A key difficulty with these explanations, however, is that there is no adoption in Jewish law, which of course is the relevant legal tradition even according to Jesus (Matt. 23:1–3), not the Roman legal tradition. If Joseph is not the biological father, his lineage does not apply to Jesus, and there is no provision available within Jewish law for this to be altered. One's natural father is always one's father. Nor is inheritance of lineage claims even possible through one's mother, in Jewish law.