Person New Testament
Rhesa
Rhesa was the son of Zerubbabel and an ancestor of Jesus Christ, according to Luke's genealogy. Mentioned once in Scripture, at Luke 3:27.
Why it matters. Son of Zerubbabel, ancestor of Jesus
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Rhesa
Rhesa is mentioned in Luk.3.27 as the son of Zerubbabel and an ancestor of Jesus Christ. He appears in the genealogy of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Luke, which traces Jesus' lineage back to Adam through his mother, Mary. Zerubbabel, Rhesa's father, was a significant figure in Jewish history, as he led the first group of exiles back to Jerusalem from Babylon and oversaw the rebuilding of the temple (Ezr.3.2, 8; 5.2). The name Rhesa is not mentioned in the Old Testament, and little is known about him apart from his inclusion in Jesus' genealogy. His presence in the genealogy serves to bridge the gap between the well-known figure of Zerubbabel and the subsequent generations leading up to Jesus. The inclusion of Rhesa in the genealogy highlights the importance of family lineage in Jewish culture and the fulfillment of God's promises through the generations, ultimately leading to the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Parents
- Zerubbabel
- Children
- Joanan
Appears in Scripture
Named in 1 verse across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.
Luke (1 verse)