 Beginning at about thirty years of age, being so it was supposed a son of Joseph, Jesus Himself at about thirty years of age, being so it was supposed a son of Joseph, Jesus was actually of Eli, of Mathan, of Levi... I take it that the emphatic pronoun αυτος heightens the contrast between what the people imagined and the reality. Jesus was a grandson of Eli, Marys fatherLuke gives the genealogy of Jesus through His mother, while Matthew gives it through His stepfather. The eclectic text gives our verse a different wording: και αυτος ἦν Ιησους αρχομενος ὡσει ετων τριακοντα, ων υἱος, ὡς ενομιζετο, Ιωσηφ του Ηλι του Μαθθατ του Λευι του Μελκι,... The RSV translates it like this: Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son as was supposed of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Matthat,... Is not the normal meaning of this rendering that Jesus was in fact the son of Joseph? However, every version that I recall seeing has Joseph, the son of Heli, which directly contradicts Matthew, Jacob begot Joseph. The word son without the article occurs only with Joseph, although most versions supply it on down the genealogy. But Luke is precisely correct in not using it, because it would not hold for the first and last names in the listEli did not beget Jesus nor Joseph and God did not beget Adam. So then, properly understood Luke does not contradict Matthew with reference to Josephs father, nor does he affirm an error of fact with reference to Jesus father. was of Eli, 