t_, vol. I. p. 99: "Among the Jews of
Mary's day it was even more of an actual engagement [than it later came
to be]. The betrothal was formally made with rejoicings in the house of
the bride under a tent or slight canopy raised for the purpose. It was
called the 'making sacred' as the bride thenceforth was sacred to her
husband in the strictest sense. To make it legal, the bridegroom gave
his betrothed a piece of money, or the worth of it, before witnesses,
with the words, 'Lo, thou art betrothed unto me,' or by a formal writing
in which similar words and the maiden's name were given, and this in the
same way was handed to her before witnesses."

5. Genealogies of Joseph and Mary.--"It is now almost certain that the
genealogies in both Gospels are genealogies of Joseph, which if we may
rely on early traditions of their consanguinity involve genealogies of
Mary also. The Davidic descent of Mary is implied in Acts 2:30; 13:23;
Rom. 1:3; Luke 1:32, etc. St. Matthew gives the legal descent of Joseph
through the elder and regal line, as heir to the throne of David; St.
Luke gives the natural descent. Thus, the real father of Salathiel was
heir of the house of Nathan, but the childless Jeconiah (Jer. 22:30) was
the last lineal representative of the elder kingly line. The omission of
some obscure names and the symmetrical arrangement, into tesseradecads
were common Jewish customs. It is not too much to say that after the
labors of Mill (_On the Mythical Interpretation of the Gospels_, pp.
147-217) and Lord A. C. Hervey (_On the Genealogies of Our Lord_, 1853)
scarcely a single difficulty remains in reconciling the apparent
divergencies. And thus in this as in so many other instances, the very
discrepancies which appear to be most irreconcilable, and most fatal to
the historic accuracy of the four evangelists, turn out, on closer and
more patient investigation, to be fresh proofs that they are not only
entirely independent, but also entirely trustworthy."--Farrar, _Life of
Christ_, p. 27, note.

The writer of the article "Genealogy of Jesus Christ" in Smith's _Bible
Dict_, says: "The New Testament gives us the genealogy of but one
person, our Savior (Matt. 1; Luke 3).... The following propositions will
explain the true construction of these genealogies (so Lord A. C.
Hervey): 1. They are both the genealogies of Joseph, i.e. of Jesus
Christ, as the reputed and legal son of Joseph and Mary. 2. The
genealogy of Matthew is, as Gr