Perez, son of Judah and Tamar, was an ancestor of King David and Jesus Christ.
Perez was the son of Judah and Tamar, born in unusual circumstances described in Genesis 38. He was the twin brother of Zerah and was named Perez (meaning "breach" or "breaking forth") because he broke out first during the delivery (Gen.38.29). Perez became the ancestor of a prominent clan within the tribe of Judah (Num.26.20-21). He is mentioned in the genealogy of King David (Rut.4.12,18; 1Ch.2.4-5) and is an ancestor of several notable figures, including Hezron, Caleb, and Nahshon (1Ch.2.5,9,10). The descendants of Perez were among those who settled in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile (Neh.11.4,6). Most significantly, Perez is listed in the genealogies of Jesus Christ in both Mat.1.3 and Luk.3.33, highlighting his important role in the lineage of the Messiah.
Judah to David: Ruth 4 and Matthew 1
FamilyStated in the textRuth 4:18-22 lists ten generations from Perez to David, matching Matthew 1:3-6 and Luke 3:31-33. Scholars note that ten names cover about seven centuries, so the list is likely selective.
Sources: Ruth 4:18-22 · 1 Chr 2:5-15 · Matt 1:3-6 · Luke 3:31-33
Tamar to Perez to David to Jesus
FamilyStated in the textPerez, son of Judah and Tamar, stands at the head of the line that reaches David (Ruth 4:18-22) and Jesus (Matt 1:3-6, Luke 3:33). Matthew names Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba, four women of unusual circumstances, in the genealogy.
Sources: Gen 38:29 · Ruth 4:12 · Ruth 4:18-22 · Matt 1:3 · Luke 3:33
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
15 verses in 7 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H6557