1 Chronicles 2 Bible Commentary

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

Verses 1, 2. These are the sons of Israel,.... Or Jacob, the other son of Isaac, who had the name of Israel given him, because of his power with God, Genesis 32:28, whose twelve sons are here mentioned by name; the first four according to their birth of Leah, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; then the two sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, Issachar and Zebulun; and between Dan and Naphtali, the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid, are placed Joseph and Benjamin, the sons of Rachel.

Verse 3. The sons of Judah,.... The genealogy begins with him, though the fourth son of Jacob; because, as Kimchi says, this book treats chiefly of the kings of Judah; but rather not only because Jesse and David sprang from him, but also the King Messiah:

Er, and Onan, and Shelah, which three were born unto him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess; see Genesis 38:2,

and Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the Lord; because he did that which was evil:

and he slew him; he died by the immediate hand of God, and so his brother Onan, being wicked also, Genesis 38:7.

Verse 4. And Tamar his daughter in law bare him Pharez and Zerah,.... Through incest; they were twins, Genesis 38:27 all the sons of Judah were five; who are before mentioned by name.

Verse 5. The sons of Pharez,.... One of the above twins, born to Judah:

Hezron and Hamul; see Genesis 46:12.

Verse 6. And the sons of Zerah,.... The other twin of Judah:

Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara: five of them in all; the Targum calls them governors, and adds, on whom the spirit of prophecy dwelt; and in the Jewish chronology {n} they are said to prophesy in Egypt; and the four last are supposed to be the same with those in 1 Kings 4:31.
See Gill on 1Ki 4:31.

{n} Seder Olam Rabba, c. 20. p. 52.

Verse 7. And the sons of Carmi,.... The Targum adds, this is Zimri; but in Joshua 7:1 Carmi is said to be the son of Zabdi, who seems to be the same with Zimri; and some supply the word here, and read {o} the sons of Zimri, Carmi, Achar, who was the grandson of Zimri; his proper name was Achan, Joshua 7:1, but called Achar here by way of reproach, as Jarchi and others observe; being, as it follows,

the troubler of Israel, as Achar signifies: "who transgressed in the thing accursed"; devoted to the Lord, by taking it away for his own use, see Joshua 6:17, hence the valley in which he was put to death was called Achor, Joshua 6:26.

{o} So Junius & Tremellius, & Piscator.

Verse 8. And the sons of Ethan; Azariah. Including his posterity, see
Genesis 46:23, the posterity of the other three sons of Zerah are not mentioned, either because the writer could not find the genealogy of them, as Kimchi; or rather, as he thinks, he cuts short the genealogy of Zerah, because the kingdom did not proceed from him, and returns to the genealogy of Hezron, from whence it did, or perhaps they had no children.

Verse 9. The sons also of Hezron, that were born unto him,.... The Targum adds, in Timnath; but most likely in Egypt:

Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai; afterwards called Caleb.

Verses 10-12. And Ram begat Amminadab,.... Ram is the same with Aram, Matthew 1:3 the genealogy is carried down from him to Jesse in the same order as there, and in Ruth 4:19 only here Nahshon the son of Amminadab is called the prince of the children of Judah; which Kimchi and Jarchi say is written for the honour of David, who descended from him; and Salmon his son is here called Salma.

Verses 13-15. And Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third, Nathanael the fourth, Raddai the fifth, Ozem the sixth, David the seventh. But Jesse had eight sons, 1 Samuel 16:10, one of them therefore is not reckoned, either because he was by another woman, and the writer only mentions those that were of the same mother with David; this is the opinion of Aben Ezra and Kimchi; some say he was dead before David came to the kingdom; Kimchi mentions a Midrash, or exposition of theirs, according to which his name was Elihu, and was younger than David, who is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 27:18, and Jarchi observes, that the writer, having found the pearl (David), reckons not the eighth son Elihu, though the Syriac and Arabic versions have inserted him in this order, "Elihu the seventh, David the eighth"; some take the eighth to be a grandson of Jesse, Jonathan the son of Shimea, 2 Samuel 21:21 the third son of Jesse, here called Shimma, as he is Shammah, 1 Samuel 16:9.

Verse 16. Whose sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail..... That is, sisters of David:

and the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three; all valiant men and captains in David's army; their father's name is nowhere mentioned.

Verse 17. And Abigail bare Amasa,.... Who was Absalom's general, afterwards reconciled to David, and designed to be made general of his army, but was slain by Joab, see 2 Samuel 17:25,

and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite; he is called an Israelite, 2 Samuel 17:25, and so in the Targum here, he being either a proselyte, or else he was an Israelite by birth, but called an Ishmaelite, because he had dwelt among the Ishmaelites some time, as Obededom is called the Gittite for the like reason; so Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it.

Verse 18. And Caleb the son of Hezron,.... The same that is called Chelubai, 1 Chronicles 2:9 but not the same with Caleb the son of Jephunneh, made mention of in the books of Numbers, Joshua, and Judges:

he begat children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth; who were both his wives; or it may be rather, since Azubah is so particularly called his wife, Jerioth might be a concubine: or of Azubah he begat Jerioth; so the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions; though it seems best with Hillerus {p} to interpret these names of the same person, and render the last clause, "that is, of Jerioth," of her whose name also was Jerioth, Azubah having two names; and the rather, since only the children of one are mentioned, as follows:

her sons are these; Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon of whom we read nowhere else; the Targum says, Azubah was so called, because she was barren and despised, which this clause contradicts.

{p} Onomastic. Sacr. p. 568.

Verse 19. And when Azubah was dead, Caleb took unto him Ephrath,.... The Targum is, "Miriam, who was called Ephrath"; but, according to Josephus {q}, it was his son Hur that was the husband of Miriam the sister of Moses:

which bare him Hur; See Gill on Ex 17:10.

{q} Antiqu. l. 3. c. 2.

Verse 20. And Hur begat Uri, and Uri begat Bezaleel. Who yet is not thought to be the same Bezaleel we read of in Exodus 31:2 though the fathers and grandfathers of both have the same names, and were of the same tribe.

Verse 21. And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead,.... Which Machir was the son of Manasseh, and Gilead was his grandson, Numbers 26:29 the Targum is,

"but he enticed a virgin, the daughter of Machir";

which suggests, that he committed fornication with her, though he afterwards married her; her name is not mentioned; to me it seems to be Abiah, 1 Chronicles 2:24 and whom the Targum there calls the daughter of Machir:

whom he married when he was sixty years old; the Targum is sixty six; this seems to be his last wife:

and she bare him Segub; the same name with the youngest son of Hiel, who rebuilt Jericho, 1 Kings 16:34.

Verse 22. And Segub begat Jair, who had twenty three cities in the land of Gilead. Which, according to Kimchi, he inherited in right of his wife, which, he says, he took out of the land of Gilead; but they seem to be rather what he took by force of arms from the former inhabitants; see Numbers 32:41.

Verse 23. And he took Geshur, and Aram, with the towns of Jair, from them,.... Cities or countries which the Geshurites and Aramaeans, or Syrians, before inhabited; and which he took from them, together with other towns, which, being taken by him, were called after his name; the Targum is, the Geshurites and Aramaeans took the villages of Jair from them; that is, from the sons of Jair in later times; see
Joshua 12:5

with Kenath, and the towns thereof; which Jair took by Nobah his general, and called it after his name, Numbers 32:42, even sixty cities; see Deuteronomy 3:4

all these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead: being given him by Moses, Numbers 32:40.

Verse 24. And after that Hezron was dead in Calebephratah,.... Supposed to be the same with Bethlehem; and was so called, both from Caleb the son of Hezron, and Ephrath his wife, 1 Chronicles 2:19,

then Abiah, Hezron's wife, bare him Ashur the father of Tekoa; being left with child by him at his death; the whole verse is paraphrased thus in the Targum,

"and after Hezron died in the house of Caleb his son in Ephrath, the wife of Hezron the daughter of Machir was left with child, and she bare to him after his death Ashur the prince of the Tekoites";

whose son gave name very probably to the city of Tekoa, 2 Samuel 14:2.

Verse 25. And the sons of Jerahmeel, the firstborn of Hezron, were Ram the firstborn,.... So called by his father after the name of his brother, see 1 Chronicles 2:9

and Bunah, and Oren, and Ozem, and Ahijah; or "of Ahijah," as some {r} render it, this being the name of his wife, who bare him the sons before named, since mention is made of another wife in the next verse.

{r} Junius, Tremellius, Piscator, Michaelis.

Verse 26. Jerahmeel had also another wife, whose name was Atarah,.... Distinct from his wife before named; or "another woman," which is a phrase for an harlot or concubine, Judges 11:2 which she might be, as Kimchi observes; though the former seems best:

she was the mother of Onam; and perhaps was the only son she bore to Jerahmeel, of whose sons see 1 Chronicles 2:28.

Verse 27. And the sons of Ram the firstborn of Jerahmeel,.... By his first wife:

were Maaz, and Jamin, and Eker; of whom no other notice is taken; perhaps they left no children.

Verse 28. And the sons of Onam,.... The son of Jerahmeel by his other wife:

were Shammai and Jada. And the sons of Shammai; Nadab, and Abishur; whose posterity are mentioned in the two following verses.

Verse 29. And the name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail,.... Of the same name was a wife of Rehoboam, a daughter of his grandfather David's eldest brother, Eliab, 2 Chronicles 11:18

and she bare him Ahban, and Molid; which are no more mentioned, they perhaps leaving no posterity.

Verse 30. And the sons of Nadab,.... The eldest son of Shammai, 1 Chronicles 2:28,

Seled and Appaim; but Seled died without children; and therefore we hear no more of him.

Verse 31. And the sons of Appaim; Ishi. And the sons of Ishi: Sheshan,.... Though they had each of them but one son, yet the plural number is used, their posterity being included, as in 1 Chronicles 2:8 and so in the next clause:

and the children of Sheshan; Ahlai; who, from 1 Chronicles 2:34 appears to be a daughter.

Verse 32. And the sons of Jada the brother of Shammai,.... 1 Chronicles 2:28,

Jether and Jonathan: and Jether died without children; the posterity of Jonathan are given the next verse.

Verse 33. And the sons of Jonathan; Peleth and Zaza,.... Of whom no mention is made elsewhere:

these were the sons of Jerahmeel; not only his immediate sons, but their posterity, called from him Jerahmeelites, 1 Samuel 27:10.

Verse 34. Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters,.... And but one of that sort, whose name was Ahlai, 1 Chronicles 2:31 the plural being put here for the singular; or, if that is the name of a son, as some think, he died in his father's lifetime, and left no issue; so that there only remained daughters, and it seems but one by the next verse:

and Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha; one born in his house, and brought up by him, and a proselyte, such an one as Eliezer in Abraham's family.

Verse 35. 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, 1 Chronicles 2:31 which receives confirmation from Zabad, one of the descendants of this man, 1 Chronicles 2:36, being said to be the son of Ahlai, 1 Chronicles 11:41, that is, great-grandson:

and she bare him Attai; the genealogy of whose descendants is given to the end of 1 Chronicles 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, Jeremiah 41:1.

Verse 42. Now the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel,.... Called Chelubai, 1 Chronicles 2:9 and is the same Caleb spoken of in 1 Chronicles 2:18 and his sons next reckoned were by a third wife, Azubah, Ephrath being dead, 1 Chronicles 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, Joshua 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.

Verse 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, Joshua 15:34 and there is also Bethtappuah in the same tribe, 1 Chronicles 2:53 which one, or both, might have their name from this man; and Shema also, 1 Chronicles 2:26.

Verse 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, 1 Chronicles 2:28.

{s} Onomast. Sacr. p. 329.

Verse 45. And the son of Shammai was Maon,.... Who gave name to a city in the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:55 see 1 Samuel 23:24

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

Verse 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.

Verse 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, Joshua 15:27.

{t} Onomast. Sacr. p. 841.

Verse 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.

Verse 49. She bare also Shaaph the father of Madmannah,.... Prince of a place so called, in the tribe of Judah, Joshua 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 Joshua 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, Joshua 15:16 but by whom Caleb, the son of Hezron, had this daughter, is not said; perhaps by Maachah his concubine last mentioned.

Verse 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, 1 Chronicles 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, Joshua 15:60.

Verse 51. Salma the father of Bethlehem,.... Or prince of Bethlehem, as the Targum; not the same as in 1 Chronicles 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, 1 Chronicles 4:4, and where this man's name is Penuel; Gedor was in the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:58.

Verse 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, 1 Chronicles 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, 1 Chronicles 8:6 over half of which Haroeh was governor.

Verse 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, Joshua 15:33.

Verse 54. The sons of Salma,.... Another son of the younger Caleb, 1 Chronicles 2:50 whose sons were Bethlehem, the inhabitants of the place, at least many of them, of which he was prince, 1 Chronicles 2:51 and the Netophathite; the inhabitants of Netophah, a place in the tribe of Judah, mentioned along with Bethlehem, Nehemiah 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 1 Chronicles 2:52,

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

Verse 55. And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez,.... A city in Judah, the founder of which, perhaps, was Jabez, mentioned in 1 Chronicles 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, Joshua 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 Judges 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, Jeremiah 35:2.