Jesus' ancestry was not built by "natural selection." God chose whom he desired. He "rejected" (Ps 78:67) some and "did not choose" (:67) others. But he did "chose the tribe of Judah" (:68) and "also chose David His servant" (:70). God's purpose was to "shepherd Jacob His people" (:71) "according to the integrity of his heart" (:72). Balaam prophesied this as "'the oracle of him who hears the words of God'" (Nu 24:4). He declared, "'How fair are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel!'" (:5). "'He couches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who dares rouse him?'" (:9). He continued saying, "'A scepter shall rise from Israel'" (:17) and, "'One from Jacob shall have dominion'" (:19). Jacob prophesied similarly to his sons and "all these are the twelve tribes of Israel" (Ge 49:28). To Judah he said, "'Your brothers shall praise you'" (:8) (i.e. Judah means "praise"). He declared that "'the scepter shall not depart from Judah . . . until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples'" (:10). It is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah" (Heb 7:14). An elder revealed that "'the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome'" (Rev 5:5).