“Some say the four women in Matthew’s genealogy were immoral in some way, or that they each suffered disgrace. Yet this is not how the Bible describes them.
~ When Judah discovered the truth of Tamar’s actions which led to her pregnancy, he declared her more righteous than himself.[5]And Tamar is spoken of positively in Ruth 4:12.
~ Rahab, despite continuing to be identified as a prostitute, is commended in both Old and New Testaments.[6] James writes that Rahab is considered righteous (Jas 2:24-25), and she is included in the list of faith heroes in Hebrews 11 (Heb.11:31; cf. 11:2).
~ Boaz says this about Ruth: “All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character.” (Ruth 3:11 NIV). He says this during her visit to him at night, alone (Ruth 3:13-14). What did happen that night?
~ In 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12, David is held fully responsible for the actions surrounding Bathsheba’s wretched entrance into palace life (cf. 1 Kings 15:5). Interestingly, she is nameless in the Greek text of Matthew 1and is identified only as “Uriah’s wife.” This seems to distance Bathsheba from David’s crimes.
These four women and Mary were righteous even if they don’t appear that way to the casual or narrow-minded observer. All four, as well as Mary, could have been accused of sexual immorality. Judah initially ordered Tamar to be burnt to death because he first thought she had acted immorally (Gen. 38:24). Mary could have been stoned to death for being pregnant to someone other than Joseph, her betrothed. Some of these women, especially Bathsheba, continue to be maligned. Each of them could have become victims. Instead, they were blessed.”
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