Matthew emphasizes, right from the beginning, Jesus' title "Christ"—the Greek rendering of the Hebrew title "Messiah"—meaning "anointed", in the sense of an anointed king. Jesus is presented as the long-awaited Messiah, who was expected to be a descendant of King David. Matthew begins by calling Jesus "the son of David", indicating his royal origin, and also "son of Abraham", indicating that he was an Israelite; both are stock phrases, in which "son" means "descendant", calling to mind the promises God made to David and to Abraham.