"Here is a crucially new approach to the interpretation of Matthew 1, with significant potential for impacting Matthean studies more broadly and enriching biblical studies overall. Timothy Lewis's use of 'text-based' questions in the search for 'text-based answers' opens intriguing new insights into long-debated questions concerning the literary role of the women within Matthew's genealogy (1:1-17) and results in a strikingly new assessment of Joseph's marital dilemma (1:18-25). An important read for students of Matthew's Gospel." --Dorothy Jean Weaver, professor emerita of New Testament, Eastern Mennonite Seminary "This is a standout work, and its thesis is meticulously argued. Timothy Lewis forges a clearly articulated method that focuses on what he calls the poetics of the text. The prioritization of a text-driven framework is a key component. He puts his method to work on Matthew 1 with special attention to the five references to mothers and their significance for the portrayal of Joseph. The approach generates rich veins of insight.

" --John Nolland, author of The Gospel of Matthew in the NIGTC series.