Salmon

Life and work

Salmon appears in the genealogical lists as the son of Nahshon and the father of Boaz, placing him in the line from Judah's son Perez down to David (Ruth 4:20-21; 1 Chronicles 2:11). No narrative episode involving Salmon is recorded in the Old Testament itself.

Matthew's genealogy of Jesus adds a detail not found in the Hebrew Bible: it names Salmon's wife, and the mother of Boaz, as Rahab (Matthew 1:5) — generally understood as the same Rahab who hid the Israelite spies in Jericho and was spared when the city fell (Joshua 2; Joshua 6:22-25). Many readers and commentators accept this identification, since Rahab is described in the New Testament as marrying into Israel and being commended for her faith (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25). Some scholars, however, note a chronological difficulty: if the conquest of Jericho is dated to the traditional c. 1400 BC, the span from Rahab to David (born c. 1040 BC) would need to be covered by only four generations (Salmon-Boaz-Obed-Jesse-David), which is unusually compressed for roughly 350 years. Others resolve this with a later date for the conquest, gaps in the genealogy (a common feature of biblical genealogies, which often skip generations), or by treating Matthew's Rahab as a distinct woman of the same name. The question remains debated and is not resolved by the text itself.

Questions and debates

Whether Matthew's 'Rahab,' wife of Salmon, is the same Rahab of Jericho is debated, largely because of the tight generational span this identification would require between the conquest and David's birth.

Extra-biblical evidence

No extra-biblical source attests to Salmon; he is known only from the biblical genealogies.

Scripture references

• Ruth 4:20-21 — Listed as father of Boaz in the genealogy
• 1 Chronicles 2:11 — Listed in the genealogy of Judah
• Matthew 1:5 — Named as husband of Rahab and father of Boaz