Five women are mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus; Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary. What is the common thread that ties these women? Why of all the other mothers in the lineage of Jesus are they the only ones picked out for honorable mention? Now one would expect that the lineage of the Messiah should consist only of 'good stock' seeing that the Messiah is considered King of the Jews. Not so with the biblical record. Unlike other holy books that embellish the record of their heroes, the Bible is unflinchingly candid in its details. Thus a second look at the women above will reveal that each had a touch of scandal. Tamar had a rather umm, interesting past. In Genesis 38 we see her losing two husbands in quick succession and then schemes to get herself pregnant by her father-in-law. She disguised herself as a prostitute and then solicited sex from her father-in-law! The (not so good) result is that she bore twins and one of them (Perez), fell smack in the line