Who was the Father of Joseph? In Luke 3:23, it is Heli, while in Matthew 1:16, it is Jacob. It appears that there is a contradiction here. Here are the two verses in question:

When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, Luke 3:23

Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. Matthew 1:16

How can a man have two earthly Fathers?

I believe that there are two possible answers to this question

Option 1

There is an old testament law that states if a man dies childless, his widow shall be married to the deceased husband’s brother. The firstborn of that union will bear the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out:

When brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her to himself as wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. It shall be that the firstborn whom she bears shall assume the name of his dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel. Deutoronomy 25:5-6

Is it possible that this is the case with Joseph? Why not? If this is the case, Jacob was Joseph’s natural Father, and Heli was Joseph’s Father by law.

Option 2

Note that in Luke 3:23 it says “Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, AS WAS SUPPOSED, the son of Joseph, the son of Heli”

While it was assumed (from every outward appearance) that Jesus was the fleshly son of Joseph, he was in fact the descendant of Heli (due to being born of a virgin, Lk. 1:30-35). Thus, Heli was the father of Mary, Jesus’s mother. Jacob was the father of Joseph