Smith. Others, including traditional Christian theology would state that the rod of Isaiah 1:11 is none other than Jesus Christ. And still others suggest that it is dualistic and may be attributed to more than one. Since it states that this 'rod' 'is a servant in the hands of Christ' many either discount it being applicable to Jesus since how can he hold himself in his own hand? Other suggest that it is a reason to think that Joseph Smith was but a fraud. But there is still reason to consider that this is being spoken of by Christ in answer to the question through Joseph Smith as he is speaking as God representative of the Father and speaking of himself in the third person. This the Lord has done in the scriptural record a number of times as in the following verse.

"¶ Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his day Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." ~ Jeremiah 23:5-6

Now this name given ins Jeremiah is 'Jehovah-tsidkenu' which means 'Jehovah-righteousness'. So who is this latter day king whose name is 'THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS' [JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU]? In Hosea it reads as follows:

"For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their god, and David their king, and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days." ~ Hosea 3:4-5

One of the names of Jehovah, the firstborn son of God the Father in the spirit and the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh is also know as 'the Beloved'. David means beloved and there is discussion that like many in Israel that particular son of Jesse was first called my another name and so later named by the name of 'David' in honor of the 'Beloved' of God. And now perhaps here is the place to give the fuller account of the bottom line of Ezekiel chapter 37 which speaks of the two records of the two nations of Judah and Joseph/Ephraim or Israel.

"¶ And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
"And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
"And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
"Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
"And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
"And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
"Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
"My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people." ~ Ezekiel 37:20-27

So now who is this last king of Israel, this JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU, this prince and king David? Who else indeed but Jehovah/Jesus Christ himself by the name of 'Beloved', that is David, who is our reigning king of the last and great Millennial Day and thence for evermore. And this is but Jehovah the anointed, sellected, chosen and ordained Ministering God Jehovah who by the power and authority of God the Father was so empowered to the our Advocate, Mediator, Intercessor and Redeemer acting in the stead of the Father in all things. And in many such things it is he as that God, speaking of himself in the third person as the coming Messiah and as our reigning King David of the latter days. Is this not he who has been 'hid up from the foundation of the world from us, the world?' And is not this a part of his hidding to have spoken as God in the stead of the Father of himself in the third person? Have we not also been so 'hid with him/Christ in God' having been scattered and lost in the world to be so gather together to him in his name in this latter day? And so, in D&C 113 concerning that rod who is 'partly of Jesse as well as of Ephraim, and/or the house of Joseph' even that servant in the hands of Christ on whom there is laid much power: is it not the Lord speaking of himself in the third person as he has done through out the scriptures? Is this not Messiah ben Joseph who is the same as Messiah ben David, even the very king David of the latter days?

Now by itself the answer given by Joseph Smith to the question of 'Who or What' is the rod spoken of in Isaish 11:1, may seem insignificant. But out of that information presented in item 42c one may begin to see that the paternal ancestry of the Messiah is from Jesse as well as Ephraim. It can be seen that Jesus was well said and in truth of the same qualification of being of Ephraim and others mixed through the marriages of the kings, David, Soloman and others. And though Jesus' ancestry is that of the House of David, one must come to understand that he was in reality only 'partly' so because his literal Father was God the Father and only through his mother Mary and his adoptive father Joseph the carpenter, was Jesus to be considered as the heir of the House of David though Son of God. And when Jehovah/Jesus Christ, the God of the Old Testament spoke in authority through such as the prophets, he often would refer to the coming Messian and Son of God in the third person. Thus when he states that the 'rod' is a servant in the hands of Christ, he may well be stating this of himself in 'his own hands' as being the ministering God of the Old Testament though also that very Son of God who did come to earth. And the dualistic applications to other such servants may as well still apply also.

The Rod from Jesse

An overwhelming contengentcy of both Jew and Christian scholars will atest that the 'rod of Jesse' is none other than the spoken of Messiah and in particular in respect to the Christian belief, he is Jesus Christ. And while there are some who also see in this the dualistic possibilities of all which is also to come out of Jesse's, as well as Ephraim's posterity and that it is but one posterity as has been so descussed.

Now when it says, 'a descendant of Jesse as well as Ephraim, or of the house of Joseph', it does not distinguish that Jesse is not a part of the House of Joseph; but rather it actually in its wording does imply that 'Jesse as well as Ephraim' ARE both of the House of Joseph and not only that, but they are so in the same lineal and paternal, father from father to father, ancestral descent. That is, Jesse is that Ephrathite/Ephraimite who is descended from Ephraim and they are thus one and the same lineage line together of the House of Joseph, even that line which is the heir of the covenant from Abraham to Jacob to Joseph to Ephraim to Nun to Joshua, to Elimelech, to Mahlon to Obed to Jesse, to David and thus on to Jesus Christ and any other such righteous seed of that descent which God may call upon to so act in the name of Jesus Christ as the Ministering God of this earth. And this places the ancestral line from Jesse and David to Jesus Christ smack in the provance of being of the House of Joseph as well as Ephraim.

"And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." Revelation 5:5

Now as to this scripture, one must fully realize that the New Testament was written in that same tradition of the Jewish Old Testament which was compiled, kept, written and edited by the Jews. And they had determined in the time of the Chronicles that the genealogy was to be kept after the line of Judah even though the 'birthright' was indeed that of the sons of Joseph. And the early Christian Church and the traditions thereof were so very reliant, though Christian, upon such as those traditions of the Jews.

"I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and offspring of David, and the bright and morning star." Revelation 22:16

Here the Lord leaves no doubt that he, Jesus, was the root and offspring of David who was in turn the son of Jesse. And so then were Jesus and David also descendants of Jesse as well as of Ephraim and of the house of Joseph by logical deduction, though by the record of the Jews they chose to keep the genealogy after the bloodline of Boaz the Jew rather than afther the birthright of Joseph and his son(s) Ephraim. Is it any wonder that the confict between Judah and Israel or Ephraim will be settled under the one single Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who is of both, of the bloodline of Judah and of the covenant birthright of Joseph? What more fitting joining of the two kingdoms of the Hebrews could be resolved under one and the same Messiah and master than for him to both Messiah ben David as well as Messiah ben Joseph?