An ancient dilemma for Christianity is that a) the Jewish Messiah must according to prophecy be a member of the house of David, and the tribe of Judah, but b) house and tribal identity are inherited only through the male line, and Jesus lacked a human father, albeit that Joseph belonged to the house of David. Here a resolution of this dilemma is offered, a resolution that arises in the context of a non-Darwinian approach to genetic genealogy.