Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Thanks to a prophecy (1:23), Matthew sometimes calls Jesus "Immanuel." In Hebrew, that means "God with us." And hey, remember how some of Jesus's final words to his disciples were "I am with you always"? Yeah, we have a feeling Jesus did that on purpose.
Five women (including Jesus's mother, Mary) are included in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and the wife of Uriah. Head on back to the Hebrew Bible to get the full scoop on these ladies. (Source.)
Each gospel author has a traditional symbol attached to it (commonly attributed to Ezekiel 1:10 and Revelation 4:7). Matthew's is a winged man symbolizing Jesus's humanity and reason. (Source.)
It's possible that Matthew had a name change, too. In Mark and Luke, when Jesus calls Matthew to follow him, his name is Levi.