Text -- 1 Chronicles 2:38-55 (NET)

2:38 Obed was the father of Jehu, and Jehu was the father of Azariah. 2:39 Azariah was the father of Helez, and Helez was the father of Eleasah. 2:40 Eleasah was the father of Sismai, and Sismai was the father of Shallum. 2:41 Shallum was the father of Jekamiah, and Jekamiah was the father of Elishama.

More of Caleb’s Descendants

2:42 The sons of Caleb, Jerahmeel’s brother: His firstborn Mesha, the father of Ziph, and his second son Mareshah, the father of Hebron. 2:43 The sons of Hebron: Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema. 2:44 Shema was the father of Raham, the father of Jorkeam. Rekem was the father of Shammai. 2:45 Shammai’s son was Maon, who was the father of Beth-Zur. 2:46 Caleb’s concubine Ephah bore Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran was the father of Gazez. 2:47 The sons of Jahdai: Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph. 2:48 Caleb’s concubine Maacah bore Sheber and Tirhanah. 2:49 She also bore Shaaph the father of Madmannah and Sheva the father of Machbenah and Gibea. Caleb’s daughter was Achsah. 2:50 These were the descendants of Caleb. The sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrath: Shobal, the father of Kiriath Jearim, 2:51 Salma, the father of Bethlehem, Hareph, the father of Beth-Gader. 2:52 The sons of Shobal, the father of Kiriath Jearim, were Haroeh, half of the Manahathites, 2:53 the clans of Kiriath Jearim– the Ithrites, Puthites, Shumathites, and Mishraites. (The Zorathites and Eshtaolites descended from these groups.) 2:54 The sons of Salma: Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth Beth-Joab, half the Manahathites, the Zorites, 2:55 and the clans of the scribes who lived in Jabez: the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. These are the Kenites who descended from Hammath, the father of Beth-Rechab.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: 1Ch 2:45

zur - A place in Judah.

Wesley: 1Ch 2:49

This, and divers other following names are the names of places in Judah.

Wesley: 1Ch 2:51

That is, the inhabitants of Bethlehem.

Wesley: 1Ch 2:55

Either civil, who were public notaries, that wrote and signed legal instruments: or ecclesiastical. And these were either Levites, or Simeonites, or rather Kenites, and are here mentioned not as if they were of the tribe of Judah, but because they dwelt among them, and probably were allied to them by marriages, and so in a manner incorporated with them.

JFB: 1Ch 2:42

(compare 1Ch 2:18, 1Ch 2:25). The sons here noticed were the fruit of his union with a third wife.

JFB: 1Ch 2:55

Either civil or ecclesiastical officers of the Kenite origin, who are here classed with the tribe of Judah, not as being descended from it, but as dwelling within its territory, and in a measure incorporated with its people.

JFB: 1Ch 2:55

A place in Judah (1Ch 4:9).

JFB: 1Ch 2:55

Who settled in Judah, and were thus distinguished from another division of the Kenite clan which dwelt in Manasseh (Jdg 4:11).

Clarke: 1Ch 2:42

Now the sons of Caleb - This was not Caleb the son of Jephunneh, but Caleb the son of Hezron, 1Ch 2:18, 1Ch 2:50. But some think that Caleb the son of Hezron was the grandson of Caleb, son of Jephunneh; but this is probably fanciful

Clarke: 1Ch 2:42

The father of Ziph - "The prince of the Ziphites."- T.

Clarke: 1Ch 2:52

Shobal - had sons - "Disciples and priests, to whom belonged the half of the oblations."- T.

Clarke: 1Ch 2:53

The families of Kirjath-jearim - "These were the children of Moses, which Zipporah bare to him, viz., the Jethrites, the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; of these came the disciples of the prophets Zarah and Eshtaol."- T.

Clarke: 1Ch 2:54

The sons of Salma - "The righteous Bethlehemites, who had a good name, as the Netophathites, who removed the guards which Jeroboam had placed in the way lest the people should carry the first-fruits to Jerusalem: for the sons of Salma carried baskets full of first-fruits privately to Jerusalem; and having cloven wood, they made ladders, and brought them to Jerusalem to be laid up in Beth-mokad for oblations. These came from the lineage of Joab the son of Zeruiah; and some of them were priests; and they divided the residue of the sacrifices with the sons of the prophets who were in Zorah."- T.

Clarke: 1Ch 2:55

The families - "The families of the Rechabites, the sons of Eliezer the son of Misco, the disciple of Jabez; he was Othniel, the son of Kenaz. And he was called Jabez, because in his council he instituted a school of disciples; they were called Tirathim, because in their hymns their voice was like trumpets; and Shimathim, because in hearing they lifted up their faces, i.e., in prayer; and Suchathim, because they were overshadowed by the Spirit of prophecy. These Salmaei were the children of Zipporah, who were numbered among the Levites who came from the stock of Moses, the master of Israel, whose righteousness profited them more than chariots and horses."- T. See on 1Ch 4:9-10 (note)

Is the above explanation of Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Suchathites, the Targumist refers to the import of the Hebrew roots, whence these names are derived. See 1Ch 4:10. In this chapter many names of cities are given as the names of men.

TSK: 1Ch 2:38

Jehu : 2Ki 9:2

Azariah : 1Ch 6:36; 2Ch 23:1

TSK: 1Ch 2:39

Helez : i.e. strength, [Strong’ s H2503], 2Sa 23:26

	Personal Characteristics	References
1.	One of David’ s valiant men	1Ch 11:27; 2Sa 23:26
2.	A descendant of Jerahmeel	1Ch 2:39
	Eleasah : i.e. God has wrought, [Strong’ s H501], 1Ch 2:39, 1Ch 2:40, 1Ch 8:37, 1Ch 9:43; Ezr 10:22; Jer 29:3

Eleasah
Personal Characteristics	References
1.	Descended from Sheshan’ s daughter	1Ch 2:39
2.	One of the stock of Saul	1Ch 8:37, 1Ch 9:43
3.	Rendered ""Elasah, ""the bearer of Jeremiah’ s letter to the captives in Babylon	Jer 29:3

TSK: 1Ch 2:40

Sisamai : i.e. distinguished one; swallow, [Strong’ s H5581].

Shallum : 2Ki 15:10

TSK: 1Ch 2:41

Jekamiah : i.e. let Jah arise, [Strong’ s H3359], 1Ch 3:18

Elishama : Num 1:10; 2Ki 25:25

TSK: 1Ch 2:42

Caleb : This was not Caleb the son of Jephunneh, but Caleb the son of Hezron, and therefore called the brother of Jerahmeel. See the parallel texts. 1Ch 2:9, Chelubai, 1Ch 2:18, 1Ch 2:19, 1Ch 2:24

his firstborn : Gen 49:3; Exo 4:22, Exo 4:23; Rom 8:29; Heb 12:23

the father : i.e. the founder, Or, as the Targum renders, ""the prince of the Ziphites;""for it was usual to call both the founder and the prince of a city its father.

Ziph : Jos 15:24; 1Sa 23:19, 1Sa 26:1

the father of Hebron : 1Ch 2:23, 1Ch 2:24, 1Ch 2:45, 1Ch 2:49, 1Ch 2:52, 1Ch 8:29; Ezr 2:21-35; Neh 7:25-38

TSK: 1Ch 2:44

Raham : i.e. compassionate, [Strong’ s H7357]

Jorkoam : i.e. paleness or spreading of the people, [Strong’ s H3421]. 1Ch 2:44

TSK: 1Ch 2:45

Bethzur : Beth-zur was situated in the tribe of Judah, twenty miles south from Jerusalem, towards Hebron, according to Eusebius. It was fortified by Rehoboam (2Ch 11:7) and was a fortress of great consequence, principally in the time of the Maccabees. 1; Mac 1Ch 4:28; 1Ch 6:7, etc. Jos 15:58

TSK: 1Ch 2:46

Caleb’ s : 1Ch 2:18, 1Ch 2:19, 1Ch 2:48

TSK: 1Ch 2:48

concubine : 1Ch 2:46; Gen 25:5, Gen 25:6

TSK: 1Ch 2:49

the father of Madmannah : 1Ch 2:42; Madmannah was a city situated in the southern part of Judah, and towards Gaza, according to Eusebius. Jos 15:31; Isa 10:31, Madmenah

Gibea : It is probable this was not Gibeah of Benjamin, and the royal residence of Saul, but Gibeah in the tribe of Judah, to which all these other cities belonged. Jos 15:57; 2Sa 21:6, Gibeah

TSK: 1Ch 2:50

Caleb : This Caleb was the grandson of the preceding, and brother to Uri, the father of Bezaleel.

Ephratah : 1Ch 2:19, 1Ch 2:20, Ephrath

Kirjathjearim : 1Ch 2:53, 1Ch 13:5, 1Ch 13:6; Jos 15:9, Jos 15:60; 1Sa 7:1

TSK: 1Ch 2:51

Salma : 1Ch 4:4

Bethlehem : Gen 35:19; Rth 1:19, Rth 2:4, Rth 4:11; Mat 2:1, Mat 2:6; Joh 7:42

TSK: 1Ch 2:52

Haroeh : or, Reaiah, 1Ch 4:2; As Haroeh and Reaiah have nearly the same signification, it is probable they were deemed perfectly interchangeable, and indifferently applied.

half of the Manahethites : or, half of the Menuchites, or, Hatsihammenuchoth.

TSK: 1Ch 2:53

Ithrites : 1Ch 11:40; 2Sa 23:38

the Zareathites : Jos 15:33, Jos 19:41; Jdg 13:2, Jdg 13:25, Jdg 16:31

TSK: 1Ch 2:54

Bethlehem : 1Ch 2:51

Netophathites : 1Ch 11:30; 2Sa 23:29; Ezr 2:22; Neh 7:26, Neh 12:28

Ataroth : or, Atarites, or crowns of the house of Joab, Jos 16:2

TSK: 1Ch 2:55

the scribes : Ezr 7:6; Jer 8:8

Jabez : 1Ch 4:9, 1Ch 4:10

Kenites : Jdg 1:16, Jdg 4:11; 1Sa 15:6

Rechab : 2Ki 10:15; Jer 35:2-8, Jer 35:19

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 1Ch 2:42

A third line of descent from Caleb, the son of Hezron, the issue probably of a different mother, perhaps Jerioth 1Ch 2:18. The supposed omissions in this verse have been supplied as follows:

(1) "Mesha, the father of Ziph; and the sons of Ziph, Mareshah, the father of Hebron;"or

(2) "Mareshah, the father of Ziph; and the sons of Mareshah, the father of Ziph, Hebron."

Ziph, like Jorkoam 1Ch 2:44 and Beth-zur 1Ch 2:45, is the name of a place where the respective chiefs ("fathers") settled. Similarly Madmannah, Machbenah, and Gibea 1Ch 2:49, Kirjath-jearim (Jos 9:17 note), Bethlehem and Beth-gader (Jedur, 1Ch 2:51) are unmistakeable names of places in the list, names which it is not probable were ever borne by persons.

Barnes: 1Ch 2:50

Caleb the son of Hur - Hur was the son, not the father, of Caleb 1Ch 2:19. The text should perhaps be read: "These (the list in 1Ch 2:42-49) were the sons of Caleb. The sons of Hur, the first-born of Ephratah, were Shobal, etc."

Barnes: 1Ch 2:54

Ataroth, the house of Joab - Rather, "Ataroth-beth-Joab,"probably so called, to distinguish it from Ataroth-Adar, a city of Benjamin Jos 18:13. It is uncertain from what Joab it derived its distinctive appellation.

Barnes: 1Ch 2:55

Kenites - It is remarkable that Kenites - people of a race quite distinct from the Israelites Gen 15:19 - should be attached to, and, as it were, included in the descendants of Judah. It seems, however, that the friendly feeling between the two tribes - based on the conduct of the Kenites at the time of the Exodus Exo 18:10-19; Num 10:29-32; 1Sa 15:6 - led to their intermixture and almost amalgamation with the Israelites, Kenite families not only dwelling among them but being actually regarded as of one blood with them.

Poole: 1Ch 2:42

The sons of Caleb to wit, of that Caleb mentioned 1Ch 2:18 , as appears by comparing that verse with 1Ch 2:21 . And these are his sons by another and his third wife. See Poole "1Ch 2:18" .

Ziph the name either of a man, or of a place, of which see Jos 15:24,55 ; and then father is to be understood here, as 1Ch 2:23,24 .

The father of Hebron not the place so called, but a man, as is evident, because his sons here follow.

Poole: 1Ch 2:45

A place in Judah, Jos 15:58 , See Poole on "1Ch 2:23" .

Poole: 1Ch 2:47

The sons of Jahdai the son of Gazez last mentioned; which is implied, because he follows next after him in the genealogy. Or, the sons of Moza; whose name might be changed into Jahdai for some reason now unknown.

Poole: 1Ch 2:49

Madmannah: this and divers other following names are the names of places in Judah, and

father is meant as 1Ch 2:23,24 .

Poole: 1Ch 2:51

Salma the father of Beth-lehem to wit, in part; for Boaz descended from another Salmon, who was the son of Nahshon, 1Ch 2:11 .

Hareph the father of Beth-gader called also Penuel the father of Gedor , 1Ch 4:4 .

Poole: 1Ch 2:52

Haroeh which may signify an overseer, a prophet, or teacher, or ruler; but here is a proper name, as appears from 1Ch 4:2 , where he is called Reaiah , with no great variation in the Hebrew.

Poole: 1Ch 2:53

The families of Kirjath-jearim or, in Kirjath-jearim ; all which descended from Shobal, 1Ch 2:50 .

Of them i.e. of the family of the Mishraites, last mentioned.

The Eshtaulites the inhabitants of two places called Zoreah and Eshtaol , Jos 15:33 .

Poole: 1Ch 2:54

The sons of Salma of that Salma mentioned 1Ch 2:51 .

Beth-lehem i.e. the inhabitants of Beth-lehem.

Ataroth the name of a person or people.

The house of Joab the progenitors of Joab’ s family.

Half of the Manahethites the other half being mentioned 1Ch 2:52 .

Zorites for, to wit, the Zorites .

Poole: 1Ch 2:55

The scribes either civil, who were public notaries, who wrote and signed legal instruments; or ecclesiastical. And these were either Levites, or Simeonites, or rather Kenites, and are here mentioned not as if they were of the tribe of Judah, but because they dwelt among them, and probably were allied to them by marriages, and so in a manner incorporated with them.

Which dwelt or rather, dwelt ; Heb. were dwellers . For the other translation, which dwelt , may seem to insinuate that these were descendants of Judah, which they were not; but this translation only signifies their cohabitation with them, for which cause they are here named with them.

At Jabez a place in Judah, so named probably from that famous Jabez of that tribe, 1Ch 4:9 .

The Kenites that came of Hemath who dwelt in Judah, Jud 1:16 . Thus they are distinguished from the other branch of the Kenites, who dwelt in the tribe of Manasseh, Jud 4:11 .

Haydock: 1Ch 2:42

Caleb, or Calubi, ver. 9. Ziph, Maresa, and Hebron, are the names of towns, as well as of men. The descendants of Mesa inhabited Ziph, and those of Maresa dwelt at Hebron. The same remark will hold good in other places, where the names of places are put for those who occupied them. (Calmet) ---

And the sons. Hebrew, "and of the sons of Maresa." (Vatable) ---

But it may be as well explained in the sense of the Vulgate. Septuagint, "Marisa, his first-born. He was the father of Ziph, and the sons of Marisa, of the father of Hebron." ---

Father. Literally, "of the father," patris Hebron. (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Ch 2:47

Jahaddai. His name occurs not before. Some suppose he was the son of Mosa: perhaps a verse may be lost, as the Syriac and Arabic pass over this and the two following verses.

Haydock: 1Ch 2:49

Achsa, different from Axa, the grand-daughter of Jephone, Judges i. 12. (Haydock) ---

Both had daughters of the same name. (Du Hamel)

Haydock: 1Ch 2:50

Caleb, grandson of Calubi. (Vatable, &c.) ---

Sobal, his descendant, was prince of those who established themselves at Cariathiarim. (Calmet) ---

The Alexandrian Septuagint seems rather to assert that he was son of Hur, as well as those who follow. "The sons of Hur....Sobal....Salomon, father of Baithlammon, father of Bethleem." But the editions vary. (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Ch 2:52

He that saw, &c. The Latin interpreter seems to have given us here, instead of the proper names, the meaning of those names in the Hebrew. He has done in like manner, ver. 55., (Challoner) and in many other places. (Du Hamel) ---

Hebrew, "had sons, haroe cha hamenuchoth, (Haydock) or Raia, Roeh, (chap. iv. 2.) and Chazi of the canton of Menuchat, near Babaa, chap. viii. 6., and Judges xx. 43. Septuagint mention Manocho, Josue xv. 60. ---

We may also translate "the father of Cariathiarim, the prince of half Manuchat, had sons who peopled different cities." It seems too harsh to call a man "half the place of rest," or "seeing from the moiety of rest," though the Hebrew has this literal signification. The Septuagint give proper names, (Calmet) "Araa, Esei, Ammanith," (but [in] ver. 55, half of Manath) and the Protestants, "Haroeh and half of the Manahattites." (Haydock) ---

Sobal left to his descendants half the country which he had quietly occupied.

Haydock: 1Ch 2:53

Kindred. Septuagint, "Oumasphas." (Haydock) ---

Esthaolites. All these places were in Juda, (Calmet) or perhaps (Haydock) the two last in Dan, (Menochius) or occupied by both tribes. (Abulensis, q. 8.)

Haydock: 1Ch 2:54

Salma, or Salmon's descendants, people Bethlehem, &c. ---

Crowns. Valiant heroes who assisted Joab to gain crowns. (Worthington) ---

Hebrew, "Hateroth," the house (Alexandrian Septuagint, of the house of Jobab) of Joab; (Haydock) perhaps the famous general who had land near Absalom's, on the frontiers of Ephraim, where Ataroth was situated. ---

And half. Hebrew, "half of the Manahethites." Protestants (Haydock) or "of Menuchat, towards Zarai." The author seems purposely to mention to whom the cities at first belonged, that the right owners might be reinstated in their possessions, at their return from Babylon. (Calmet) ---

This verse may specify six towns, Bethlehem and Netophat, (Haydock) Beth-Joab, Chatsi, Manachti, and Atsothi.

Haydock: 1Ch 2:55

Scribes, learned in the law. (Menochius) ---

Singing, &c. The different professions of the Rechabites are here given, instead of proper names, (Calmet) which the Vatican Septuagint retains. ---

Thargathiim and Samathiim, Sochathim. ---

Hebrew Tirhatim, "porters;" (Chaldean) Shimhathim, "the obedient;" Sucathim, "the inhabitants of tents;" Calor, "the heat," as the Hebrew Chamath (Protestants, Hemath) signifies. The Cinites dwelt on the south of Juda, for which reason they are probably here mentioned, though some of them also inhabited Jabes Galaad, while the Rechabites dwelt in tents, (Haydock) and were perhaps employed as porters in the temple. (Calmet) (Jeremias xxxv. 5, 19.)

Gill: 1Ch 2:35-41

And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant to wife,.... Having first given him his freedom, as the Targum premises; this daughter seems to be Ahlai, 1Ch 2:31 which receives confirmation from Zabad, one of the descendants of this man, 1Ch 2:36, being said to be the son of Ahlai, 1Ch 11:41, that is, great-grandson:

and she bare him Attai; the genealogy of whose descendants is given to the end of 1Ch 2:41, of whom no mention is made elsewhere, but of Zabad, as before observed; and, according to the Jews, it is given for the sake of Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, the last person mentioned in this genealogy; which Ishmael slew Gedaliah governor of Jerusalem, and is said to be of the seed royal, Jer 41:1.

Gill: 1Ch 2:42

Now the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel,.... Called Chelubai, 1Ch 2:9 and is the same Caleb spoken of in 1Ch 2:18 and his sons next reckoned were by a third wife, Azubah, Ephrath being dead, 1Ch 2:19 and these sons were

Mesha his firstborn, which was the father of Ziph; who gave name to the city of Ziph; there were two of this name in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:24 or this is the title of Mesha, governor of the city of Ziph; so the Targum calls him, prince of the Ziphites:

and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron; according to Kimchi and Ben Melech, the words are to be supplied thus, "and the sons of Ziph were Mareshah the father of Hebron"; which, though sometimes the name of a city in the tribe of Judah, is here the name of a man, from whom, perhaps, the city had its name, since Hebron is said to have sons in the next verse; Jarchi makes Mesha to be the prince of Ziph, and prince of the children of Mareshah, and prince of Hebron.

Gill: 1Ch 2:43

And the sons of Hebron: Korah, and Tappuah, and Rekem, and Shema. One of these, Tappuah, is the name of a city in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:34 and there is also Bethtappuah in the same tribe, 1Ch 2:53 which one, or both, might have their name from this man; and Shema also, 1Ch 2:26.

Gill: 1Ch 2:44

And Shema begat Raham, the father of Jorkoam,.... Which Hillerus ^s takes to be the name of a city in the tribe of Judah; and Jarchi's note is, that wherever the word "father" is here used, it is to be understood of the prince of a city that follows:

and Rekem begat Shammai; there is a descendant of Jerahmeel, the brother of Caleb, of this name, 1Ch 2:28.

Gill: 1Ch 2:45

And the son of Shammai was Maon,.... Who gave name to a city in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:55 see 1Sa 23:24.

and Maon was the father of Bethzur; prince of a very strong fortified city of this name in the same tribe, Jos 15:58, unless this was a son of Maon's, from whom the city had its name.

Gill: 1Ch 2:46

And Ephah Caleb's concubine bare Haran, and Moza, and Gazez,.... An half-wife, or secondary wife; for though this man seems not to have had more wives than one at a time, yet he had concubines with them; we read of another after this, if not a third:

and Haran begat Gazez; whom he so named after his brother.

Gill: 1Ch 2:47

And the sons of Jahdai,.... Who is not mentioned by this name before; perhaps the same with Moza, who might have two names, though, according to Hillerus ^t, he was the son of Moza; some take it to be the name of another of Caleb's concubines, by whom he had the six following sons:

Regem, and Jotham, and Geshan, and Pelet, and Ephah, and Shaaph; one of these, Pelet perhaps, gave name to Bethpalet in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:27.

Gill: 1Ch 2:48

Maachah, Caleb's concubine,.... Another concubine of his:

bare Sheber, and Tirhanah; or of whom Caleb begot those two; for the verb is masculine; so Kimchi.

Gill: 1Ch 2:49

She bare also Shaaph the father of Madmannah,.... Prince of a place so called, in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:31.

Sheva the father of Machbenah, and the father of Gibeah; prince of two cities of those names in the same tribe; of the latter see Jos 15:57,

and the daughter of Caleb was Achsah; Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, had a daughter of this name, but neither he nor she are here meant, Jos 15:16 but by whom Caleb, the son of Hezron, had this daughter, is not said; perhaps by Maachah his concubine last mentioned.

Gill: 1Ch 2:50

These were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah,.... This is another Caleb, the grandson of Caleb the son of Hezron, called after his name; he was the son of Hur, the firstborn of his wife Ephratah, 1Ch 2:19.

Shobal the father of Kirjathjearim: of the inhabitants of that place; they sprung from him; or, as the Targum, he was prince of Kirjathjearim, a city in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:60.

Gill: 1Ch 2:51

Salma the father of Bethlehem,.... Or prince of Bethlehem, as the Targum; not the same as in 1Ch 2:11 he was the son of Nahshon, this of the younger Caleb:

Hareph, the father of Bethgader; prince of a place of that name called Gedor, 1Ch 4:4, and where this man's name is Penuel; Gedor was in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:58.

Gill: 1Ch 2:52

And Shobal, the father of Kirjathjearim had sons,.... Which shows that Kirjathjearim is not the name of a man, or of any of Shobal's sons, who are next mentioned, but of a place of which he was prince: the first is

Haroeh, who is called Reaiah, 1Ch 4:2 a word of the same signification:

and half of the Manahethites; which Kimchi takes to be the proper name of a man called Chatzihamanaheth, another son of Shobal's; but Jarchi interprets it of the name of a place or province called Manahath, 1Ch 8:6 over half of which Haroeh was governor.

Gill: 1Ch 2:53

And the families of Kirjathjearim,.... That dwelt there, of which Shobal was prince, and who sprung from him, are as follow:

the Ithrite, and the Puhites, and the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; who had their names from Jether, Putha, Shumath, and Mishra, descendants of Shobal:

of them came the Zareathites, and the Eshtaulites; that is, from the Mishraites sprung the inhabitants of Zeroth and Eshtaol, places in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:33.

Gill: 1Ch 2:54

The sons of Salma,.... Another son of the younger Caleb, 1Ch 2:50 whose sons were Bethlehem, the inhabitants of the place, at least many of them, of which he was prince, 1Ch 2:51 and the Netophathite; the inhabitants of Netophah, a place in the tribe of Judah, mentioned along with Bethlehem, Neh 7:26 these sprung from Salma:

Ataroth, the house of Joab; Ataroth seems to be the name of a place in the tribe of Judah, where the family of Joab lived, the inhabitants of which were the descendants of Salma:

and half of the Manahethites; the other half of the inhabitants of Manahath, see 1Ch 2:52,

the Zorites; part also of them, called Zareathites, 1Ch 2:53.

Gill: 1Ch 2:55

And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez,.... A city in Judah, the founder of which, perhaps, was Jabez, mentioned in 1Ch 4:9 in which learned men dwelt:

the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites; who sprung from men whose names were Tira, Shimea, and Sucha; and if they were not the posterity of Salma, yet dwelt among his, and so are reckoned with them; perhaps the latter might have their name from dwelling in tents; the former clause may be rendered, "that dwelt with Jabez", who was their master, and they his scholars; in the Vulgate Latin version the words are rendered as appellatives, "singing and resounding, and dwelling in tents": Conrad Pellican, on the place, goes a middle way, and interprets these families as dwelling with Jabez their master, and they his scholars, and that they were called by their progenitors Tirathites, because learned and ingenious, and praecentors of the divine oracles; Shimeathites, because they diligently hearkened to the sacred songs, and the doctrines of the law of God; and Suchathites, because they dwelt not in cities, but in tents, despisers of all worldly things, that they might freely attend to learn:

these are the Kenites; that is, the Suchathites are the Kenites, who, it is well known, dwelt in tents, and not in cities; though Jarchi takes these Kenites to be the inhabitants of Cain, a city in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:57 but they seem rather to be the Kenites that sprung from Jethro, here made mention of, because some of them dwelt in the tribe of Judah, and among the posterity of Salma, see Jdg 1:16.

that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab; the prince of that family, and who from Rechab were called Rechabites, Jer 35:2.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ch 2:42

¹ tc Heb “and the sons of Mareshah,” but this does not fit contextually. Perhaps the text originally had וּבְנוֹ מִשְׁנֶה מָרֵשָׁה (uvÿno mishneh mareshah, “and his second son, Mareshah”), with מִשְׁנֶה (“second”) later accidentally falling out by homoioteleuton (cf. the note in BHS here).

NET Notes: 1Ch 2:46

¹ sn See the note on the word “concubine” in 1:32.

NET Notes: 1Ch 2:50

¹ tn Heb “son.” The Hebrew text has the singular, but the following list contains more than one name.

² tn The Hebrew text reads “Ephrathah” here, but see v. 19, which mentions “Ephrath” as the wife of Hur.

NET Notes: 1Ch 2:52

¹ tn The Hebrew text has “Menuchites” here, but v. 54 has “Manachathites.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 2:53

¹ tn Heb “from these went forth the Zorathites and Eshtaolites.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 2:55

¹ tn Or perhaps “the Sopherim.” The NAB transliterates this term and treats it as a proper name.

² tn Heb “came.”

³ tn Or (if בֵּית [beth] is translated as “house” rather than considered to be part of the name) “the father of the house [i.e., family] of Rechab.”

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 2:42

Now the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel [were], Mesha his firstborn, which was the ^{( l )} father of Ziph; and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron.

^{( l )} That is, the chief governor or prince of the Ziphims, because the prince should have a fatherly care and affection for his people.

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 2:46

And Ephah, Caleb's ^{( m )} concubine, bare Haran, and Moza, and Gazez: and Haran begat Gazez.

^{( m )} The difference between the wife and the concubine was that the wife was taken with a ceremony of marriage and her children inherited, while the concubine had no marriage ceremony, neither did her children inherit, but had a portion of goods or money given to them.

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 2:54

The sons of Salma; Bethlehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the ^{( n )} house of Joab, and half of the Manahethites, the Zorites.

^{( n )} The chief and principle of the house of Joab.

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 2:55

And the families of the ^{( o )} scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, [and] Suchathites. These [are] the ^{( p )} Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.

^{( o )} Who were men learned and expert in the law.

^{( p )} Read (Num 10:29; Jdg 1:16).

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 1Ch 2:1-55

1 The sons of Israel.

3 The posterity of Judah by Tamar.

13 The children of Jesse.

18 The posterity of Caleb the son of Hezron.

21 Hezron's posterity by the daughter of Machir.

25 Jerahmeel's posterity.

34 Sheshan's posterity.

42 Another branch of Caleb's posterity.

50 The posterity of Caleb the son of Hur.

MHCC: 1Ch 2:1-55

We are now come to the register of the children of Israel, that distinguished people, who were to dwell alone, and not be reckoned among the nations. But now, in Christ, all are welcome to his salvation who come to him; all have equal privileges according to their faith in him, their love and devotedness to him. All that is truly valuable consists in the favour, peace, and image of God, and a life spent to his glory, in promoting the welfare of our fellow-creatures.

Matthew Henry: 1Ch 2:18-55

The persons mentioned in the former paragraph are most of them such as we read of, and most of them such as we read much of, in other scriptures; but very few of those to whom this paragraph relates are mentioned any where else. It should seem, the tribe of Judah were more full and exact in their genealogies than any other of the tribes, in which we must acknowledge a special providence, for the clearing of the genealogy of Christ. 1. Here we find Bezaleel, who was head-workman in building the tabernacle, Exo 31:2. 2. Hezron, who was the son of Pharez (1Ch 2:5), was the father of all this progeny, his sons, Caleb and Jerahmeel, being very fruitful, and he himself likewise, even in his old age, for he left his wife pregnant when he died, 1Ch 2:24. This Hezron was one of the seventy that went down with Jacob into Egypt, Gen 46:12. There his family thus increased, as other oppressed families there did. We cannot but suppose that he died during the Israelites' bondage in Egypt; and yet it is here said he died in Caleb-Ephratah (that is, Bethlehem), in the land of Canaan, 1Ch 2:24. Perhaps, though the body of the people continued in Egypt, yet some that were more active than the rest, at least before their bondage came to be extreme, visited Canaan sometimes and got footing there, though afterwards they lost it. The achievements of Jair, here mentioned (1Ch 2:22, 1Ch 2:23), we had an account of in Num 32:41; and, it is supposed, they were long after the conquest of Canaan. The Jews say, Hezron married his third wife when he was sixty years old (1Ch 2:21), and another afterwards (1Ch 2:24), because he had a great desire of posterity in the family of Pharez, from whom the Messiah was to descend. 3. Here is mention of one that died without children (1Ch 2:30), and another (1Ch 2:32), and of one that had no sons, but daughters, 1Ch 2:34. Let those that are in any of these ways afflicted not think their case new or singular. Providence orders these affairs of families by an incontestable sovereignty, as pleaseth him, giving children, or withholding them, or giving all of one sex. He is not bound to please us, but we are bound to acquiesce in his good pleasure. To those that love him he will himself be better than ten sons, and give them in his house a place and a name better than of sons and daughters. Let not those therefore that are written childless envy the families that are built up and replenished. Shall our eye be evil because God's is good? 4. Here is mention of one who had an only daughter, and married her to his servant an Egyptian, 1Ch 2:34, 1Ch 2:35. If it be mentioned to his praise, we must suppose that this Egyptian was proselyted to the Jewish religion and that he was very eminent for wisdom and virtue, otherwise it would not have become a true-born Israelite to match a daughter to him, especially an only daughter. If Egyptians become converts, and servants do worthily, neither their parentage nor their servitude should be a bar to their preferment. Such a one this Egyptian servant might be that she who married him might live as happily with him as if she had married one of the rulers of her tribe. 5. The pedigree of several of these terminates, not in a person, but in a place or country, as one is said to be the father of Kirjath-jearim (1Ch 2:50), another of Bethlehem (1Ch 2:51), which was afterwards David's city, because these places fell to their lot in the division of the land. 6. here are some that are said to be families of scribes (1Ch 2:55), such as kept up learning in their family, especially scripture-learning, and taught the people the good knowledge of God. Among all these great families we are glad to find some that were families of scribes. Would to God that all the Lord's people were prophets - all the families of Israel families of scribes, well instructed to the kingdom of heaven, and able to bring out of their treasury things new and old!

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ch 2:9-41

The only name given here as that of a descendant of Ethan is Azariah, of whom nothing further is known, while the name recurs frequently. Nothing more is said of the remaining sons of Zerah; they are merely set down as famous men of antiquity (Berth.). There follows in

1 Chronicles 2:9-41

The family of Hezron, the first-born son of Pharez, which branches off in three lines, originating with his three sons respectively. The three sons of Hezron are Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai; but the families springing from them are enumerated in a different order. First (1Ch 2:10-17) we have the family of Ram, because King David is descended from him; then (1Ch 2:18-24) the family of Chelubai or Caleb, from whose lineage came the illustrious Bezaleel; and finally (vv. 25-41), the posterity of the first-born, Jerahmeel.

1Ch 2:9

לו נולד אשׁר , what was born to him. The passive stands impersonally instead of the more definite active, "to whom one bore,"so that the following names are subordinated to it with את . The third person singular Niph. occurs thus also in 1Ch 3:4 and 1Ch 26:6; the construction of Niph. with את frequently (Gen 4:18; Gen 21:5, and elsewhere). Ram is called, in the genealogy in Mat 1:3-4, Aram; comp. רם , Job 32:2, with ארם , Gen 22:21. כּלוּבי is called afterwards כּלב ; cf. on 1Ch 2:18.

1Ch 2:10-15

The family of Ram (1Ch 2:10-12), traced down through six members of Jesse. - This genealogy is also to be found in Ruth. 1Ch 4:19-21; but only here is Nahshon made more prominent than the others, by the addition, "prince of the sons of Judah."Nahshon was a prince of Judah at the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt (Num 1:7; Num 2:3; Num 7:12). Now between him, a contemporary of Moses, and Pharez, who at the immigration of Jacob into Egypt was about fifteen years old, lies a period of 430 years, during which the Israelites remained in Egypt. For that time only three names - Hezron, Ram, and Amminidab - are mentioned, from which it is clear that several links must have been passed over. So also, from Nahshon to David, for a period of over 400 years, four generations - Salma, Boaz, Obed, and Jesse - are too few; and consequently here also the less famous ancestors of David are omitted. שׂלמא is called in Rth 4:20-21, שׁלמה and שׂלמון . In 1Ch 2:13-15, seven sons and two daughters of Jesse, with those of their sons who became famous (1Ch 2:16, 1Ch 2:17), are enumerated. According to 1Sa 17:12, Jesse had eight sons. This account, which agrees with that in 1Sa 16:8-12, may be reconciled with the enumeration in our verse, on the supposition that one of the sons died without posterity. In 1Sa 16:6. and 1Ch 17:13, the names of the eldest three - Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah - occur. Besides ישׁי , we meet with the form אשׁי (1Ch 2:13); and the name שׁמּה is only another form of שׁמעה , which is found in 2Sa 13:3 and in 1Ch 20:7, and is repeated in 2Sa 13:32 and 2Sa 21:21 in the Kethibh ( שׁמעי ). The names of the other three sons here mentioned (1Ch 2:14 and 1Ch 2:15) are met with nowhere else.

1Ch 2:16-17

The sisters of David have become known through their heroic sons. Zeruiah is the mother of the heroes of the Davidic history, Abishai, Joab, and Asahel (cf. 1Sa 26:6; 2Sa 2:18; 2Sa 3:39; 2Sa 8:16, and elsewhere). Their father is nowhere mentioned, "because their more famous mother challenged the greater attention"(Berth.). Abigail was, according to 2Sa 17:25, the daughter of Nahash, a sister of Zeruiah, and so was only a half-sister of David, and was the mother of Amasa the captain of the host, so well known on account of his share in the conspiracy of Absalom; cf. 2Sa 17:25; 2Sa 19:14, and 2Sa 20:10. His father was Jether, or Jithra, the Ishmaelite, who in the Masoretic text of 2Sa 17:25 is called, through a copyist's, error, היּשׂראלי instead of היּשׁמעאלי ; see comm. on passage.

1Ch 2:18-24

The family of Caleb. - That כּלב is merely a shortened form of כּלוּבי , or a form of that word resulting from the friction of constant use, is so clear from the context, that all exegetes recognise it. We have first (1Ch 2:18-20) a list of the descendants of Caleb by two wives, then descendants which the daughter of the Gileadite Machir bore to his father Hezron (1Ch 2:21-23), and finally the sons whom Hezron's wife bore him after his death (1Ch 2:24). The grouping of these descendants of Hezron with the family of Caleb can only be accounted for by supposing that they had, through circumstances unknown to us, come into a more intimate connection with the family of Caleb than with the families of his brothers Ram and Jerahmeel. In 1Ch 2:42-55 follow some other lists of descendants of Caleb, which will be more fully considered when we come to these verses. The first half of the 18th verse is obscure, and the text is probably corrupt. As the words stand at present, we must translate, "Caleb the son of Hezron begat with Azubah, a woman, and with Jerioth, and these are her (the one wife's) sons, Jesher,"etc. בּניה , filii ejus , suggests that only one wife of Caleb had been before mentioned; and, as appears from the "and Azubah died"of 1Ch 2:19, Azubah is certainly meant. The construction את הוליד , "he begat with,"is, it is true, unusual, but is analogous to חוליד מן , 1Ch 8:9, and is explained by the fact that הוליד may mean to cause to bear, to bring to bearing; cf. Isa 66:9 : therefore properly it is, "he brought Azubah to bearing."The difficulty of the verse lies in the ואת־יריעות אשּׁה , for, according to the usual phraseology, we would have expected אשׁתּו instead of אשּׁה . But אשּׁה may be, under the circumstances, to some extent justified by the supposition that Azubah is called indefinitely "woman,"because Caleb had several wives. ואת־וריעות gives no suitable meaning. The explanation of Kimchi, "with Azubah a woman, and with Jerioth,"cannot be accepted, for only the sons of Azubah are hereafter mentioned; and the idea that the children of the other wives are not enumerated here because the list used by the chronicler was defective, is untenable: for after two wives had been named in the enumeration of the children of one of them, the mother must necessarily have been mentioned; and so, instead of בּניה , we should have had עזוּבה בּני . Hiller and J. H. Michaelis take ואת as explicative, "with Azubah a woman, viz., with Jerioth;"but this is manifestly only the product of exegetical embarrassment. The text is plainly at fault, and the easiest conjecture is to read, with the Peschito and the Vulgate, את אשׁתּו instead of ואת אשּׁה , "he begat with Azubah his wife, Jerioth (a daughter); and these are her sons."In that case אשּׁה would be added to עזוּבה , to guard against עזוּבה being taken for acc. obj. The names of the sons of Azubah, or of her daughter Jerioth, do not occur elsewhere.

1Ch 2:19-20

When Azubah died, Caleb took Ephrath to wife, who bore him Hur. For אפרת we find in 1Ch 2:50 the lengthened feminine form אפרתה ; cf. also 1Ch 4:4. From Hur descended, by Uri, the famous Bezaleel, the skilful architect of the tabernacle (Exo 31:2; Exo 35:30).

1Ch 2:21-24

The descendants of Hezron numbered with the stock of Caleb: ( a ) those begotten by Hezron with the daughter of Machir, 1Ch 2:21-23; ( b ) those born to Hezron after his death, 1Ch 2:24.

1Ch 2:21-22

Afterwards ( אחר ), i.e., after the birth of the sons mentioned in 1Ch 2:9, whose mother is not mentioned, when he was sixty years old, Hezron took to wife the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, who bore him Segub. Machir was the first-born of Manasseh (Gen 50:23; Num 26:29). But Machir is not called in 1Ch 2:21 and 1Ch 2:23 the father of Gilead because he was the originator of the Israelite population of Gilead, but אב has here its proper signification. Machir begot a son of the name of Gilead (Num 26:29); and it is clear from the genealogy of the daughters of Zelophehad, communicated in Num 27:1, that this expression is to be understood in its literal sense. Machir is distinguished from other men of the same name (cf. 2Sa 9:4; 2Sa 17:27) by the addition, father of Gilead. Segub the son of Hezron and the daughter of Machir begat Jair. This Jair, belonging on his mother's side to the tribe of Manasseh, is set down in Num 32:40., Deu 3:14, as a descendant of Manasseh. After Moses' victory over Og king of Bashan, Jair's family conquered the district of Argob in Bashan, i.e., in the plain of Jaulan and Hauran; and to the conquered cities, when they were bestowed upon him for a possession by Moses, the name Havvoth-jair, i.e., Jair's-life, was given. Cf. Num 32:41 and Deu 3:14, where this name is explained. These are the twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead, i.e., Peräa.

1Ch 2:23

These cities named Jair's-life were taken away from the Jairites by Geshur and Aram, i.e., by the Arameans of Geshur and of other places. Geshur denotes the inhabitants of a district of Aram, or Syria, on the north-western frontier of Bashan, in the neighbourhood of Hermon, on the east side of the upper Jordan, which had still its own kings in the time of David (2Sa 3:3; 2Sa 13:37; 2Sa 14:23; 2Sa 15:8), but which had been assigned to the Manassites by Moses; cf. Jos 13:13. The following וגו את־קנת must not be taken as an explanatory apposition to יאיר את־חוּת : "Jair's-life, Kenath and her daughters, sixty cities"(Berth.). For since מאתּם refers to the collective name Jair, Geshur and Aram could not take away from Jair sixty cities, for Jair only possessed twenty-three cities. But besides this, according to Num 32:42, Kenath with her daughters had been conquered by Nobah, who gave his own name to the conquered cities; and according to Deu 3:4, the kingdom of Og in Bashan had sixty fenced cities. But this kingdom was, according to Num 32:41, and Num 32:42, conquered by two families of Manasseh, by Jair and Nobah, and was divided between them; and as appears from our passage, twenty-three cities were bestowed upon Jair, and all the rest of the land, viz., Kenath with her daughters, fell to Nobah. These two domains together included sixty fenced cities, which in Deu 3:14 are called Jair's-life; while here, in our verse, only twenty-three cities are so called, and the remaining thirty-seven are comprehended under the name of Kenath had her daughters. WE must therefore either supply a w copul. before את־קנת , or we must take את־ק in the signification "with Kenath,"and refer עיר שׁשּׁים to both Jair's-life and Kenath. Cf. herewith the discussion on Deu 3:12-14; and for Kenath, the ruins of which still exist under the name Kanuat on the western slope of the Jebel Hauran, see the remarks on Num 32:42. The time when these cities were taken away by the Arameans is not known. From Jdg 10:4 we only learn that the Jair who was judge at a later time again had possession of thirty of these cities, and renewed the name Jair's-life. כּל־אלּה is not all these sixty cities, but the before-mentioned descendants of Hezron, who are called sons, that is offspring, of Machir, because they were begotten with the daughter of Machir. Only two names, it is true, Segub and Jair, are enumerated; but from these two issue the numerous families which took Jair's-life. To these, therefore, must we refer the כּל־אלּה .

1Ch 2:24

After the death of Hezron there was born to him by his wife Abiah (the third wife, cf. 1Ch 2:9 and 1Ch 2:21) another son, Ashur, the father of Tekoa, whose descendants are enumerated in 1Ch 4:5-7. Hezron's death took place אפרתה בּכלב , "in Caleb Ephrathah."This expression is obscure. According to 1Sa 30:14, a part of the Negeb (south country) of Judah was called Negeb Caleb, as it belonged to the family of Caleb. According to this analogy, the town or village in which Caleb dwelt with his wife Ephrath may have been called Caleb of Ephrathah, if Ephrath had brought this place as a dower to Caleb, as in the case mentioned in Jos 15:18. Ephrathah, or Ephrath, was the ancient name of Bethlehem (Gen 33:19; Gen 48:1), and with it the name of Caleb's wife Ephrath (1Ch 2:19) is unquestionably connected; probably she was so called after her birthplace. If this supposition be well founded, then Caleb of Ephrathah would be the little town of Bethlehem. Ashur is called father ( אבי ) of Tekoa, i.e., lord and prince, as the chief of the inhabitants of Tekoa, now Tekua, two hours south of Bethlehem ( vide on Jos 15:59).

1 Chronicles 2 :25-41

The family of Jerahmeel , the first-born of Hezron, which inhabited a part of the Negeb of Judah called after him the south of the Jerahmeelites (1Sa 27:10; 1Sa 30:29).

1Ch 2:25

Four sons were born to Jerahmeel by his first wife. Five names indeed follow; but as the last, אחיּה , although met with elsewhere as a man's name, is not ranged with the others by ו copul., as those that precede are with each other, it appears to be the name of a woman, and probably a מ has fallen out after the immediately preceding ם . So Cler., J. H. Mich., Berth. This conjecture gains in probability from the mention in 1Ch 2:26 of another wife, whence we might expect that in 1Ch 2:25 the first wife would be named.

1Ch 2:26-27

Only one son of the second wife is given, Onam, whose posterity follows in 1Ch 2:28-33; for in 1Ch 2:27 the three sons of Ram, the first-born of Jerahmeel, are enumerated.

1Ch 2:28

Onam had two sons, Shammai and Jada; the second of these, again, two sons, Nadab and Abishur.

1Ch 2:29-31

To Abishur his wife Abihail bore likewise two sons, with whom his race terminates. - In 1Ch 2:30, 1Ch 2:31, Nadab's posterity follow, in four members, ending with Ahlai, in the fourth generation. But Ahlai cannot well have been a son, but must have been a daughter, the heiress of Sheshan; for, according to 1Ch 2:34, Sheshen had no sons, but only daughters, and gave his daughter to an Egyptian slave whom he possessed, to wife, by whom she became the mother of a numerous posterity. The שׁשׁן בּני is not irreconcilable with this, for בּני denotes in genealogies only descendants in general, and has been here correctly so explained by Hiller in Onomast. p. 736: quicquid habuit liberorum, sive nepotum, sustulit ex unica filia Achlai .

1Ch 2:32-41

The descendants of Jada, the brother of Shammai, in two generations, after which this genealogy closes with the subscription, "these were the sons of Jerahmeel."

(Note: Bertheau reckons up to "the concluding subscription in 1Ch 2:33"the following descendants of Judah: "Judah's sons = 5; Hezron and Hamul = 2; Zerah's sons = 5; Karmi, Akar, and Azariah = 3; Ram and his descendants (including the two daughters of Jesse, and Jeter the father of Amasa) = 21; Kaleb and his descendants = 10; Jerahmeel and his descendants = 24: together = 70."But this number also is obtained only by taking into account the father and mother of Amasa as two persons, contrary to the rule according to which only the father, without the mother, is to be counted, or, in case the mother be more famous than the father, or be an heiress, only the mother.)

- In 1Ch 2:34-41 there follows the family of Sheshan, which was originated by the marriage of his daughter with his Egyptian slave, and which is continued through thirteen generations. The name of this daughter is in 1Ch 2:25. not mentioned, but she is without doubt the Ahlai mentioned in 1Ch 2:31. But since this Ahlai is the tenth in descent from Judah through Pharez, she was probably born in Egypt; and the Egyptian slave Jarha was most likely a slave whom Sheshan had in Egypt, and whom he adopted as his son for the propagation of his race, by giving him his daughter and heir to wife. If this be the case, the race begotten by Jarha with the daughter of Sheshan is traced down till towards the end of the period of the judges. The Egyptian slave Jarha is not elsewhere met with; and though the names which his posterity bore are found again in various parts of the Old Testament, of none of them can it be proved that they belonged to men of this family, so as to show that one of these person shad become famous in history.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ch 2:42-45

Other renowned descendants of Caleb. - First of all there are enumerated, in 1Ch 2:42-49, three lines of descendants of Caleb, of which the two latter, 1Ch 2:46-49, are the issue of concubines. - The first series, 1Ch 2:42-45, contains some things which are very obscure. In 1Ch 2:42 there are menitioned, as sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel, Mesha his first-born, with the addition, "this is the father of Ziph; and the sons of Mareshah, the father of Hebron,"as it reads according to the traditional Masoretic text. Now it is here not only very surprising that the sons of Mareshah stand parallel with Mesha, but it is still more strange to find such a collocation as "sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron."The last-mentioned difficulty would certainly be greatly lessened if we might take Hebron to be the city of that name, and translate the phrase "father of Hebron,"lord of the city of Hebron, according to the analogy of "father of Ziph,""father of Tekoa"(1Ch 2:24), and other names of that sort. But the continuation of the genealogy, "and the sons of Hebron were Korah, and Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema"(1Ch 2:43), is irreconcilable with such an interpretation. For of these names, Tappuah, i.e., apple, is indeed met with several times as the name of a city (Jos 12:17; Jos 15:34; Jos 16:8); and Rekem is the name of a city of Benjamin (Jos 18:27), but occurs also twice as the name of a person - once of a Midianite prince (Num 31:8), and once of a Manassite (1Ch 7:16); but the other two, Korah and Shema, only occur as the names of persons. In 1Ch 2:44., moreover, the descendants of Shema and Rekem are spoken of, and that, too, in connection with the word הוליד , "he begat,"which demonstrably can only denote the propagation of a race. We must therefore take Hebron as the name of a person, as in 1Ch 6:2 and Exo 6:18. But if Hebron be the name of a man, then Mareshah also must be interpreted in the same manner. This is also required by the mention of the sons of Mareshah parallel with Mesha the first-born; but still more so by the circumstance that the interpretation of Mareshah and Hebron, as names of cities, is irreconcilable with the position of these two cities, and with their historical relations. Bertheau, indeed, imagines that as Mareshah is called the father of Hebron, the famous capital of the tribe of Judah, we must therefore make the attempt, however inadmissible it may seem at first sight, to take Mareshah, in the connection of our verse, as the name of a city, which appears as father of Hebron, and that we must also conclude that the ancient city Hebron (Num 13:23) stood in some sort of dependent relationship to Mareshah, perhaps only in later time, although we cannot at all determine to what time the representation of our verse applies. But at the foundation of this argument there lies an error as to the position of the city Mareshah. Mareshah lay in the Shephelah (Jos 15:44), and exists at present as the ruin Marasch, twenty-four minutes south of Beit-Jibrin: vide on Jos 15:44; and Tobler, Dritte Wanderung , §129 and 142f. Ziph, therefore, which is mentioned in 2Ch 11:8 along with Mareshah, and which is consequently the Ziph mentioned in our verse, cannot be, as Bertheau believes, the Ziph situated in the hill country of Judah, in the wilderness of that name, whose ruins are still to be seen on the hill Zif, about four miles south-east from Hebron (Jos 15:55). It can only be the Ziph in the Shephelah (Jos 15:24), the position of which has not indeed been discovered, but which is to be sought in the Shephelah at no great distance from Marasch, and thus far distant from Hebron. Since, then, Mareshah and Ziph were in the Shephelah , no relation of dependence between the capital, Hebron, situated in the mountains of Judah, and Mareshah can be thought of, neither in more ancient nor in later time. The supposition of such a dependence is not made probable by the remark that we cannot determine to what time the representation of our verse applies; it only serves to cover the difficulty which renders it impossible. That the verse does not treat of post-exilic times is clear, although even after the exile, and in the time of the Maccabees and the Romans, Hebron was not in a position of dependence on Marissa. Bertheau himself holds Caleb, of whose son our verses treat, for a contemporary of Moses and Joshua, because in 1Ch 2:49 Achsa is mentioned as daughter of Caleb (Jos 15:16; Jdg 1:12). The contents of our verse would therefore have reference to the first part of the period of the judges. But since Hebron was never dependent on Mareshah in the manner supposed, the attempt, which even at first sight appeared so inadmissible, to interpret Mareshah as the name of a city, loses all its support. For this reason, therefore, the city of Hebron, and the other cities named in 1Ch 2:43., which perhaps belonged to the district of Mareshah, cannot be the sons of Mareshah here spoken of; and the fact that, of the names mentioned in 1Ch 2:43 and 1Ch 2:44, at most two may denote cities, while the others are undoubtedly the names of persons, points still more clearly to the same conclusion. We must, then, hold Hebron and Mareshah also to be the names of persons.

Now, if the Masoretic text be correct, the use of the phrase, "and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron,"instead of "and Mareshah, the sons of the father of Hebron,"can only have arisen from a desire to point out, that besides Hebron there were also other sons of Mareshah who were of Caleb's lineage. But the mention of the sons of Mareshah, instead of Mareshah, and the calling him the father of Hebron in this connection, make the correctness of the traditional text very questionable. Kimchi has, on account of the harshness of placing the sons of Mareshah on a parallel with Mesha the first-born of Caleb, supposed an ellipse in the expression, and construes מר ובני , et ex filiis Ziphi Mareshah . But this addition cannot be justified. If we may venture a conjecture in so obscure a matter, it would more readily suggest itself that מרשׁה is an error for מישׁע , and that חברון אבי is to be taken as a nomen compos. , when the meaning would be, "and the sons of Mesha were Abi-Hebron."The probability of the existence of such a name as Abihebron along with the simple Hebron has many analogies in its favour: cf. Dan and Abidan, Num 1:11; Ezer, 1Ch 12:9, Neh 3:19, with Abi-ezer; Nadab, Exo 6:23, and Abinadab. In the same family even we have Abiner, or Abner, the son of Ner (1Sa 14:50.; 2Sa 2:8; cf. Ew. §273, S. 666, 7th edition). Abihebron would then be repeated in 1Ch 2:43, in the shortened form Hebron, just as we have in Jos 16:8 Tappuah, instead of En-tappuah, Jos 17:7. The four names introduced as sons of Hebron denote persons, not localities: cf. for Korah, 1Ch 1:35, and concerning Tappuah and Rekem the above remark. In 1Ch 2:44 are mentioned the sons of Rekem and of Shema, the latter a frequently recurring man's name (cf. 1Ch 5:8; 1Ch 8:13; 1Ch 11:44; Neh 8:4). Shema begat Raham, the father of Jorkam. The name יקעם is quite unknown elsewhere. The lxx have rendered it Ἰεκλὰν , and Bertheau therefore holds Jorkam to be the name of a place, and conjectures that originally יקדעם (Jos 15:56) stood here also. But the lxx give also Ἰεκλὰν for the following name רקם , from which it is clear that we cannot rely much on their authority. The lxx have overlooked the fact that רקם , 1Ch 2:44, is the son of the Hebron mentioned in 1Ch 2:43, whose descendants are further enumerated. Shammai occurs as a man's name also in 1Ch 2:28, and is again met with in 1Ch 4:17. His son is called in 1Ch 2:45 Maon, and Maon is the father of Bethzur. בּית־צוּר is certainly the city in the mountains of Judah which Rehoboam fortified (2Ch 11:7), and which still exists in the ruin Bet-sur, lying south of Jerusalem in the direction of Hebron. Maon also was a city in the mountains of Judah, now Main (Jos 15:55); but we cannot allow that this city is meant by the name מעון , because Maon is called on the one hand the son of Shammai, and on the other is father of Bethzur, and there are no well-ascertained examples of a city being represented as son ( בּן ) of a man, its founder or lord, nor of one city being called the father of another. Dependent cities and villages are called daughters (not sons) of the mother city. The word מעון , "dwelling,"does not per se point to a village or town, and in Jdg 10:12 denotes a tribe of non-Israelites.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ch 2:46-49

Descendants of Caleb by two concubines. - The name עיפה occurs in 1Ch 2:47 and 1Ch 1:33 as a man's name. Caleb's concubine of this name bore three sons: Haran, of whom nothing further is known; Moza, which, though in Jos 18:26 it is the name of a Benjamite town, is not necessarily on that account the name of a town here; and Gazez, unknown, perhaps a grandson of Caleb, especially if the clause "Haran begat Gazez"be merely an explanatory addition. But Haran may also have given to his son the name of his younger brother, so that a son and grandson of Caleb may have borne the same name.

1Ch 2:47

The genealogical connection of the names in this verse is entirely wanting; for Jahdai, of whom six sons are enumerated, appears quite abruptly. Hiller, in Onomast. , supposes, but without sufficient ground, that יהדּי is another name of Moza. Of his sons' names, Jotham occurs frequently of different persons; Ephah, as has been already remarked, is in 1Ch 1:33 the name of a chief of a Midianite tribe; and lastly, Shaaph is used in 1Ch 2:49 of another person.

1Ch 2:48-49

Another concubine of Caleb was called Maachah, a not uncommon woman's name; cf. 1Ch 3:2; 1Ch 7:16; 1Ch 8:29; 1Ch 11:43, etc. She bore Sheber and Tirhanah, names quite unknown. The masc. ילד instead of the fem. ילדה , 1Ch 2:46, is to be explained by the supposition that the father who begat was present to the mind of the writer. 1Ch 2:49. Then she bore also Shaaph (different from the Shaaph in 1Ch 2:47), the father of Madmannah, a city in the south of Judah, perhaps identical with Miniay or Minieh, southwards from Gaza (see on Jos 15:31). Sheva (David's Sopher scribe is so called in the Keri of 2Sa 20:25), the father of Machbenah, a village of Judah not further mentioned, and of Gibea, perhaps the Gibeah mentioned in Jos 15:57, in the mountains of Judah, or the village Jeba mentioned by Robinson, Palest. ii. p. 327, and Tobler, Dritte Wanderung , S. 157f., on a hill in the Wady Musurr ( vide on Jos 15:57). This list closes with the abrupt remark, "and Caleb's daughter was Achsah."This notice can only refer to the Achsah so well known in the history of the conquest of the tribal domain of Judah, whom Caleb had promised, and gave as a reward to the conqueror of Debir (Jos 15:16.; Jdg 1:12); otherwise in its abrupt form it would have no meaning. Women occur in the genealogies only when they have played an important part in history. Since, however, the father of this Achsah was Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who was about forty years old when the Israelites left Egypt, while our Caleb, on the contrary, is called in 1Ch 2:42 the brother of Jerahmeel, and is at the same time designated son of Hezron, the son of Pharez (1Ch 2:9), these two Calebs cannot be one person: the son of Hezron must have been a much older Caleb than the son of Jephunneh. The older commentators have consequently with one voice distinguished the Achsah mentioned in our verse from the Achsah in Jos 15:16; while Movers, on the contrary ( Chron. S. 83), would eliminate from the text, as a later interpolation, the notice of the daughter of Caleb. Bertheau, however, attempts to prove the identity of Caleb the son of Hezron with Caleb the son of Jephunneh. The assertion of Movers is so manifestly a critical tour de force , that it requires no refutation; but neither can we subscribe to Bertheau's view. He is, indeed, right in rejecting Ewald's expedient of holding that 1Ch 2:18-20 and 1Ch 2:45-50 are to be referred to Chelubai, and 1Ch 2:42-49 to a Caleb to be carefully distinguished from him; for it contradicts the plain sense of the words, according to which both Chelubai, 1Ch 2:9, and Caleb, 1Ch 2:18 and 1Ch 2:42, is the son of Hezron and the brother of Jerahmeel. But what he brings forward against distinguishing Caleb the father of Achsah, 1Ch 2:49, from Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel, 1Ch 2:42, is entirely wanting in force. The reasons adduced reduce themselves to these: that Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the conqueror and possessor of Hebron, might well be called in the genealogical language, which sometimes expresses geographical relations, the son of Hezron, along with Ram and Jerahmeel, as the names Ram and Jerahmeel certainly denote families in Judah, who, originally at least, dwelt in other domains than that of Caleb; and again, that the individual families as well as the towns and villages in these various domains may be conceived of as sons and descendants of those who represent the great families of the tribe, and the divisions of the tribal territory. But we must deny the geographical signification of the genealogies when pressed so far as this: for valid proofs are entirely wanting that towns are represented as sons and brothers of other towns; and the section 1Ch 2:42-49 does not treat merely, or principally, of the geographical relations of the families of Judah, but in the first place, and in the main, deals with the genealogical ramifications of the descendants and families of the sons of Judah. It by no means follows, because some of these descendants are brought forward as fathers of cities, that in 1Ch 2:42-49 towns and their mutual connection are spoken of; and the names Caleb, Ram, and Jerahmeel do not here denote families, but are the names of the fathers and chiefs of the families which descended from them, and dwelt in the towns just named. We accordingly distinguish Caleb, whose daughter was called Achsah, and whose father was Jephunneh (Jos 15:16.), from Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel and the son of Hezron. but we explain the mention of Achsah as daughter of Caleb, at the end of the genealogical lists of the persons and families descended by concubines from Caleb, by the supposition that the Caleb who lived in the time of Moses, the son of Jephunneh, was a descendant of an older Caleb, the brother of Jerahmeel. But it is probable that the Caleb in 1Ch 2:49 is the same who is called in 1Ch 2:42 the brother of Jerahmeel, and whose descendants are specified 1Ch 2:42-49; and we take the word בּת , "daughter,"in its wider sense, as signifying a later female descendant, because the father of the Achsah so well known from Jos 15:16. is also called son of Jephunneh in the genealogy, 1Ch 4:15.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ch 2:50-51

The families descended from Caleb through his son Hur. - 1Ch 2:50. The superscription, "These are the sons (descendants) of Caleb,"is more accurately defined by the addition, "the son of Hur, the first-born of Ephratah;"and by this definition the following lists of Caleb's descendants are limited to the families descended from his son Hur. That the words וגו בּן־חוּר are to be so understood, and not as apposition to כּלב , "Caleb the son of Hur,"is shown by 1Ch 2:19, according to which Hur is a son of Caleb and Ephrath. On that account, too, the relationship of Hur to Caleb is not given here; it is presupposed as known from 1Ch 2:19. A famous descendant of Hur has already been mentioned in 1Ch 2:20, viz., Bezaleel the son of Uri. Here, in 1Ch 2:50 and 1Ch 2:51, three sons of Hur are named, Shobal, Salma, and Hareph, with the families descended from the first two. All information is wanting as to whether these sons of Hur were brothers of Uri, or his cousins in nearer or remoter degree, as indeed is every means of a more accurate determination of the degrees of relationship. Both בּן and הוליד in genealogies mark only descent in a straight line, while intermediate members of a family are often omitted in the lists. Instead of בּן־חוּר , בּני־חוּר might have been expected, as two sons are mentioned. The singular בּן shows that the words are not to be fused with the following into one sentence, but, as the Masoretic punctuation also shows, are meant for a superscription, after which the names to be enumerated are ranged without any more intimate logical connection. For the three names are not connected by the w copul. They stand thus: "sons of Hur, the first-born of Ephratah; Shobal...Salma...Hareph."Shobal is called father of Kirjath-jearim, now Kureyet el Enab (see on Jos 9:17). Salma, father of Bethlehem, the birth-place of David and Christ. This Salma is, however, not the same person as Salma mentioned in 1Ch 2:11 and Rth 4:20 among the ancestors of David; for the latter belonged to the family of Ram, the former to the family of Caleb. Hareph is called the father of Beth-Geder, which is certainly not the same place as Gedera, Jos 15:36, which lay in the Shephelah , but is probably identical with Gedor in the hill country, Jos 15:58, west of the road which leads from Hebron to Jerusalem ( vide on 1Ch 12:4). Nothing further is told of Hareph, but in the following verses further descendants of both the other sons of Hur are enumerated.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ch 2:52-53

Shobal had sons, המּנחות חצי הראה . These words, which are translated in the Vulgate, qui videbat dimidium requietionum , give, so interpreted, no fitting sense, but must contain proper names. The lxx have made from them three names, Ἀραὰ καὶ Αἰσὶ καὶ Ἀμμανίθ , on mere conjecture. Most commentators take הראה for the name of the man who, in 1Ch 4:2, is called under the name Reaiah, ראיה , the son of Shobal. This is doubtless correct; but we must not take הראה for another name of Reaiah, but, with Bertheau, must hold it to be a corruption of ראיה , or a conjecture arising from a false interpretation of המּנחות חצי by a transcriber or reader, who did not take Hazi-Hammenuhoth for a proper name, but understood it appellatively, and attempted to bring some sense out of the words by changing ראיה into the participle ראה . The המּנחתּי חצי ה in 1Ch 2:54 corresponds to our המּנחות חצי , as one half of a race or district corresponds to the other, for the connection between the substantive המּנחות and the adjective המּנחתּי cannot but be acknowledged. Now, although מנוּחה signifies resting-place (Num 10:33; Jdg 20:43), and the words "the half of the resting-place,"or "of the resting-places,"point in the first instance to a district, yet not only does the context require that Hazi-Hammenuhoth should signify a family sprung from Shobal, but it is demanded also by a comparison of our phrase with hmnchty chtsy in 1Ch 2:54, which unquestionably denotes a family. It does not, however, seem necessary to alter the המּנחות into המּנחתּי ; for as in 1Ch 2:54 Bethlehem stands for the family in Bethlehem descended from Salma, so the district Hazi-Hammenuhoth may be used in 1Ch 2:52 to denote the family residing there. As to the geographical position of this district, see on 1Ch 2:54.

1Ch 2:53

Besides the families mentioned in 1Ch 2:52, the families of Kirjath-jearim, which in 1Ch 2:53 are enumerated by name, came of Shobal also. וּמשׁפּחות ק is simply a continuation of the families already mentioned, and the remark of Berth., that "the families of Kirjath-jearim are moreover distinguished from the sons of Shobal,"is as incorrect as the supplying of ו cop. before הם הצי in 1Ch 2:52 is unnecessary. The meaning is simply this: Shobal had sons Reaiah, Hazi-Hammenuhoth, and the families of Kirjath-jearim, viz., the family of Jether, etc. David's heroes, Ira and Gareb, 1Ch 11:40; 2Sa 23:38, belonged to the family of Jether ( היּתרי ). The other three families are not met with elsewhere. מאלּה , of these, the four families of Kirjath-jearim just mentioned, came the Zoreathites and the Eshtaulites, the inhabitants of the town of Zoreah, the home of Samson, now the ruin Sura, and of Eshtaol, which perhaps may be identified with Um Eshteyeh (see in Jos 15:33).

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ch 2:54-55

The descendants of Salma: Bethlehem, i.e., the family of Bethlehem (see on 1Ch 2:52), the Netophathites, i.e., the inhabitants of the town of Netophah, which, according to our verse and Ezr 2:22, and especially Neh 7:26, is to be looked for in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem (cf. 1Ch 9:16); a family which produced at various times renowned men (cf. 2Sa 23:28.; 2Ki 25:23; Ezr 2:22). The following words, י עטחרות ב , i.e., "crowns of the house of Joab,"can only be the name of a place which is mentioned instead of its inhabitants; for עטרות occurs elsewhere, sometimes alone, and sometimes in conjunction with a proper name, as the name of places: cf. Num 32:34.; Jos 16:2, Jos 16:5,Jos 16:7; Jos 18:13. Hazi-Hammanahath is certainly to be sought in the neighbourhood of Manahath, 1Ch 8:6, whose position has, however, not yet been ascertained. הצּרעי is only another form of הצּרעתי , and is derived from the masculine of the word. The Zorites here spoken of formed a second division of the inhabitants of Zoreah and the neighbourhood, along with the Zoreathites descended from Shobal, 1Ch 2:53.

1Ch 2:55

"And the families of the writers (scribes) who inhabited Jabez." The position of the town Jabez, which is mentioned only here, and which derived its name from a descendant of Judah, has not yet been discovered, but is to be sought somewhere in the neighbourhood of Zoreah. This may be inferred from the fact that of the six שׂלמא בּני , two are always more closely connected with each other by ו cop.: (1) Bethlehem and Netophathite, (2) Ataroth-beth-Joab and Hazi-Hammanahath, (3) the Zoreites and the families of the Sopherim inhabiting Jabez. These last were divided into three branches, תּרעתים , שׁמעתים , שׂוּכתים , i.e., those descended from Tira, Shimea, and Suchah. The Vulgate has taken these words in an appellative sense of the occupations of these three classes, and translates canentes et resonantes et in tabernaculis commemorantes . But this interpretation is not made even probable by all that Bertheau has brought forward in support of it. Even if שׂוּכתים might perhaps be connected with סכּה , and interpreted "dwellers in tabernacles,"yet no tenable reason can be found for translating תּרעתים and שׁמעתים by canentes et resonantes . שׁמעתי , from שׁמעה , "that which is heard,"cannot signify those who repeat in words and song that which has been heard; and תּרעתי no more means canentes than it is connected (as Bertheau tries to show) with שׁערים htiw , "doorkeepers"(the Chaldee תּרע being equivalent to the Hebrew שׁער ); and the addition, "These are the Kenites who came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab"( מן בּוא , to issue from any one, to be descended from any one), gives no proof of this, for the phrase itself is to us so very obscure. קינים are not inhabitants of the city Kain (Jos 15:57) in the tribal domain of Judah (Kimchi), but, judging from the succeeding relative sentence, were descendants of Keni the father-in-law of Moses (Jdg 1:16), who had come with Israel to Canaan, and dwelt there among the Israelites (Jdg 4:11, Jdg 4:17; Jdg 5:24; 1Sa 15:6; 1Sa 27:10; 1Sa 30:29); and Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab, i.e., of the Rechabites (Jer 35:6), is probably the grandfather of Jonadab the son of Rechab, with whom Jehu entered into alliance (2Ki 10:15, 2Ki 10:23). But how can the families of Sopherim inhabiting Jabez, which are here enumerated, be called descendants of Salma, who is descended from Hur the son of Caleb, a man of Judah, if they were Kenites, who issued from or were descendant of the grandfather of the family of the Rechabites? From lack of information, this question cannot be answered with certainty. In general, however, we may explain the incorporation of the Kenites in the Judaean family of the Calebite Salma, on the supposition that one of these Kenites of the family of Hobab, the brother-in-law of Moses, married an heiress of the race of Caleb. On this account the children and descendants sprung of this marriage would be incorporated in the family of Caleb, although they were on their father's side Kenites, and where they followed the manner of life of their fathers, might continue to be regarded as such, and to bear the name.

Constable: 1Ch 1:1--9:44

I. ISRAEL'S HISTORICAL ROOTS chs. 1--9

"The fact that the author of 1 and 2 Chronicles devoted nine chapters out of sixty-five to genealogies (1 Chr 1-9) makes clear that these were of great importance to him and bear significantly on his purpose in writing his work. This purpose needs to be understood by any commentator who would elucidate the nature of these volumes.

"We may define a genealogy as a written or oral expression of the descent of a person or persons from an ancestor or ancestors.'¹⁸ They may display breadth (These were the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,' 1 Chr 2:1) and depth (the sons of Solomon: Rehoboam, Abijah his son, Asa his son,' 1 Chr 3:10). This latter genealogy and others of its type that display depth alone are termed linear.' Biblical genealogies, like the extrabiblical ones, are normally quite limited in depth, rarely extending beyond ten or twelve generations but often from four to six. In 1 Chronicles 2-9 we have an exception. Perhaps the writer sometimes joined separate genealogies.

"If a genealogy displays breadth as well as depth, it is termed segmented,' or mixed.' In Chronicles multiple descendants of an ancestor are frequently named, but not all the lives are pursued to later generations. Genealogies may proceed from parent to child (descending, as in 1 Chr 9:39-44) or from child to parent (ascending, as in 1 Chr 9:14-16).

"The two types of genealogy, linear and segmented, serve different purposes. The linear genealogy seeks to legitimize an individual by relating him to an ancestor whose status is established. The segmented genealogy is designed to express relationships between the various branches of a family."¹⁹

"Their function, broadly speaking, is to show that the promises and purposes of God continue."²⁰

The aim of the genealogies "is to paint a portrait of the people of God in its ideal extent as a symbol of both the particularity of his election and the breadth of his grace."²¹

". . . it should be noted that a further theme of Chr., that of the Lord's willingness to start afresh with his errant people, is also tucked away almost unnoticed in the genealogies."²²

Guzik: 1Ch 2:1-55

1 Chronicles 2 - Descendents of Abraham and Judah

A. Descendents of Abraham.

1. (1-2) The descendents of Abraham through Israel.

These were the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

a. These were the sons of Israel: The line of the patriarchs began with Abraham, and was passed down to Isaac (and not Ishmael) and then to Jacob/Israel (and not to Esau). Yet with the sons of Israel, all the sons were chosen as inheritors of the covenant.

b. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher: These twelve sons of Israel actually became 13 tribes of Israel, because two tribes came from Joseph (Manasseh and Ephraim).

i. "The order of names follows Genesis 35:23-26, with one exception. Dan is expected after Benjamin, and no convincing reason has been put forward for the change (cf. also Exodus 1:2-4). A different order is used in the following chapters." (Selman)

2. (3-17) The descendents of Judah to the family of Jesse, the father of David.

The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, and Shelah. These three were born to him by the daughter of Shua, the Canaanitess. Er, the firstborn of Judah, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; so He killed him. And Tamar, his daughter-in-law, bore him Perez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. The sons of Zerah were Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Dara; five of them in all. The son of Carmi was Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the accursed thing. The son of Ethan was Azariah. Also the sons of Hezron who were born to him were Jerahmeel, Ram, and Chelubai. Ram begot Amminadab, and Amminadab begot Nahshon, leader of the children of Judah; Nahshon begot Salma, and Salma begot Boaz; Boaz begot Obed, and Obed begot Jesse; Jesse begot Eliab his firstborn, Abinadab the second, Shimea the third, Nethanel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, Ozem the sixth, and David the seventh. Now their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah were Abishai, Joab, and Asahel; three. Abigail bore Amasa; and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite.

a. The sons of Judah: There were twelve sons of Israel, and thirteen tribes from those twelve sons. Yet the tribe of Judah received first attention from the Chronicler.

i. "Judah heads the tribal genealogies, and receives more extensive treatment than any other tribe. The reason for this special prominence is to be found in the central position of David's line (2:10-17; 3:1-24)." (Selman)

ii. "But while our Chronicler lists all twelve of the sons of Israel-Jacob, his attention quickly focuses on Judah (2:3), the description of whose tribe occupies the next two and one-half chapters." (Payne)

b. Er, the firstborn of Judah, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; so He killed him: This listing of the line of Judah also includes those with a darker testimony of life, including Er, Onan, Tamar, and Achar (also known as Achan in Joshua 7:24-26).

i. "Achan was also guilty of 'unfaithfulness', a key term in Chronicles . . . This word has the nuance of depriving God of his due, and is Chronicles' favourite explanation for the disaster of the exile." (Selman)

c. Jesse begot . . . David the seventh: This section of genealogy deals with the line of Judah to David, the founder of the Davidic dynasty that ruled over Israel and Judah.

i. Abishai, Joab, Asahel, and Amasa: "The genealogies of these four warriors, made famous under their half-uncle David (cf. 2 Samuel 2:18-19; 19:13), are not drawn from 2 Samuel 2:18 and 17:25; but apart from this later passage, we would not have known that their mothers, Zeruiah and Abigail, were step-daughters of Jesse, born to David's mother by her presumably earlier marriage to Nahash." (Payne)

B. Other descendents of the tribe of Judah.

1. (18-24) The family of Hezron, a grandson of Judah.

Caleb the son of Hezron had children by Azubah, his wife, and by Jerioth. Now these were her sons: Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. When Azubah died, Caleb took Ephrath as his wife, who bore him Hur. And Hur begot Uri, and Uri begot Bezalel. Now afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he was sixty years old; and she bore him Segub. Segub begot Jair, who had twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead. (Geshur and Syria took from them the towns of Jair, with Kenath and its towns; sixty towns.) All these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead. After Hezron died in Caleb Ephrathah, Hezron's wife Abijah bore him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.

a. Caleb the son of Hezron: This traces a side-line in the tribe of Judah, separate from the line that culminated in David.

i. "In practice, the otherwise unknown Caleb son of Hezron is probably distinct from Caleb, a Kenizzite and son of Jephunneh, who is frequently said to have 'followed the LORD wholeheartedly' (e.g. Numbers 14:24; 32:12; Joshua 14:6, 13-14)." (Selman) Caleb the Kenizzite seems to be mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:15-16.

b. Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon: These obscure names connected with the tribe of Judah are listed for an important general reason. Most of the returning exiles in the general time Chronicles was written were connected to the tribe of Judah.

i. "The land that was occupied by the Jews who had returned from the Babylonian exile consisted primarily of the tribal territories of Judah and Benjamin. Also, the people who make up Ezra's community were largely from these same two tribes (Ezra 1:5; 10:9)." (Payne)

2. (25-41) The family of Jerahmeel, a great-grandson of Judah.

The sons of Jerahmeel, the firstborn of Hezron, were Ram, the firstborn, and Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. Jerahmeel had another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam. The sons of Ram, the firstborn of Jerahmeel, were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker. The sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada. The sons of Shammai were Nadab and Abishur. And the name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail, and she bore him Ahban and Molid. The sons of Nadab were Seled and Appaim; Seled died without children. The son of Appaim was Ishi, the son of Ishi was Sheshan, and Sheshan's child was Ahlai. The sons of Jada, the brother of Shammai, were Jether and Jonathan; Jether died without children. The sons of Jonathan were Peleth and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel. Now Sheshan had no sons, only daughters. And Sheshan had an Egyptian servant whose name was Jarha. Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant as wife, and she bore him Attai. Attai begot Nathan, and Nathan begot Zabad; Zabad begot Ephlal, and Ephlal begot Obed; Obed begot Jehu, and Jehu begot Azariah; Azariah begot Helez, and Helez begot Eleasah; Eleasah begot Sismai, and Sismai begot Shallum; Shallum begot Jekamiah, and Jekamiah begot Elishama.

a. The sons of Jerahmeel: This traces a side-line in the tribe of Judah, separate from the line that culminated in David.

3. (42-55) The family of Caleb, a great-grandson of Judah.

The descendants of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel were Mesha, his firstborn, who was the father of Ziph, and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron. The sons of Hebron were Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema. Shema begot Raham the father of Jorkoam, and Rekem begot Shammai. And the son of Shammai was Maon, and Maon was the father of Beth Zur. Ephah, Caleb's concubine, bore Haran, Moza, and Gazez; and Haran begot Gazez. And the sons of Jahdai were Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph. Maachah, Caleb's concubine, bore Sheber and Tirhanah. She also bore Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbenah and the father of Gibea. And the daughter of Caleb was Achsah. These were the descendants of Caleb: The sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, were Shobal the father of Kirjath Jearim, Salma the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph the father of Beth Gader. And Shobal the father of Kirjath Jearim had descendants: Haroeh, and half of the families of Manuhoth. The families of Kirjath Jearim were the Ithrites, the Puthites, the Shumathites, and the Mishraites. From these came the Zorathites and the Eshtaolites. The sons of Salma were Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth Beth Joab, half of the Manahethites, and the Zorites. And the families of the scribes who dwelt at Jabez were the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Suchathites. These were the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.

a. The descendants of Caleb: This traces another side-line in the tribe of Judah, separate from the line that culminated in David.

i. "Caleb's 'daughter' Acsah was only a distant descendant of Caleb the son of Hezron, though she was an immediate daughter of Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the faithful spy (listed in 4:15). She is remembered as the bride of Othniel, the first of the judges (Judges 3:9-11), having been promised to him for his conquest of Debir (Joshua 15:15-19; Judges 1:11-15)." (Payne)

b. These are the Kenites: "The Kenites were originally a foreign people (Genesis 15:19), some of whom, by marriage or adoption, became incorporated into the tribe of Judah." (Payne)

© 2006 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF CHRONICLES were also considered as one by the ancient Jews, who called them "words of days," that is, diaries or journals, being probably compiled from those registers that were kept by the king's historiographers of passing occurrences. In the Septuagint the title given them is Paraleipomenon, "of things omitted," that is, the books are supplementary because many things unnoticed in the former books are here recorded; and not only the omissions are supplied, but some narratives extended while others are added. The authorship is commonly ascribed to Ezra, whose leading object seems to have been to show the division of families, possessions, &c., before the captivity, with a view to the exact restoration of the same order after the return from Babylon. Although many things are restated and others are exact repetitions of what is contained in Kings, there is so much new and important information that, as JEROME has well said, the Chronicles furnish the means of comprehending parts of the New Testament, which must have been unintelligible without them. They are frequently referred to by Christ and the Apostles as forming part of "the Word of God" (see the genealogies in Mat. 1:1-16; Luk. 3:23-38; compare 2Ch 19:7 with 1Pe 1:17; 2Ch 24:19-21 with Mat 23:32-35).

JFB: 1 Chronicles (Outline)

• ADAM'S LINE TO NOAH. (1Ch. 1:1-23)
• SHEM'S LINE TO ABRAHAM. (1Ch 1:24-28)
• SONS OF ISHMAEL. (1Ch 1:29-31)
• SONS OF KETURAH. (1Ch 1:32-33)
• POSTERITY OF ABRAHAM BY ESAU. (1Ch 1:34-42)
• POSTERITY OF JUDAH. (1Ch 2:3-12)
• CHILDREN OF JESSE. (1Ch 2:13-17)
• POSTERITY OF CALEB. (1Ch. 2:18-55)
• SONS OF DAVID. (1Ch 3:1-9)
• HIS LINE TO ZEDEKIAH. (1Ch 3:10-16)
• SUCCESSORS OF JECONIAH. (1Ch 3:17-24)
• POSTERITY OF JUDAH BY CALEB THE SON OF HUR. (1Ch 4:1-8)
• OF JABEZ, AND HIS PRAYER. (1Ch 4:9-20)
• POSTERITY OF SHELAH. (1Ch 4:21-23)
• OF SIMEON. (1Ch. 4:24-43)
• THE LINE OF REUBEN. (1Ch 5:1-10)
• THE LINE OF GAD. (1Ch. 5:11-26)
• LINE OF THE PRIESTS. (1Ch. 6:1-48)
• OFFICE OF AARON AND HIS SONS. (1Ch. 6:49-81)
• SONS OF ISSACHAR. (1Ch 7:1-5)
• OF BENJAMIN. (1Ch 7:6-12)
• OF NAPHTALI. (1Ch 7:13)
• OF MANASSEH. (1Ch. 7:14-40)
• SONS AND CHIEF MEN OF BENJAMIN. (1Ch. 8:1-32)
• STOCK OF SAUL AND JONATHAN. (1Ch 8:33-40)
• ORIGINAL REGISTERS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH'S GENEALOGIES. (1Ch. 9:1-26)
• SAUL'S OVERTHROW AND DEATH. (1Ch 10:1-7)
• THE PHILISTINES TRIUMPH OVER HIM. (1Ch 10:8-14)
• DAVID MADE KING. (1Ch 11:1-3)
• HE WINS THE CASTLE OF ZION FROM THE JEBUSITES BY JOAB'S VALOR. (1Ch 11:4-9)
• A CATALOGUE OF HIS WORTHIES. (1Ch. 11:10-47)
• THE COMPANIES THAT CAME TO DAVID AT ZIKLAG. (1Ch. 12:1-22)
• THE ARMIES THAT CAME TO HIM AT HEBRON. (1Ch. 12:23-40)
• DAVID FETCHES THE ARK FROM KIRJATH-JEARIM. (1Ch 13:1-8)
• HIRAM'S KINDNESS TO DAVID; DAVID'S FELICITY. (1Ch 14:1-2)
• HIS WIVES. (1Ch 14:3-7)
• HIS VICTORIES OVER THE PHILISTINES. (1Ch 14:8-17)
• DAVID BRINGS THE ARK FROM OBEDEDOM. (1Ch. 15:1-24)
• DAVID'S FESTIVAL SACRIFICE AND LIBERALITY TO THE PEOPLE. (1Ch 16:1-6)
• HIS PSALM OF THANKSGIVING. (1Ch. 16:7-43)
• DAVID FORBIDDEN TO BUILD GOD A HOUSE. (1Ch 17:1-10)
• DAVID SUBDUES THE PHILISTINES AND MOABITES. (1Ch 18:1-2)
• DAVID SMITES HADADEZER AND THE SYRIANS. (1Ch 18:3-17)
• DAVID'S MESSENGERS, SENT TO COMFORT HANUN, ARE DISGRACEFULLY TREATED. (1Ch 19:1-5)
• JOAB AND ABISHAI OVERCOME THE AMMONITES. (1Ch 19:6-15)
• SHOPHACH SLAIN BY DAVID. (1Ch 19:16-19)
• RABBAH BESIEGED BY JOAB, SPOILED BY DAVID, AND THE PEOPLE TORTURED. (1Ch 20:1-3)
• THREE OVERTHROWS OF THE PHILISTINES AND THREE GIANTS SLAIN. (1Ch 20:4-8)
• DAVID SINS IN NUMBERING THE PEOPLE. (1Ch 21:1-13)
• HE BUILDS AN ALTAR. (1Ch 21:18-30)
• DAVID PREPARES FOR BUILDING THE TEMPLE. (1Ch 22:1-5)
• HE INSTRUCTS SOLOMON. (1Ch 22:6-19)
• DAVID MAKES SOLOMON KING. (1Ch 23:1)
• NUMBER AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE LEVITES. (1Ch 23:2-6)
• SONS OF GERSHON. (1Ch 23:7-11)
• OF KOHATH. (1Ch 23:12-20)
• OF MERARI. (1Ch 23:21-23)
• OFFICE OF THE LEVITES. (1Ch 23:24-32)
• DIVISION OF THE SONS OF AARON INTO FOUR AND TWENTY ORDERS. (1Ch. 24:1-19)
• NUMBER AND OFFICE OF THE SINGERS. (1Ch 25:1-7)
• THEIR DIVISION BY LOT INTO FOUR AND TWENTY ORDERS. (1Ch. 25:8-31)
• DIVISIONS OF THE PORTERS. (1Ch 26:1-12)
• THE GATES ASSIGNED BY LOT. (1Ch 26:13-19)
• LEVITES THAT HAD CHARGE OF THE TREASURES. (1Ch 26:20-28)
• OFFICERS AND JUDGES. (1Ch 26:29-32)
• TWELVE CAPTAINS FOR EVERY MONTH. (1Ch 27:1-15)
• PRINCES OF THE TWELVE TRIBES. (1Ch 27:16-24)
• DAVID EXHORTS THE PEOPLE TO FEAR GOD. (1Ch 28:1-8)
• HE ENCOURAGES SOLOMON TO BUILD THE TEMPLE. (1Ch 28:9-20)
• DAVID CAUSES THE PRINCES AND PEOPLE TO OFFER FOR THE HOUSE OF GOD. (1Ch 29:1-9)
• HIS REIGN AND DEATH. (1Ch 29:26-30)

TSK: 1 Chronicles 2 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

1Ch 2:1, The sons of Israel; 1Ch 2:3, The posterity of Judah by Tamar; 1Ch 2:13, The children of Jesse; 1Ch 2:18, The posterity of Caleb the son of Hezron; 1Ch 2:21, Hezron’s posterity by the daughter of Machir; 1Ch 2:25, Jerahmeel’s posterity; 1Ch 2:34, Sheshan’s posterity; 1Ch 2:42, Another branch of Caleb’s posterity; 1Ch 2:50, The posterity of Caleb the son of Hur.

Poole: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES

THE ARGUMENT

THESE Books of the CHRONICLES are not the same which are so called, 1Ki 14:19 , and elsewhere, (because some passages said to be there mentioned are not found here,) but other books, and written by other persons, and for other ends. Yet this same writer took out of those books such historical passages as were most useful or necessary. They were written after the Babylonish captivity, as appears from 2Ch 36:20 , &c., by Ezra; as may be gathered not only from the same words used in the place now quoted, and in the beginning of that book which goeth under the name of Ezra, but also from some other passages, which we may observe hereafter, and from the exactness and diligence here used in making catalogues of persons and families, which also is used in the Book of Ezra. If one or two passages seem to be of a later date, those were added by some other prophets; there being some few such additional passages in the Books of Moses. The chief design of these books is, to complete the history of the kings of Judah, and to gather up the fragments of sacred history which were omitted in the Books of Samuel and Kings, and to explain some passages there mentioned, and to give an exact account of the genealogies; which (though ignorant or inconsiderate persons may think trivial and useless) was a work of great necessity, to preserve the distinction of the tribes and families, that so it might appear that Christ came of that nation, and tribe, and family, of which he was to be born. And this account having been hitherto neglected, is most seasonably mentioned in these books, because this was to be in a manner the last part of the sacred and canonical history of the Old Testament, and therefore the fittest place to record those genealogies, upon which the truth and authority of the New Testament ill some sort depends. And whereas many things in these genealogies to us are obscure and doubtful, they were not so to the Hebrews; and all the persons here named were known to them by those very particular and exact genealogies, which they kept in their several families and in public registers; from whence this sacred penman, by the direction of God’ s Spirit, took those things which were of most importance.

Poole: 1 Chronicles 2 (Chapter Introduction)

CHRONICLES CHAPTER 2

The sons of Israel; of Judah by Tamar: the children of Jesse, 1Ch 2:1-17 . Of Caleb the son of Hezron; of him by the daughter of Machir, 1Ch 2:18-21 . Of Jerahmeel, 1Ch 2:25-33 . Of Sheshan, 1Ch 2:34-41 . Another branch of Caleb’ s posterity, 1Ch 2:42-49 . Of Caleb the son of Hur, 1Ch 2:50-55 .

MHCC: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

The books of Chronicles are, in a great measure, repetitions of what is in the books of Samuel and of the Kings, yet there are some excellent useful things in them which we find not elsewhere. The FIRST BOOK traces the rise of the Jewish people from Adam, and afterward gives an account of the reign of David. In the SECOND BOOK the narrative is continued, and relates the progress and end of the kingdom of Judah; also it notices the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity. Jerome says, that whoever supposes himself to have knowledge of the Scriptures without being acquainted with the books of Chronicles, deceives himself. Historical facts passed over elsewhere, names, and the connexion of passages are to be found here, and many questions concerning the gospel are explained.

MHCC: 1 Chronicles 2 (Chapter Introduction)

Genealogies.

Matthew Henry: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The First Book of Chronicles

In common things repetition is thought needless and nauseous; but, in sacred things, precept must be upon precept and line upon line. To me, says the apostle, to write the same things is not grievous, but for you it is safe, Phi 3:1. These books of Chronicles are in a great measure repetition; so are much of the second and third of the four evangelists: and yet there are no tautologies either here or there no vain repetitions. We may be ready to think that of all the books of holy scripture we could best spare these two books of Chronicles. Perhaps we might, and yet we could ill spare them: for there are many most excellent useful things in them, which we find not elsewhere. And as for what we find here which we have already met with, 1. It might be of great use to those who lived when these books were first published, before the canon of the Old Testament was completed and the particles of it put together; for it would remind them of what was more fully related in the other books. Abstracts, abridgments, and references, are of use in divinity as well as law. That, perhaps, may not be said in vain which yet has been said before. 2. It is still of use, that out of the mouth of two witnesses every word may be established, and, being inculcated, may be remembered. The penman of these books is supposed to be Ezra, that ready scribe in the law of the Lord, Ezr 7:6. It is a groundless story of that apocryphal writer (2 Esdr. 14:21, etc.) that, all the law being burnt, Ezra was divinely inspired to write it all over again, which yet might take rise from the books of Chronicles, where we find, though not all the same story repeated, yet the names of all those who were the subjects of that story. These books are called in the Hebrew words of days - journals or annals, because, by divine direction, collected out of some public and authentic records. The collection was made after the captivity, and yet the language of the originals, written before, it sometimes retained, as 2Ch 5:9, there it is unto this day, which must have been written before the destruction of the temple. The Septuagint calls it a book Paraleipomenōn - of things left, or overlooked, by the preceding historians; and several such things there are in it. It is the rereward, the gathering host, of this sacred camp, which gathers up what remained, that nothing might be lost. In this first book we have, I. A collection of sacred genealogies, from Adam to David: and they are none of those which the apostle calls endless genealogies, but have their use and end in Christ, ch. 1-9. Divers little passages of history are here inserted which we had not before. II. A repetition of the history of the translation of the kingdom from Saul to David, and of the triumph of David's reign, with large additions, ch. 10-21. III. An original account of the settlement David made of the ecclesiastical affairs, and the preparation he made for the building of the temple, ch. 22-29. These are words of days, of the oldest days, of the best days, of the Old Testament church. The reigns of kings and dates of kingdoms, as well as the lives of common persons, are reckoned by days; for a little time often gives a great turn, and yet all time is nothing to eternity.

Matthew Henry: 1 Chronicles 2 (Chapter Introduction)

We have now come to what was principally intended, the register of the children of Israel, that distinguished people, that were to " dwell alone, and not be reckoned among the nations." Here we have, I. The names of the twelve sons of Israel (1Ch 2:1, 1Ch 2:2). II. An account of the tribe of Judah, which has the precedency, not so much for the sake of David as for the sake of the Son of David, our Lord, who sprang out of Judah, Heb 7:14. 1. The first descendants from Judah, down to Jesse (1Ch 2:3-12). 2. The children of Jesse (1Ch 2:13-17). 3. The posterity of Hezron, not only through Ram, from whom David came, but through Caleb (1Ch 2:18-20), Segub (1Ch 2:21-24), Jerahmeel (1Ch 2:25-33, and so to 1Ch 2:41), and more by Caleb (1Ch 2:42-49), with the family of Caleb the son of Hur (1Ch 2:50-55). The best exposition we can have of this and the following chapters, and which will give the clearest view of them, is found in those genealogical tables which were published with some of the first impressions of the last English Bible about 100 years ago, and continued for some time; and it is a pity but they were revived in some of our later editions, for they are of great use to those who diligently search the scriptures. They are said to be drawn up by that great master in scripture-learning, Mr. Hugh Broughton. We meet with them sometimes in old Bibles.

Constable: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

The earliest Hebrew title for the Books of Chronicles translates as, "The Things Left Behind." This name describes Chronicles as containing remnants of the monarchy history not recorded in the preceding Old Testament historical books. A later title that appears in most copies of the Hebrew Bible is, "The Accounts of the Days," or "Daily Matters." This title emphasizes the nature of Chronicles as official annals (cf. Esth. 2:23; 1 Kings 14:19). Chronicles contains the official records of the kings of Israel, especially those of the Southern Kingdom after the kingdom split. The English title "Chronicles" comes down to us from this later Hebrew one.

As was true of Samuel and Kings, the Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Hebrew Old Testament was responsible for dividing the single Book of Chronicles into 1 and 2 Chronicles. Scribes divided these long books to make them easier for copyists, publishers, and readers to handle. We could translate the Septuagint title as, "Things Omitted." This title implies that Chronicles contains material left out of other inspired histories of Israel. This is true. Of course, it also contains much material that the former historical books included.

Writer and Date

Early Jewish tradition recorded in the Talmud ascribed the authorship of Chronicles to Ezra. Recent studies of the linguistic differences that exist between the Books of Ezra and Chronicles have led some modern scholars to reject this ancient view.¹ Internal evidence suggests that if the writer was not Ezra he was probably a contemporary of Ezra.

There is quite a bit of difference of opinion even among conservative evangelical scholars regarding the date of composition. Most of these people place it within Ezra's lifetime (ca. 450-400 B.C.).² This date would make Chronicles one of the last if not the last historical book of the Old Testament. The date of composition of Ezra was probably about 446 B.C. The Book of Nehemiah probably came into existence between 420 and 400 B.C. The date of writing of Esther was probably shortly after 473 B.C.

"It is now clear from comparison of Chronicles with the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Greek translations of the Pentateuch that the text Chronicles used was more like these texts than the MT [Masoretic Text]."³

Scholars vary greatly in their ideas concerning the date of composition. Some of them hold a date as early as the middle of the fifth century B.C. (450 B.C.) while others date Chronicles as late as 200 B.C.⁴

Scope and Purpose

Chronicles covers a broader period of history than any other Old Testament book. It begins with Adam and ends with Anani who lived eight generations after King Jehoiachin (1 Chron. 3:24). If we allow 25 years for each generation, the birth of Anani would have been between 425 and 400 B.C.

"In Near Eastern antiquity, the generation (that is the years between a man's birth and his begetting his first-born son) is ordinarily 25 years or less."⁵

Since the writer had great interest in David's family it is unlikely that any of David's descendants after Anani were alive when he wrote the book. If they had been, the writer probably would have included their names.

Other Old Testament books, especially Genesis, Samuel, and Kings, cover over half the material that Chronicles contains. There are two main reasons for this repetition. First, the writer wanted to give his readers another version of those events. In this respect Chronicles and the other historical books are similar to the Gospels in the New Testament. Each gives a unique interpretation and emphasis. Each writer selected the historical materials that would present what he wanted to emphasize. Chronicles is more similar to John's Gospel than the other Gospels. Both books are very sermonic, and each has a purpose that is easy to identify (John 20:30-31; 2 Chron. 7:14). Chronicles is also similar to Deuteronomy, the last book of the Pentateuch, which also preaches by recalling history.

Second, the writer of Chronicles explained and expounded the meaning of many events in Israel's history much as the writers of modern commentaries do. This was especially important since the original readers of Chronicles needed to remember their history and the spiritual issues that had molded and would mold their destiny. These observations would guide them as they sought to reestablish Israel in the Promised Land after the Babylonian captivity.

"The purpose of these two volumes [1 and 2 Chronicles] is to review the history of Israel from the dawn of the human race to the Babylonian captivity and Cyrus' edict of restoration. This review is composed with a very definite purpose in mind, to give to the Jews of the Second Commonwealth the true spiritual foundations of their theocracy as the covenant people of Jehovah. This historian's purpose is to show that the true glory of the Hebrew nation was found in its covenant relationship to God, as safeguarded by the prescribed forms of worship in the temple and administered by the divinely ordained priesthood under the protection of the divinely authorized dynasty of David. Always the emphasis is upon that which is sound and valid in Israel's past as furnishing a reliable basis for the task of reconstruction which lay ahead. Great stress is placed upon the rich heritage of Israel and its unbroken connection with the patriarchal beginnings (hence the prominence accorded to genealogical lists)."⁶

". . . the Chronicler' is no mere chronicler! He is a theologian, sharing with all the biblical writers the burden of interpreting God's ways to human beings."⁷

The writer saw principles operating in history. He selected unmistakable instances of them and applied them to his own times.

"If Kings, composed after the final collapse of the kingdom in 586 B.C., concentrates on how sin leads to defeat (2 Kings 17:15, 18), then Chronicles, coming after the two returns from exile in 537 and 458 B.C., recounts, from the same record, how faith is the victory' (2 Chron. 20:20, 22)."⁸

". . . the Chronicler goes even further than the Deuteronomic historian [i.e., the writer of 1 and 2 Kings] in attempting to correlate blessing with faithfulness and judgment with disobedience within each separate generation."⁹

Another statement of the purpose of Chronicles is as follows:

". . . to rally the returned remnant to hopeful temple worship . . . by demonstrating their link with the enduring Davidic promises."¹⁰

"The past is explained so that its institutions and religious principles become relevant to the present, and the ways of the present are legitimized anew by being connected to the prime source of authority--the formative period in the people's past."¹¹

Three major features of Chronicles appear when we isolate the material the writer included that is not in Samuel or Kings. First, the genealogies reflect the writer's goal of encouraging Israel's racial and religious purity. Second, the emphases on the temple, ark, and worship show his desire that the returned exiles reestablish worship according to the Mosaic Law.¹² Third, the record of David's glories and the victories God gave his successors were his way of encouraging his original readers as they sought to reestablish their nation in the Promised Land.¹³

Conservative students of Chronicles differ in their opinion concerning the amount of Messianic expectation the Chronicler held out to his readers. My belief is that he did present some hope of a coming Messiah who would fulfill the promises given to David in the Davidic Covenant. I will point this out at the appropriate places in the notes that follow.¹⁴

Passages Unique to Chronicles (In probable chronological order)15
Genealogies	The genealogical tables	1 Chron. 1-9
David	The list of the men who came to David at Ziklag	1 Chron. 12:1-7
	The list of the men who joined David on his way to Ziklag	1 Chron. 12:19-22
	Data concerning the number of warriors who made David king	1 Chron. 12:23-40
	The Gadites who "separated themselves unto David"	1 Chron. 12:8-15
	David's hymn of praise when he moved the ark	1 Chron. 16:4-36
	David's final preparations for the building of the temple	1 Chron. 22:1-19
	The national convention	1 Chron. 23:1-9:22
Solomon	The making of the altar of brass	2 Chron. 4:1
	The close of Solomon's dedicatory prayer	2 Chron. 6:40-42
Rehoboam	The adherence of the Levites in all Israel to Rehoboam	2 Chron. 11:13-14
	The immigration of other pious Israelites to Judah	2 Chron. 11:16-17
	Rehoboam's fortifications	2 Chron. 11:5-12
	Rehoboam's family	2 Chron. 11:18-23
Abijah	Abijah's family	2 Chron. 13:21
Asa	The ten years of peace under Asa	2 Chron. 14:1
	Asa's defense policy	2 Chron. 14:6-8
	Asa's victory over Zerah the Ethiopian	2 Chron. 14:9-15
	The warning of the prophet Azariah	2 Chron. 15:1-7
	The four years of peace under Asa	2 Chron. 15:19
	The renewal of the covenant	2 Chron. 15:9-15
	The warning of the prophet Hanani	2 Chron. 16:7-9
	Asa's transgression	2 Chron. 16:10
Jehoshaphat	Jehoshaphat's strengthening of his kingdom	2 Chron. 17:1-7
	The mission of the princes, Levites and priests	2 Chron. 17:7-9
	Jehoshaphat's increasing power	2 Chron. 17:10-8:1
	The prophet Jehu's judgment on Jehoshaphat	2 Chron. 19:1-3
	Jehoshaphat's further reforms in worship and law	2 Chron. 19:4-11
	The deliverance from Moab and Ammon on Mt. Seir	2 Chron. 20:1-30
Jehoram	The posthumous message of Elijah to Jehoram	2 Chron. 21:12-15
	The invasion of the Philistines and Arabians	2 Chron. 21:16-17
	Jehoram's illness	2 Chron. 21:18
Joash	Joash's matrimonial affairs	2 Chron. 24:3
	The temple worship	2 Chron. 24:14
	The death of Jehoiada	2 Chron. 24:15-16
	The sins of Joash	2 Chron. 24:17-19
	The stoning of Zechariah	2 Chron. 24:20-22
	The reverses of Judah due to Hazael's operations	2 Chron. 24:23-24
Amaziah	Amaziah's planned expedition against Edom	2 Chron. 25:5
	Amaziah's hiring of 1000 mercenaries out of Israel and dismissing them	2 Chron. 25:6-10
	The pillage of the cities of Judah by the dismissed mercenaries	2 Chron. 25:13
	Amaziah's further wickedness	2 Chron. 25:14-16
Uzziah	Uzziah's success in war	2 Chron. 26:6-8
	Uzziah's building and farming	2 Chron. 26:9-10, 15
	Uzziah's army	2 Chron. 26:11-14
	Uzziah's fame	2 Chron. 26:8, 15
Jotham	Jotham's subjugation of the Ammonites	2 Chron. 27:5-6
Ahaz	Obed the prophet's obtaining the release of the Jewish captives during Ahaz's war with Rezin and Pekah	2 Chron. 28:9-15
	The Edomite and Philistine invasions under Ahaz	2 Chron. 28:17-19
Hezekiah	The cleansing of the temple by Hezekiah	2 Chron. 29:3-19
	The consecration of the temple	2 Chron. 29:20-36
	Preparations for the Passover	2 Chron. 30:1-12
	The keeping of the Passover	2 Chron. 30:13-22
	The keeping of "other seven days"	2 Chron. 30:23-27
	Hezekiah's further religious reforms	2 Chron. 31:2-21
	Hezekiah's wealth and building	2 Chron. 32:27-30
	Sennacherib's second entry into Judah for invasion	2 Chron. 32:1
	Hezekiah's precautions in view of Sennacherib's second entry into Judah for invasion	2 Chron. 32:2-8
	Hezekiah's renewed prosperity	2 Chron. 32:23
Manasseh	Manasseh's captivity	2 Chron. 33:11
	Manasseh's repentance and restoration	2 Chron. 33:12-13
	The acts of Manasseh after his restoration	2 Chron. 33:14-16
	The spiritual condition of the people	2 Chron. 33:17
Josiah	Josiah's early reformations	2 Chron. 34:3-7
Captivity	The length of the captivity	2 Chron. 36:20-21
	Cyrus' proclamation permitting return from the captivity	2 Chron. 36:22-23

Message¹⁶

The central subject of 1 and 2 Chronicles is the temple of God. Someone evidently wrote these books at the end of the Babylonian exile to encourage the Israelites to reestablish Israel's national life in the Promised Land. In view of this purpose the northern kingdom of Israel was of little interest to the writer. Judah is the kingdom in view, and David is the king in view. The central passion in David's life is in view, namely the building of the temple. Furthermore the reason for David's passion for the temple is in view. He saw that the recognition of God is of supreme importance in national life.

This is the message of the book. The recognition of God is of supreme importance in national life formally as well as really. The writer demonstrated this fact in the genealogies, and he illustrated it in David's life in the rest of 1 Chronicles.

The genealogies demonstrate the supreme importance of recognizing God in national life.

What was the writer emphasizing by his selective genealogy? This genealogy (chs. 1-9) shows that God has chosen to bless some individuals and not others. This was His plan from Adam to Nehemiah. God also chose to bring blessing to those who obeyed Him regardless of their other personal abilities or disabilities. Obedience is key to success. We can see a heart for God in obedience to God's will. There are two reasons God blesses people: His sovereign choice to bless, and our obedience to Him. Character grows out of obedience. Likewise God chose to bring cursing on those who were disobedient to Him regardless of their other personal rights and privileges.

The reason God chose to bless some individuals was to accomplish one ultimate goal. This goal was the fulfillment of His plans for His own glorification including the fulfillment of His promises to humanity. All the details of His choices of individuals contributed to His ultimate goal.

The genealogies teach us this lesson. The way to achieve permanence and success in individual life, and the way to achieve stability and success in national life, is to recognize God in life. Throughout history people and nations have succeeded or failed as they recognized God. This is a major point the writer was demonstrating in the genealogies. God has been selecting, changing, interrupting, and moving through history inexorably toward His ultimate goal.

The life of David, as narrated here, illustrates the supreme importance of recognizing God in national life (chs. 10-29).

The writer presented David as a strong model king. He selected four pictures from David's life. The first of these was his crowning that shows God's choice of him. The second was his capture of Jerusalem that was the victory that led to the temple. The third picture was his mighty men. It shows his influence on personal character and his true power. The fourth was the gathering of multitudes behind his leadership that shows his influence on the masses. All of these pictures are in a sense background for what follows concerning David.

What made David the great king he was? The writer showed that it was his attitude toward God that expressed itself in his attitude toward the temple. David's care for the ark (a symbol of God's grace) and his desire to build the temple (a symbol of worship that responds to God's grace) reveal his deepest passion in life. His master passion was that Israel should never forget the God who had chosen her for special blessing in the world. We can see that his great desire was not simply to build the temple. When God told him through Nathan not to build it, David accepted this. He was content to gather materials and to make plans because he saw the temple as a way of helping Israel remember her God.

The writer of 1 Chronicles wanted to show the importance of what the temple symbolized, namely Israel's national recognition of God. David's great desire was that Israel recognize God and express that recognition publicly.

As king, David ruled under the authority of God. As warrior, he executed the will of God. As poet, he constantly extolled the reign of God. He glorified God in every aspect of his life. He also appreciated the importance of recognizing God nationally.

The message of this book is still a timeless one for us today. The recognition of God is still extremely important in life nationally and individually. Just as God governs all individuals, He also governs all nations, not just Israel. Amos made the point that God governs all nations, not just Israel. All nations are accountable to Him (cf. Deut. 32). Even today one of the Jews' favorite names for God is "king of the universe."

It is important that we recognize God because of His selective activity that the genealogies highlight. Throughout all of history God has been choosing, selecting, lifting up, and casting down. He selects new people in every generation. If they fail, He selects others and keeps moving ahead. If the person we would normally expect God to use is not ready or is unqualified, God will choose another (cf. Saul and David). If the person with privilege does not respond to his opportunity, God will pass him by, find some other perhaps obscure person, and move on. How foolish it is for nations and individuals not to recognize Him in view of God's sovereign progress.

It is also important that we recognize God because of the effect recognizing Him has on life. Take God out of the life of nations and individuals and what happens? There is no moral standard. An English politician once said, "If there is no Bible, where is your textbook of morals? There is the supreme difficulty. We must teach morals, and there is no textbook or standard in the world if we take the Bible away."¹⁷

When we lose our moral standard we lose individual character. When we lose individual character we lose the basis for civilized society. These things build on each other. Awareness of the throne of God and the government of God is foundational for any social order.

It is extremely important for every nation to build the temple of God, to recognize God in its life. This creates an opportunity for people to deal with God. Movements that advocate removing recognition of God from national life are pernicious. The person who points people to God is the true patriot. David wrote, "Zeal for your house has eaten me up." What is God's temple today? It is the church (Matt. 16:18). As the church we must point people to God. This was the "point" of church steeples in the past, to point people to God.

Constable: 1 Chronicles (Outline)

Outline

I. Israel's historical roots chs. 1-9

A. The lineage of David chs. 1-3

B. The house of Israel chs. 4-7

1. The family of Judah 4:1-23

2. The family of Simeon 4:24-43

3. The families of Transjordan ch. 5

4. The family of Levi ch. 6

5. The remaining families of Israel ch. 7

C. The lineage of Saul chs. 8-9

II. The reign of David chs. 10-29

A. The death of Saul ch. 10

B. David's coronation and capital 11:1-9

C. David's mighty men 11:10-12:40

D. David and the ark chs. 13-16

1. The removal of the ark from Kiriath-jearim ch. 13

2. Restoring fellowship with Yahweh ch. 14

3. The importance of the priests and Levites 15:1-15

4. The joy produced by God's presence 15:16-16:6

5. David's concern for the universal worship of Yahweh 16:7-43

E. God's covenant promises to David chs. 17-29

1. The first account of God's promises to David chs. 17-21

2. The second account of God's promises to David chs. 22-27

3. The third account of God's promises to David chs. 28-29

(Continued in notes on 2 Chronicles)

Constable: 1 Chronicles

1 Chronicles

Bibliography

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST BOOK OF PARALIPOMENON.

INTRODUCTION.

These Books are called by the Greek Interpreters, Paralipomenon; ( Greek: Paraleipomenon, ) that is, of things left out, or omitted; because they are a kind of supplement of such things as were passed over in the Books of Kings. The Hebrews call them, Dibre Hajamim; that is, The words of the days, or The Chronicles. Not that they are the books which are so often quoted in the Kings, under the title of, The Words of the days of the kings of Israel, and of the kings of Juda; for the Books of Paralipomenon were written after the Books of Kings; but because, in all probability, they have been abridged from those ancient words of the days, by Esdras, or some other sacred author. (Challoner) --- The author of this compilation refers to the same works, 2 Paralipomenon xvi. 11., &c. These journals were principally composed by prophets, though there were other people appointed to write the most important occurrences, 2 Kings viii. 16., and 4 Kings xviii. 18. The genealogies of families, particularly of the Levites, and the interests of piety and religion, are kept most in view. (Calmet) --- The variations which appear between this work and the other parts of Scripture, are owing to the faults of transcribers; and, though they could not be satisfactorily explained, it would be rashness to condemn the author of inaccuracy, at this distance of time, when we know so little of those transactions. (Haydock) --- Who calls in question the history of Alexander, though the different authors of it scarcely agree in one calculation of the number of troops, nations conquered, &c.?" Yet the work before us is of far higher authority, as it was dictated by the Holy Ghost. (Calmet) --- "Without it, a person would in vain pretend to understand the Scriptures." It is "an epitome of the Old Testament," and "explains many difficulties of the gospels." (St. Jerome) --- The author does not, however, seem to have designed to draw up an exact epitome, or to supply the deficiencies of the other works. (Calmet) --- The first nine chapters contain various genealogical histories. In the 10th, we have the election and death of Saul; and in the remainder of the first book, the transactions of David, (Worthington) till the year [of the world] 2990, where the second book commences with the reign of Solomon, and brings us to the end of the captivity. (The year of the world 3468.; Calmet)

Gill: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES

This and the following book were reckoned by the Jews as one book, as appears by the Masoretic note at the end of the second book, and as is affirmed by Origen ^a and Jerom ^b; and they were by the ancients ^c called Chronicles, as they are by us; but they are different from the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel and Judah, so often mentioned in the preceding books, seeing several things there referred to, as in them, are not to be found here; though no doubt many things here recorded were taken from thence under a divine direction. In the Greek version, and so in the Vulgate Latin version after that, they are called "Paralipomena", that is, things passed over or omitted, because they contain several anecdotes which are not to be found in the books of Samuel and Kings. The Hebrew title of them is, "Dibre Hayamim", words of days, day books or diaries, and what the Greeks call "Ephemerides"; though, as "yamim" sometimes signifies years, they may be named "annals"; and so the Arabic inscription is,

"the Books of Annals;''

and because they chiefly respect the kings of Judah, the Syriac inscription is,

"the Book of the Things that were done in the Times of the Kings of Judah.''

The Targum is,

"the Book of Genealogies, the Words of Days, which were from the Days of the World;''

because the first ten chapters consist of genealogies beginning from Adam. The inspired penman of these books must live after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, since he carries down the genealogy of the kings and princes of Judah beyond that time, 1Ch 3:17. It is generally thought by the Jews and Christians that Ezra was the writer of them, with which agrees the age in which he lived; and as it may seem, from the last of these books ending with the same words with which that under his name begins: so the Talmudists ^d say, that Ezra wrote his own book, and the genealogy of the chronicles unto his own, or unto Velo, "and he had brethren", 2Ch 21:2 and Jarchi affirms that he wrote them by the hand or means of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, inspired prophets; though some Jewish writers ^e suppose they were written partly by him, and partly by Nehemiah; that all to 2Ch 21:2 were written by Ezra, and the rest by Nehemiah. Kimchi thinks that Ezra was not the first author and writer of these books, but that the books of Chronicles and Annals of the kings of Judah, and of the kings of Israel, were separately written before him; but that he only revised them, and with the men of the great synagogue added the genealogies, and put them into the canon of the Scriptures ^f. Spinosa ^g fancies they were written after Judas Maccabaeus had restored the temple, since the historian tells what families dwelt in Jerusalem in the times of Ezra, 1Ch 9:1 and speaks of the porters, 1Ch 9:17 two of which are mentioned, Neh 11:19 as if Ezra could not describe the families that lived when he did, or name the porters of the temple, since it was finished and dedicated in his time, Ezr 6:15, but however there is no doubt to be made of the authenticity of these books, since not only they have always been acknowledged by the Jews as a part of the canonical Scripture, and by ancient Christians, as appears by the catalogues of Melito ^h and Origen ⁱ; but there are plain references to them in the New Testament. The genealogy of Christ, by the evangelists, is formed out of them; the doxology in Rev 5:12 as some have observed, comes very near to what is used by David, 1Ch 29:11 and the passages in Act 7:48 contain the sense of what is expressed in 2Ch 2:5. The use and design of these books are chiefly to give a larger account of the kingdom of Judah, especially after the division of it from the ten tribes, and of the kings thereof, than what is given in the preceding books, as in the last of these books; and particularly they ascertain the genealogy of Christ, that it might be clear and plain of what tribe and family the Messiah came, that he descended from the tribe of Judah, and from the kings of the house of David, as in this first book. They both contain an history from Adam, to the deliverance of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon. The first of these books reaches, according to Hottinger ^k, to A. M. 2985, and the latter is an history of four hundred and seventy two years. According to Bishop Usher ^l the former contains a course of 2990 years, and the latter of four hundred and seventy eight.

Gill: 1 Chronicles 2 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 2

This chapter begins with the twelve sons of Israel or Jacob, 1Ch 2:1, then reckons the sons of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, 1Ch 2:3, then the posterity of Pharez and Zerah, sons of Judah, 1Ch 2:5, next the sons of Hezron, a son of Pharez, 1Ch 2:9, particularly the posterity of Ram, a son of Hezron, from whom sprung Jesse and his family, 1Ch 2:10, then of Caleb: another son of Hezron, 1Ch 2:18, and next of Jerahmeel, the firstborn of Hezron, 1Ch 1:25 and particularly the posterity of Sheshan, a descendant of his, 1Ch 1:34 and then other sons of Caleb, with their posterity, are reckoned, 1Ch 1:42 and the chapter is closed with the families of the Scribes in Jabesh, the same with the Kenites, 1Ch 2:55.