Translating Matthew (Mt 1:1a)

I've decided to dive into the Gospel according to Matthew!

It would be good to engage with some of the recent commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew. It seems strange to me that new Bible translations neglect to draw on the detailed exegesis (explanation and interpretation) found in Gospel commentaries.

What does Mat 1:1 mean? It is obviously meant to introduce Jesus and/or a book about Jesus. I would like to discuss how we might translate the first two phrases (Mt 1:1a). 
Recent commentaries tend to accept the interpretation of the first phrase as evoking the book of Genesis:

Βίβλος γενέσεως Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ  
Book of genesis of Jesus Christ

The first phrase ‘book of genesis’ (or ‘account of creation/origin’) is also how the Greek in the Greek version of the book of Genesis translates the Hebrew phrase sefer toledot ('account of generations'), namely:

Gen 2:4 ‘This is the book of the genesis of heaven and earth’. 
          Αὕτη ἡ βίβλος γενέσεως οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς

Gen 5:1 ‘This is the book of the genesis of human beings’,
          Αὕτη ἡ βίβλος γενέσεως ἀνθρώπων 

Hence in his commentary R. T. France says: "Its use here deliberately echoes the opening chapters of Genesis."
 
Most readers of English Bibles would be unaware of this because almost every English Bible neglects to mention this feature of Mt 1:1. (Beginning a book by evoking Genesis is what the Gospel according to John also does). It is not really surprising that the writer of Matthew would begin by using a phrase that harks back to a key phrase in 'Genesis' ('Genesis' so-called only in Greek but not Hebrew--in Hebrew the 'book' of 'Genesis' was called by its initial word/words: 'In the Beginning' Berishith).  

Not all commentaries agree on whether or not the first verse functions as a title for only the genealogy which follows it or functions as a title for chapters 1-2 or perhaps even for the whole of Matthew. I am almost convinced by the interpretation that sees Mt 1:1 as functioning as a title for the whole book (as argued in the commentary of Davies and Allison, a notion apparently dating back at least to Jerome)--they originally suggested translating Mt 1:1 as: 

Book of the New Genesis wrought by Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham

It is difficult to find any others who accept this proposal of Davies and Allison (and they have backed off somewhat from asserting such a title in their shorter commentary [2004: "Yet even if 1.1 is not a title...")]. Granted yes in Matthew Jesus does inaugurate a new beginning / creation but Matthew seems also much more explicitly interested with a fulfillment theme (particularly in chaps 1-2). When I try to translate verse 1 as a book title with a verb in it (according to Davies and Allison) it just feels too awkward...so I presently I'll be translating 1a (the first two phrases) simply as:

Book of genesis of Jesus Messiah 

I'll finish discussing verse 1 (1b-c) next post.